Chopard, jeweler extraordinaire, found a way to make us even more Happy. But that’s getting ahead of the story. Launched less than three decades ago, the Chopard Happy Sport Joaillerie has become a benchmark in audaciousness and extravagance. The watch was a brainchild of Chopard Co-President Caroline Scheufele as an astounding pairing of steel and diamonds. Who better than lady who embodies both strength and grace to conceptualize a watch that does the same? The dancing diamonds of the Chopard Happy Sport Joaillerie seemed to float beneath the sapphire crystal in a stunning combination of technical expertise and elegance.
And now Chopard has made it even better by showcasing the Happy diamonds in a lighter prong setting that reveals more of the facets of each diamond. The facets are what reflect the light and make the gem sparkle brilliantly. The Chopard gemsetters have created a prong setting using only 5 lithe prongs to hold the diamonds in place. The same gemsetting style is also in use for the hour markers and on the bezel, and I mean the whole bezel – top, sides, all over. It’s simply beautiful.
These Happy Sport Joaillerie models come in 36mm cases that are entirely paved with brilliant-cut diamonds – an 18-carat white gold version and an 18-carat rose gold version. The white gold model (Ref. 274809-1001) has a more synchronous palette while the rose gold model (Ref. 274809-5001) has a stronger contrast between the diamonds and the metal. Each model has seven Happy diamonds in the new prong setting, and 10 diamonds for hour markers (the 6 and 12 have Roman numerals). The mother-of-pearl dials add luster to the watch and texture too, since they are engraved with a guilloché motif.
These Happy Sport Joaillerie models are evidence of mechanical excellence too. Each Happy Sport Joaillerie watch has the ultra-thin 96.17-C mechanical movement with automatic winding, based on the first Chopard Manufacture calibre. This calibre has 167 components, a frequency of 28,8000 vph (or 4Hz), and a power reserve of 65 hours. The Maison develops and assembles these calibres completely and proves that there is depth of skill beneath the dazzling creations. The watch’s exhibition case back allows a peek into the inner workings.
Maison Chopard continues to inspire us by recreating their already fabulous timepieces to make them even more desirable. The Chopard Happy Sport Joaillerie is proof that creativity never stops, glamour never ends, and Happiness continues on.
