Essential Macau Dec | Precious garden


By: Cátia Matos

Three-hundred and forty-two carats of extraordinary diamond, of absolute purity and the perfect colour: “This is a truly exceptional stone, but we did not wish to treat it as a mere trophy, but instead to prepare it for a destiny worthy of its stature,” explains Caroline Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, about the rare stone discovered around two years ago in the Karowe mine in Botswana – in the same place as the second-biggest diamond in the world, the Lesedi La Rona, with 1109 carats. Christened The Queen of Kalahari (a symbolic reference to the Kalahari desert, where the Karowe mine is located) and comprising 23 diamonds – five of which weigh more than 20 carats –, this stone inspired the most precious fine jewellery collection from the French maison. “Faced with this rough diamond, we had a number of potential options. I wanted to explore every possibility and to represent all diamond cuts,” says Caroline Scheufele. And so, six pieces that reflect the creative wealth and savoir-faire of the Chopard workshops were born.

The highlight of this collection is the Garden of Kalahari necklace, with several variations: a simple choker worn by itself; adorned with a flower; or adorned with a flower and another three pendants, the largest diamonds of the collection – a 50-carat round brilliant, a 26-carat heart shape, and a 25-carat pear. Two of these pendants (the heart-shaped and the pear-shaped diamonds) can also be worn with the earrings that are also part of this collection.

The Garden of Kalahari also features a bracelet comprising two emerald-cut diamonds, two rings (one of which has a 20-carat cushion-cut diamond) and a watch.