As the Cannes Film Festival gets underway for another year, so films from all over the world compete to win the acclaimed Palme d’Or, a trophy that has been created by the festival’s longstanding partner, Chopard, since 1998.
It was during a 1997 meeting between Pierre Viot, then president of the Cannes festival, and co-president and artistic director of Chopard, Caroline Scheufele, when the subject arose. ‘I was having a good look at the Palme d’Or displayed in his office and he invited me to redesign it,’ explains Scheufele. ‘What a fantastic challenge and one that I took up with great enthusiasm.’
She took inspiration from both the palm trees lining Cannes’ Promenade de la Croisette, and the town’s coat-of-arms for the design, which features 19 leaves crafted from 118 grams of Fairmined-certified ethical 18ct yellow gold. The parallels with high jewellery are clear: ‘Every year for the past 23 years, since Chopard became the Palme’s official purveyor, five of our Chopard expert artisans devote 40 hours to handcrafting the festival’s most coveted treasure in our Geneva workshop,’ says Scheufele. ‘The Palme d’Or is definitely treated as a high jewellery piece, both in its design and its craftsmanship.’
The rock crystal on which the leaves rest, shaped like a classic emerald-cut diamond in another nod to the high jewellery world, came with its own set of challenges. ‘To design the Palme d’Or, we had to consider its weight. Rock crystal and gold are heavy raw materials; we needed to define a certain limit so people can lift it easily. We managed to find the perfect weight – approximately 1.35kg,’ she adds. As well as creating the trophy for best film, Chopard designs the award for the other winners at the ceremony, who take home a piece in rock crystal, engraved with a palm.
INFORMATION
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designCreativity leaps the screen at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s record-flying roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
The modernist home of musician Imogen Holst gets Grade II listingThe daughter of the composer Gustav Holst lived here from 1964 until her death, during which time the home served a locus for her own composition work, which included assisting Benjamin Britten
-
This fun and free-spirited photography exhibition offers a chromatic view on the world‘Chromotherapia’ at Villa Medici in Rome, explores how we view colour as a way of therapy, and how it has shaped photography over the last century (until 9 June 2025)
-
Art takes London: Tiffany & Co, Damien Hirst and artists take over Selfridges' windowsFour British contemporary artists celebrate Tiffany & Co's pioneering history with a series of storied window displays
-
Late summer jewels: what to wear at Golden HourLate summer signals a jewellery style-shift. These independent designers have got it covered
-
All smiles: How a grillz jewellery making class in London became an international hitWhat started as a passion project quickly exploded in popularity. We get the story behind the grillz-making workshop at Cockpit London
-
Emerging jewellery designers to get to knowThese independent, new and emerging jewellery designers and brands from New York to Paris are firmly on our radar
-
Jewellery designers share their most precious personal piecesA host of jewellers give us a peek at the jewellery which brings them joy and solace
-
Playing it cool: pearls are having a momentWe've been deep-diving into boutiques around the world to find the very best calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form. It seems jewellers have been busy rethinking pearls, with contemporary (and often affordable) results
-
Eternity rings for the modern coupleEternity rings, whether sleekly minimalist or sprinkled in diamonds, can be a chic and contemporary love token
-
Hair jewellery to covet and collectToday’s hair jewellery is both practical and pretty. We're pinning our hopes on these simple and elegant accessories
