Paris, France — Diamonds, rubies, sapphires and tourmalines all from the heart of the good earth came to Paris at the house of Chopard for the High Jewelry season presentations last January along with new pieces from Chopard’s Haute Joaillerie workshops..  These are the exceptional stones sourced by the Maison’s Co-President and Artistic Director Caroline Scheufele who has cultivated a genuine passion for exceptional gems and travels the world to seek them out. These are the stones that will eventually enter into future mesmerizing creations. All in all a colorful and luminous display that set the stage for the house’s upcoming collections. 

A vivid pair of natural yellow Ceylon sapphires from the gemstone island Sri Lanka were a highlight, oval-cut and weighing in respectively at 151.19 and 127.70 carats, they enjoy excellent clarity and perfectly matched color. Their ultimate destiny is to  adorn a daringly designed ring and a matching cuff bracelet. The sapphire story continues with a 26.70-carat sapphire in the most prized color of royal blue that was also mined in Sri Lanka. It features a light-catching transparent blue hue that catches the light through its octogonal symmetry. Blue sapphires purportedly protect against black magic. Sapphires are a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide) and draw their colors from the levels of titanium and iron impurities found in the mineral. 

Left: a 26.70-carat unheated octagonal Royal Blue sapphire from Sri Lanka. Photo courtesy Chopard. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette. Right: 10.06-carat unheated octagonal ruby from Mozambique. Photo courtesy Chopard. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette

It evokes fire, passion and blood, the ruby’s color is its most valuable asset. Indeed the most sought after color being the famous pigeon’s blood rubies. Also a member of the corundum family of minerals, the ruby draws its red color, in diverse variations, from the iron and chromium present in a specific deposit. Chopard presented a remarkable 10.06 carat ruby from Mozambique with a natural strong red saturation and one of the finest-quality East African specimens. Often referred to as the king of gemstones, it finds its place of predilection among kings. In India for example it is linked to strength and domination. And has been regarded as a remedy for melancholy and fatigue in alternative medical circles. 

Left: two 7.31-carat and 7.23-carat tourmalines from Mozambique and a 15.98-carat oval-cut tourmaline from Mozambique. Photo courtesy Chopard. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette. Right: a 4.63-carat VS2 pear-shape fancy green diamond from Brazil with a 1.25-carat VS1 pear-shape fancy green diamond from Brazil and a 1.03-carat VS1 pear-shape fancy green diamond from Brazil. VS2 refers to the clarity gradient for the gemstones, here VS1 means that a few tiny imperfections may be visible and VS2 means you might also be able to see a few tiny inclusions. Photo courtesy Chopard. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette

Colored diamonds, which are becoming increasingly popular were also on the agenda for Chopard’s presentation. The two sets of colored diamonds – pink and green – are slated for a pair of delicate earrings and a You and Me ring. The three green diamonds acquired by Caroline Scheufele from mines in Brazil, as well as the three pink specimens from South Africa, are distinguished by their excellent combination of size (the largest in the lot weighs 4.63 carats) and few impurities. Diamonds — a solid form of pure carbon — are the hardest of all of the minerals and colored diamonds owe their color to the type of impurity found within: generally nitrogen for the yellows and for the greens, the rarest, more complex defects involving nitrogen, hydrogen or nickel impurities, or they can be colored by exposure to radiation in their natural environment, according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). 

Stunning blue tourmalines from northern Mozambique wound up the glorious gemstone display. A pair of pure tourmalines weighing in at over 7 carats is looking fine for a pair of earrings while the 16-carat matching blue tourmaline is slated to highlight a ring forming a stunning and spellbinding set. Because of the presence of copper in its soils, the region of northern Mozambique, where these stones were unearthed, has recently produced some of the finest of tourmalines with colors ranging from blue to greenish blue very similar in many respects to the celebrated Paraiba tourmalines mined in Brazil in the 1980s and later in Nigeria, explains Chopard. Indigo blue tourmalines have been given the name indicolite. Tourmalines are used in crystal healing alternative medicine as a remedy for sadness, nervousness and infections and are believed to heighten  concentration levels.

High jewelry pieces from Chopard’s Haute Joaillerie workshops were on sparkling hand as well with a white diamond necklace encircling an over 100-carat fancy intense yellow diamond and a ring featuring a 30.63 carat oval-cut diamond and thoroughly adorned in diamonds and a necklace of sculpted rose gold, diamond or pink sapphire motifs and inspired by the lace collars of 17th century broker’s costumes. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. https://www.chopard.com/en-us