Red carpet elevation takes on new meaning with the Chopard x Julia Roberts high-jewellery capsule collection
Julia Roberts has been adorned with Chopard’s most exquisite gemstones on and off the red carpet. But the award-winning actress probably wouldn’t have imagined that one day, she would be helping Chopard create one of its most monumental high-jewellery collections.
The Chopard x Julia Roberts high-jewellery capsule collection is as advertised: a meeting of kindred spirits that led to a one-off assortment of exceptional baubles. Roberts, who has been Chopard’s global ambassador since 2021, is close friends with its co-president, Caroline Scheufele, for many years. And when the company acquired the massive 6,225-carat rough emerald named Insofu in 2018, Scheufele was determined to craft creations that would befit the remarkable stone—with the help of a few friends.
The most expert emerald cutters from India were enlisted. Scheufele herself pushed her own creativity to the limits. And Roberts, with her deep appreciation for Chopard’s jewellery and inspired friendship, was asked to join the project.
“It was such an exciting challenge when Caroline proposed we work on a bespoke design. We had a lot of fun bringing this set into reality, creating jewellery that’s beautiful, sustainable, and mixes the timeless allure of emerald with stunning colours and a stone I cherish, the turquoise,” says Roberts.
Cutting the rough alone took nine months in Chopard’s Geneva workshops, as well as in Jaipur, the home of Indian jewellery artisanship. The creative process with Scheufele and Roberts was just as intense and took as long.
The laborious and fastidious exercise, however, proved necessary. The Insofu emerald (meaning ‘elephant’ in Bemba, a Zambian dialect) is, like its namesake, enormous yet delicate and unpredictable. The stone, with its spectrum of radiant greens, demanded close examination and preparation prior to cutting, so that each piece shines to its truest potential. Having purchased the Insofu emerald as a raw stone, Chopard also lives up to its reputation as a proponent of sustainable luxury; the company and clients are now able to trace the stone’s entire provenance from mining to final creation.
Inspired by the expressive forms and vibrance of traditional Indian jewellery, Scheufele and Roberts set about to create a parure that brims with colour and life. Comprising a ring, necklace, and a pair of earrings, the suite pairs the Insofu emerald’s rich crystalline green with exuberant sky-blue turquoise and cherry-red rubellites.
The collection’s “avant-garde execution and heirloom aesthetics” that blend contemporary with timeless designs not only oozes glamour, but also offers incredible versatility. The kaleidoscopic, floral-inspired necklace and earrings, as well as the vivacious cocktail ring will enliven any evening gown. But Roberts, in modelling the collection with a relaxed combination of white shirt and jeans, demonstrate the jewellery’s effervescence and adaptability.
“From the moment we discovered the Insofu Emerald, we knew it was a gem that could inspire greatness. This parure is a testament to that inspiration, a fusion of our shared passion for beauty, elegance, and responsible luxury,” says Scheufele. Roberts, we imagine, would concur wholeheartedly.
