The Chopard Insofu Emerald

Chopard presents a wonder of nature

A gem of exceptional size and purity: a 6,225-carat rough emerald

A landmark stone, an extraordinary discovery lighting up the history of jewellery. The culmination of a quest and a promise of marvels to come. Named Chopard Insofu (‘insofu’ meaning elephant in Bemba, the language of the people living in  the region of origin of the stone), this exceptional and rare stone discovered in the Kagem mine in Zambia is one of the most important ever found in terms of both weight (6,225 carats) and quality. Experts detected the enormous potential of this gift of the Earth, still in its rough state and clearly brimming with possibilities: remarkable jewels will be carved from this emerald of extremely rare purity and quality. A fabulous treasure which – in the hands of the finest stone-cutters – will give rise to a collection of unique and singular gems, the beginnings of a forthcoming Haute Joaillerie collection.

From La Vie en Rose to the Garden of Kalahari, Chopard’s jewellery history has always been punctuated by exceptional stones. This fascination for the magnetism and sovereign beauty of stones has informed the choices and career path of Caroline Scheufele. As Co-President and Artistic Director of Chopard, she has taken the development of Haute Joaillerie to an unprecedented level of excellence – a trajectory that she pursues in symbiosis with her deep-felt convictions regarding responsible and sustainable luxury. The Chopard workshops thus give birth to jewellery creations exuding the incomparable radiance of a resolutely ethical approach. They sparkle with gems of uncommon beauty featuring a clearly traceable history – from their place of origin to the way in which they have been cut and designed in order to light up a more just and responsible world.

The Chopard Insofu Emerald, a stone of infinite possibilities

It is a quest for the most beautiful fruits of the Earth formed by the miraculous conjunction of space and time. Zambia is a land renowned for the incredible fertility of its geological strata. It is estimated that the precious stones to come were already forming their nourishing cocoon 500 million years ago and leading gemstone mining company Gemfields has learned all the secrets of this biotope through respectful exploration. It is here, in the open-pit mine in Kagem, at the heart of a rich and well-preserved biotope, that an emerald of rare size and purity was found in 2010: 6,225 carats – a weight that instantly endowed the Chopard Insofu Emerald with legendary, epoch-making status. The Kagem mine is run by Gemfields, a leader in emerald extraction. Gemfields has implemented in Zambia respectful exploration and responsible mining practices.

Insofu is a name showing respect for this emerald’s land of origin, since it means “elephant” in the Bemba language because of its shape evoking the animal’s trunk. Its impressive size arouses respect and admiration, just like the venerable pachyderm itself.

Like all treasures, Chopard Insofu does not disclose all its secrets at once. That is also of course what makes it so beautiful and holds particularly true in the case of emeralds: in their raw state, no one can really foresee or make any definite pronouncements on their exact nature. Unlike a diamond, which can be analysed with precision to determine how the final stones will look, emerald is a dark stone that will only reveal its full potential during the cutting process. It is also the most fragile gem of all: a wrongly positioned impact can shatter the stone into a multitude of irrecoverable fragments. In a noble gesture from a true gem-lover, Caroline Scheufele has chosen to accept the challenge of this fragile and splendid beauty. This traceability enables Caroline Scheufele to accompany each stage of the gemstone’s development, right the way through to the final piece of jewellery. Starting with the rough gemstone that she has identified and sourced, she will first follow the cutting process as closely as possible, ensuring that she already has an intimate knowledge of the collection of different gems, from which she will subsequently draw inspiration to design the Haute Joaillerie collection. She says: “It is profoundly moving to be confronted with the beauty and mystery of such a treasure, collected from the depths of the Earth, formed millions of years ago, and which has come to us at last to be enhanced by the hand of artisans who will reveal the full extent of its beauty while transcribing the emotions it arouses”. These intensely personal ties that she weaves throughout the successive transformations enable her to develop a uniquely sensitive lapidary’s connection with the precious stones that will compose her collections, and thus to engage in a creative process with incomparable narrative power.  Caroline Scheufele continues “Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by precious stones and lucky enough to work with some of the most beautiful in the world. For reasons that escape any form of rationale, some of them blow you away immediately, but the feeling that overcame me with the Insofu Emerald surpassed any emotion I have ever known. From the moment I saw it, I knew that it would be a hugely important stone for Chopard and I am immensely excited to begin this adventure today.”

While precious stones preciously safeguard the mysteries of their inclusions that will only be revealed at the time of cutting, specialists are nonetheless capable of assessing the overall quality of a rough emerald and thus predicting the promises it harbours. Sean Gilbertson, director of Gemfields, detected exceptional potential in this particular stone: “Insofu, like the mighty elephant after which it is named, commands a sense of wonder. The size and quality of the crystal make it a rare find indeed and we are highly excited to see what secrets the gem reveals. We salute DiaColor and Chopard on their prescience in recognising the captivating enchantment of delivering a dedicated capsule collection of jewellery crafted from a single emerald crystal, and one that set an historic milestone for traceability back to the mine-of-origin, the holy grail for consumers wanting supreme comfort in the origin of their coloured gemstones.” Chopard Insofu is also the first emerald of such size and purity to meet traceability requirements.

Traceability, a responsible vision of each production stage

In the fast-paced world we live in, it is sometimes difficult to establish a link between the glamour and beauty of a piece of Haute Joaillerie and its place of origin. Yet gemstones embody the memory of the Earth. They bear witness to an activity far older than any form of human life and precisely because they express a form of permanence, they engage our responsibility towards the world of tomorrow. Knowing where they come from and knowing that the conditions under which they are mined are respectful of the environment from which they originate – as well as of the communities involved throughout the supply chain – is an inseparable part of the pride we take in wearing a precious stone.

Caroline Scheufele has led Chopard to be a pioneer in terms of sustainability within the field of Haute Joaillerie. She rapidly became aware of her responsibility to change practices and evolve the norms implicit in the luxury industry. This involved replacing a form of opacity with transparency and awareness as the question of respectful sourcing and traceability of raw materials does indeed lie at the heart of ethical issues.

After becoming a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, Chopard launched its Journey to Sustainable Luxury in 2013. A pioneer in the use of Fairmined-certified gold, the Maison presented the Green Carpet Collection, an Haute Joaillerie capsule crafted only from responsibly mined materials. It embodies the assurance that the entire jewellery production chain remains under control, from gold and gemstone mines to red carpet. Over the years, the collection has welcomed numerous gold creations set with responsibly mined diamonds, opals and Paraiba tourmalines. In 2016, Chopard also integrated responsible emeralds into its collection through a partnership with Gemfields. Caroline Scheufele has worked tirelessly to put in place the elements enabling this strategic vision to be well established today at all levels of the Maison, including within its creative teams. As she explains: “By purchasing a raw stone, we are able to follow its entire journey through to final creation. Chopard will cut the raw emerald and collect all the cut gems emerging from it, which our ateliers will use for our jewellery creations. We ensure a complete chain of traceability which is rare for stones of such quality.” This quest for transparency – aimed at ensuring conscious and controlled sourcing from suppliers demonstrating responsible practices at a social, environmental and economic level – embodies the enduring nobility of a Journey driven by heart-felt conviction and elegance.

Chopard and exceptional precious stones, a timeless love story

The premise of all creation is wonderment – that which is inherent in a vision of life to come. When Caroline Scheufele observes precious stones, the brightest sparkle is in her own eyes. Of all gemstones, emeralds remain the ultimate symbol of femininity: the depth and vibratory frequency emitted by the purest colours cast a unique spell. An intuition, undeniable magnetism, a call – before any form of scientific analysis, the bond that is forged at first sight with a precious stone remains purely instinctive. The Chopard Insofu Emerald exudes this particular aura. Its purity is a promise, yet the quality of its inclusions is what makes it extraordinarily alive. The feeling of the jewellery to come, as well as a sense of the precious hours that will be lit up by their flamboyant sparkle, is a real dance that begins in Caroline Scheufele’s mind when gazing at an exceptional stone.

Chopard’s Co-President and Artistic Director has shown a genuine fascination for stones throughout her Haute Joaillerie collections, including La Vie en Rose, and the Garden of Kalahari – a complete jewellery set designed from an exceptionally pure rough 342-carat diamond. They are at the heart of her inspiration and creative process – which she sees, above all, as a way of highlighting the intrinsic beauty of each stone. Colours, shapes and forms of resonance: a precious stone guides the jewellery symphony orchestrated around it. An extraordinary garden where poetry, light and brilliance are the only rules of the game. In its simplest form or transfigured, the stone represents the origin of a jewellery creation and the place where it is invented.

Unanimously recognised and celebrated for the outstanding expertise of its ateliers as well as its boundless creativity, Chopard Haute Joaillerie is more than ever dedicated to sourcing exceptional stones in order to celebrate their enduring beauty. This strategic decision signals its entry into an age of maturity and embeds its commitment to sustainable luxury in a determination to maintain absolute creative consistency. By acquiring an exceptional stone discovered in a responsibly run mine, then supervising each stage of its transformation right up to the final Haute Joaillerie creations that are extracted and sculpted from it, Chopard is rendering the entire jewellery process both transparent and traceable, thereby adopting a stance that is rare indeed the luxury scene. At the heart of its Journey towards Sustainable Luxury, Chopard enshrines an awareness that no jewellery triumph can be celebrated without unfailing respect for the nobility of its original materials, as well as the integrity of their path through each stage of their transformation