Rock Star: Chopard Transforms A Single Flawless 342-Carat Rough Diamond Into A Six-Piece Collection
Introducing the new six-piece suite jewelry collection which created by Chopard that set with diamonds cut from a single 342-carat flawless diamond. The Queen of Kalahari, named for the desert where the mine is located (and the fact that it was discovered by a female mining employee), might have been cut into two large gems of approximately 80 carats each, but Chopard co-president and creative director Caroline Scheufele, who acquired the diamond, wanted to create a full collection.
In the hands of Antwerp cutters, the Queen of Kalahari ultimately yielded 23 exceptional diamonds, of which five are over 20 carats. They were set into six pieces of jewelry, including a jewelry watch, for a complete suite called the Garden of Kalahari collection. It is the most prestigious jewelry collection ever created by Chopard, which manufactures some of the world’s most glamorous jewelry.
The design theme for the collection was inspired by French guipure lace, which has become a Chopard signature. The secret watch is made of 18k white Fairmined gold, and set with two exceptional D-flawless diamonds – one is pear-shaped, and the other is round brilliant-cut. The rest of the watch is fully set with round- and pear-shaped diamonds for a total of 55 carats. It contains an automatic movement, the elite Caliber L.U.C 96.17-L, with a platinum micro-rotor set with diamonds.
The collection also includes a necklace set with more than 200 carats of diamonds, earrings set with more than 100 carats of diamonds and a ring set with a 20-carat D-flawless diamond. The collection took 3,200 hours to produce. Each stage of its development was filmed by Alexis Veller, and was made into a 55-minute documentary film that aired during Paris fashion week earlier this year. The pieces are being sold as a collection at an undisclosed price.
Carol Besler covers watches for Watch Journal, Watch Time, Robb Report, Nuvo, Revolution and International Watch.
