Light has been bouncing off Chopard's Ice Cube since 1999. The mimimalist geometric design debuted in a wristwatch literally on the rocks. Co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele then evolved the motif as jewellery that perpetually engages in a dialogue with light, magnified by the reflective facets of the Ice Cube.
Starring new global ambassador Bella Hadid, the campaign -- Sculpted By Light -- celebrates the purity and contemporary character of the Ice Cube jewellery in 2024. The campaign highlights the new choker and cuff bracelet crafted at the production site in Meyrin, Geneva. Chopard operates at three facilities in Switzerland.
The other two in Fleurier are dedicated to making watches and movements. Its horological heritage dates back to 1860, when Louis-Ulysse Chopard founded the company in Sonvilier, in the Bernese Jura. A new era began in 1963, when the maison was acquired by the Scheufele family.
Second-generation Caroline Scheufele designed the Happy Clown, which marked the first jewellery creation in 1985. Chopard's annual Red Carpet collections for the Festival de Cannes are crafted by its Mains d'Art (artistic hands) at the high-jewellery workshop. The artisans also worked on combining the iconic shape with the brilliance of diamonds for the new Ice Cube choker and bracelet in ethical 18 carat rose gold.
Each cube, shaped individually by an artisan, varies in height. The resulting relief profile further makes the jewellery play with the light. The craftsmanship is complemented by innovative production.
A diamond-equipped tool machines the precious metal to the nearest hundredth of a centimetre, producing a refined pre-polished surface. Resulting from six years of research and development, the highly-technical machining enables perfect milling that lends taut lines on the minute surfaces. While each cube with its identically repeated motif may appear simple, each of its four symmetrical edges is in fact subtly facetted.
Within these micro-surfaces, the light finds numerous points of refraction, amplifying the brilliance of the jewellery. The mirror-polished surface is further buffed by hand with a dedicated pad to achieve the ultimate shine of the ethical rose gold. Shooting the Sculpted By Light campaign.
Since July 2018, Chopard has been using 100% ethically produced gold for the production of its watches and jewellery. The implementation is a part of the long-term The Journey To Sustainable Luxury programme, launched in 2013, to promote respect for the highest social and environmental criteria in the luxury industry. The rosy reflections of the gold, combined with the varying heights of the cubes and the sparkle of the brilliant-cut diamonds evoke an urban skyline during the golden hour with sunlight reflected off the skyscrapers.
Through the light, form and sustainable material, the architectural aesthetic aligns with the Bauhaus movement's principles emphasising simplicity and functionality. Thanks to the ingeniously articulated design, the cubes weave a flexible mesh that sensually follows the body's movements once placed on the skin. In the Sculpted By Light campaign, British fashion photographer and director Charlotte Wales captures Bella Hadid surrounded by an abstract urban scene set against the backdrop of a night skyline, infinitely repeated in a play of mirrors, in which the buildings' lit-up windows echo the brilliance of the Ice Cubes.
Besides the high-jewellery choker and bracelet, Hadid wears everyday pieces, particularly stacking rings and bracelets in ethical gold as well as versions set with diamonds for additional reflections of light. Choker in ethical 18 carat rose gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds. Each cube varies in height giving the cuff bracelet a relief profile.
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