In less than 30 years, it has become a watchmaking benchmark and established itself as an icon thanks to its audacious design. The Happy Sport watch and its legendary dancing diamonds are reinvented in two jewellery versions, showcasing diamonds by means of a prong setting. This new technical feat gives the diamonds a lighter and even more luminous effect. Chopard Happy Sport Joaillerie watches are available in ethical white or rose gold. And of course, they feature a movement with automatic winding entirely made in-house by Chopard, the 96.17-C calibre, which guarantees mechanical excellence worthy of this proud icon.
Lights!
Happy Sport arrays itself in light. While Chopard with its dancing diamonds managed to free these gems by having them whirl freely between two sapphire crystals, the artisans of the Maison have now succeeded in exposing them even more fully to light by means of the particularly airy prong setting. Instead of the traditional gold capsule with a spinning-top like base, which holds the dancing diamonds and enables them to turn without tipping over, the Chopard choreographers have been able to use a prong setting that holds the stones in place with only five prongs on the sides. Light thus penetrates even further into these resolutely happy diamonds, whose radiance is amplified by exposing a greater number of facets. The same gemsetting procedure is also used on the bezel and the hour-markers of the timepiece, creating a rich and graceful result.
The 36 mm case of these new jewellery versions of the Happy Sport, also entirely paved with brilliant-cut diamonds, is in 18-carat gold of ethical origin, with a first white gold version ensuring delightful harmony with the sparkle of the diamonds, and a second in rose gold creating stronger contrasts.
Beneath the two sapphire crystals staging the dancing diamonds – of which there are seven on these two Happy Sport Joaillerie models – the textured mother-of-pearl dial has been meticulously engraved with a guilloché motif, a token of exquisite craftsmanship testifying to the attention Chopard devotes to detail.
Mechanical excellence
At the heart of Happy Sport Joaillerie, Chopard has chosen to fit its ultra-thin 96.17-C mechanical movement with automatic winding, based on the very first calibre created by Chopard Manufacture. Entirely developed in the workshops of the Maison, where its 167 components are assembled, it provides a comfortable 65-hour power reserve. All of which goes to show how the Maison renowned for its expertise in jewellery watches demonstrates equal mastery in dealing with both the aesthetic and technical aspects of its timepieces.
Necklace 818230-1001; Timepiece 274809-1001
Photographer: Michèle Bloch-Stuckens
Make-up: Vichika Yorn / Hair: Caroline Bufalini / Styling: Emilie Elbode
Happy Sport, a horological icon
Happy Sport timepieces have found their place in the hall of fame of great watchmaking classics within less than three decades thanks to the audacity of Caroline Scheufele, now Co-President and Artistic Director of Chopard. In 1993, driven by her abundant creativity and the spirit of the times, she imagined the first ladies’ watch combining steel and dancing diamonds. A sporty-chic timepiece fully embodying its era and reflecting every move of the women who wear it.
Earrings 848230-9001; Necklace 818230-9001; Rings @828230-9010 and @828230-1010; Timepiece 274809-5001
Photographer: Michèle Bloch-Stuckens / Make-up: Vichika Yorn / Hair: Caroline Bufalini
Styling: Emilie Elbode
Chopard Happy Spirit – Mesmerizingly charming talismans
Life naturally harbours the joy of perpetual motion, as gracefully expressed through the subtle movement of a talisman jewel: the Happy Spirit collection symbolises the cardinal values permeating the Maison Chopard. A jewellery collection imbued with multiple artistic sources, which it vividly embodies through its light effects and pure lines. Exuding the lightness of time and punctuated by the timeless beauty of the circle and dancing diamonds, Happy Spirit is available in a complete range of necklaces, pendants, rings, earrings and bangles in 18-carat gold and diamonds. All carry within them the joyful radiance of endless celebration.
Earrings 838230-1001; Necklace 818230-1001; Ring @828230-1010; Bangle bracelet 858230-1001
Photographer: Michèle Bloch-Stuckens
Make-up: Vichika Yorn / Hair: Caroline Bufalini / Styling: Emilie Elbode
Childhood summed up in one smooth move: that of a pebble sent skimming across the water, where aquatic circles echo a playful impulse. A metaphor and a stylish reflection of this vibrant momentum, Happy Spirit captures the spirit of a mineral heart – that of a diamond – surrounded and further enhanced by concentric circles. At the dawn of the new century, Chopard’s iconic dancing diamonds gave birth to Happy Spirit, a collection of jewellery endowed with mesmerising charm, talismans for the woman who wears them and a living tableau for those who observe them in action. Happy Spirit jewellery is now reinvented through a new design that is sleeker, lighter and more luminous than ever.
Pendant 798233-9001; Earrings 838230-9001
Photographer: Benoit Peverelli
Styling: Jonathan Huguet
The ageless femininity of the circle
The enduring symbolism of the circle, mingling ethnological and cultural elements, stems from its aesthetic perfection exercising an undeniable fascination. Through a wonderful game of chance and kinetic energy, dancing diamonds perform a mesmerising choreography staging multiplied circles, the perennial and multicultural symbol of femininity, fertility and perpetual rebirth. Their incessant movement tells the story of a whirl of a joyful life in motion.
Earrings 838230-1001; Pendant 798231-1001; Bangle bracelet 858230-1001; Ring @828230-1010
Photographer: Michèle Bloch-Stuckens
Make-up: Vichika Yorn / Hair: Caroline Bufalini / Styling: Emilie Elbode
Happy Spirit comes as a collection of necklaces and pendants of different sizes, equally capable of enhancing a cashmere sweater or a full-length evening gown. Depending on their size, one to three dancing diamonds rotate, protected by several nested circles. The collection also features ear studs and a pair of sleeper earrings as well as rings and bangles. Each model is made of 18-carat ethical gold – to which the Maison has been officially committed since July 2018 – available in two versions: diamond-set white gold or two-tone polished rose and white gold.
Pendants 798232-1001 and 798233-1001
Photographer: Michèle Bloch-Stuckens
Make-up: Vichika Yorn / Hair: Caroline Bufalini / Styling: Emilie Elbode
When jewellery mirrors art
The eminently feminine roundness of the circle naturally conjures up a range of artistic connotations. It naturally brings to mind Calder’s amazing mobiles, which perform an enchanting ballet at the slightest breath of wind. The figure of the circle and its interlocking elements also evoke sculptural references dear to the Russian avant-garde, as well as to the surrealist movement which, through the work of André Breton, celebrated the concept of objective chance. The free and apparently random variations of the circles gracing Happy Spirit jewellery stage a perpetually renewed show that vividly illustrates this formal interpretation: a single movement or impulse enables them to redraw the map of possibilities and reshuffle the cards of desire.
Pendants 798232-1001 and 798233-1001; Ring @828230-1010
Photographer: Michèle Bloch-Stuckens
Make-up: Vichika Yorn / Hair: Caroline Bufalini / Styling: Emilie Elbode
Chopard Happy Technical Specifications
Chopard Happy Sport Joaillerie Technical Specifications and Price
Ref. 274809-1001 – in 18-carat white gold, CHF 88,300
Ref. 274809-5001 – in 18-carat rose gold, CHF 88,300
Case
- 18-carat white or rose gold
- Total diameter: 36.00 mm
- Thickness: 12.10 mm
- Water resistance: 30 m
- 18-carat white or rose gold crown
- set with a diamond: 6.00 mm
- 18-carat white or rose gold bezel and cabochons
- set with diamonds
- Seven prong-set dancing diamonds
- Glare-proofed sapphire crystal
- Exhibition case-back
Movement:
- Mechanical with automatic winding: Chopard 96.17-C
- Number of components: 167
- Diameter: 27.40 mm
- Thickness: 3.30 mm
- Number of jewels: 29
- Frequency: 28,800 vph (4Hz)
- Power reserve: 65 hours
- Bridges adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif
Dial and hands:
- Seven dancing diamonds
- Textured mother-of-pearl dial with guilloché centre
- Rhodium-plated hours and minutes hands
- Diamond-set hour-markers
Functions and displays:
- Central display of the hours and minutes
Strap and buckle:
- Alligator leather strap
- 18-carat white or rose gold pin buckle set with diamonds
Chopard Happy Spirits Technical Details
Happy Spirit jewels in 18-carat white ethical gold set with diamonds and featuring dancing diamonds.
- Ring – Ref. 828230-1010
- Bangle bracelet – Ref. 858230-1001
- Pendants – Ref. 798231-1001 – Ref. 798232-1001 – Ref. 798233-1001
- Necklace – Ref. 818230-1001
- Earrings – Ref. 838230-1001 – Ref. 848230-1001
Happy Spirit jewels in 18-carat rose and white ethical gold featuring dancing diamonds.
- Ring – Ref. 828230-9010
- Bangle bracelet – Ref. 858230-9001
- Pendants – Ref. 798231-9001 – Ref. 798231-9003 (set with diamonds) – Ref. 798232-9001 – Ref. 798233-9001
- Necklace – Ref. 818230-9001
- Earrings – Ref. 838230-9001 – Ref. 848230-9001
