Chopard’s new Insofu collection—the result of 12 years of ethical innovation—is sustainable luxury at its finest.
Over a decade ago, Chopard launched a sustainability mission—long before corporate acronyms like CSR, ESG or even sustainability itself were buzzwords. Chopard called the initiative The Journey to Sustainable Luxury. Twelve years on and a host of key milestones later—including adopting ethical gold and recycled steel across its collections—the idea of “journey” could not be more fitting. Chopard’s sustainability endeavours have indeed been explorations, and like anything that breaks new ground, has had its share of doubters. “Everybody was laughing at me and asking: Why all of a sudden do you have to do everything ethical?’ recalls Caroline Scheufele, Chopard co-president and artistic director. “I said because we have to care about our planet. And I think consumers would like to know how their piece was produced,” she says matter of factly.
The latest journey takes us to Paris Fashion Week—via Zambia, India and Geneva—where Chopard recently launched the Insofu collection. The suite of 14 emerald jewels has been crafted from a single emerald rough, a 6,225-carat stone that was unearthed around a decade ago in Zambia. Miners christened the stone “Insofu”, meaning elephant in the local Bemba language, and paid homage to its trunk-like shape and incredible size. Insofu follows on from a similar Chopard tale from 2017, when the Garden of the Kalahari collection was cut from a single 342-carat diamond rough that was also transformed into a suite of jewels—thoroughly tracing a diamond’s journey from rough to final piece. Now with Insofu, Chopard becomes really the only jeweller to venture down this sustainable path with coloured gemstones.
Cutting the Insofu emerald, however, was very different to the Kalahari. Diamond roughs can be scanned and examined with state-of-the-art technology to define the ultimate sizes, shapes and number of stones. But for emeralds, only a skilled cutter can make that call, relying only on his eyes and decades of knowledge. Cutting too close to an inclusion, for example, can create fractures across the gem, while misjudging an inclusion’s location can overshadow the stone’s brilliance and saturation.
“Once you start cutting, the first cut is done. Emeralds are the most fragile amongst the gemstones, so you can easily cut it wrong and the stone will just break in half,” explains Scheufele. “It’s a pretty adventurous thing to follow.”
Working with one of the finest cutters from Jaipur, India, Chopard invited the craftsmen to its Geneva high jewellery atelier, where the master cutters examined the rough for weeks before making the first incision. Cutting and polishing the stone took nearly a year in total, and yielded 850 carats of emeralds.
Meanwhile, the journey was a kind of cultural exchange, too. Chopard had initially set up their atelier with workbenches, but the craftsmen insisted on sitting on the floor, just as they did in Jaipur. They also sat facing a specific direction and only cut the stone on specific days, with certain hours off limits. “It’s very spiritual,” recalls Scheufele. “It was a discovery for everybody at the Chopard ateliers. Even today we’re all still in contact. It’s a nice memory for everybody.”
The suite of jewels include five pairs of earrings, four necklaces, three rings, a bracelet and high jewellery watch. Scheufele had to wait until all the stones were cut before designing the pieces, but she knew for sure that she wanted an elephant (“They are lucky animals and meant to bring luck—and emeralds too—so it’s a good match,” she says). Her extraordinary elephant-shaped pendant has a raised trunk—a beloved symbol of good fortune and prosperity. Sculpted from a mix of differentshaped emeralds, the pachyderm dangles from a handcrafted emerald and diamond chain, and is also transformable to a brooch.
All the jewels in the suite burst with joie de vivre, exuding a splendid Great Gatsby, Roaring Twenties vibe. A four-strand necklace can be worn in multiple ways, while another spectacular necklace is juxtaposed with pink sapphires; a statement cuff comes woven with pearls. The debut in Paris was particularly poignant: the pieces were presented on Scheufele’s own haute couture line, now in its second year and going from strength to strength.
To round out the Insofu journey, Chopard is also partnering with the UK charity Elephant Family, where proceeds of sales of the new collection will go to supporting the foundation’s conservation efforts. That mission is focused mainly on the Asian elephant, 60 percent of which are living in India. “It’s full circle knowing that people in India have been part of this project in creating such beautiful pieces—and which will ultimately go back to helping Indian communities and wildlife,” says Alejandra de la Puente, head of philanthropy and relationships at Elephant Family.
A beautiful journey indeed—and we can’t wait for the next one.
