Silver Screen Serenade

What makes a star shine on the red carpet? After 25 years, Chopard still knows the answer

- Pakkee Tan

As Caroline Scheufele puts it, her involvement with the Cannes Film Festival was a serendipitous stroke of luck, driven by the desire to put beauty out into the world.

The story goes that in 1997, Scheufele visited the office of Pierre Viot, then the Cannes Film Festival's director, and asked him if she could redesign the "unglamorous" Palme d'Or trophy. "Pierre said, 'Of course, young lady!' My family thought I was mad to take on such a challenge," the artistic director and co-president of Swiss jeweller Chopard told Tatler Singapore in 2020.

The refined result-a three-dimensional palm frond (a symbol of both the city of Cannes and the festival) in gold (Fairmined-certified, of course) set on a rock crystal cut like a diamond (showcasing the jeweller's craftsmanship and prowess) was presented at the festival's closing ceremony in 1998 and has since cemented its place in cinematic history as a coveted honour.

"The Cannes Film Festival and Chopard have been working hand in hand for 25 years with a shared passion for the great stories that thrill fans of the seventh art," Scheufele told guests at the Chopard Loves Cinema dinner on May 25 this year. "It is a beautiful, long-lived love story and I'm proud to witness it."