When Chopard declared itself as a Maison with a 100% ethical gold status in July 2018, it led the eco-charge on an industry scale and threw the spotlight on beauty with heart. These designs, as Natalia Vodianova elaborates on below, promise sophistication and sustainability in equal measure for the ultimate luxury.
You’ve been a long friend of the Maison; since 2018 in fact, when you first partnered with Chopard for your Happy Hearts Foundation.
Yeah, but it feels much longer than that because we—Chopard, Caroline [Scheufele] and I—have become such great friends. And, actually, our partnership extends beyond the Happy Hearts collection. Chopard has supported many of my events [by donating] auction items, and even hosting events that have resulted in significant fundraising efforts for the Naked Heart Foundation. Chopard has been the most generous and loyal friend and I’m extremely grateful.
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What do you appreciate most about Chopard?
Caroline is always surrounded by very different friends from all over the world because her business is her life, and she chooses to run her business by building strong relationships [based on] trust, generosity and mutual support. Honestly, when someone is so genuine in the way they run their business, it’s really, really inspiring. It also makes you want to do so much more for Chopard and I think that’s the spirit of it, really. Everybody loves Caroline; everybody loves Chopard; and she has been really creative, but there’s also so much more behind it—which is even more important nowadays because we live in a time with countless hardships for the world, you know? It’s always very personal with her.
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What do you look for when picking jewellery for yourself?
Well, I do love stones but the workmanship and craftsmanship also matters a lot to me. Sometimes, it’s sad to see how beautiful stones can be set in not the most flattering of ways. I remember Caroline showing me the work that they do in the Chopard Ateliers when I visited and I saw jewellery that looks like it’s really heavy but it weighs almost nothing. It’s something that I really appreciate and admire because I can only imagine how many hours of work go into making it.
How does jewellery play into your personal style?
It depends. Sometimes I have a piece of jewellery that I love and I’ll wear it for a week straight because I’m a mother and I work really hard; and I don’t have much time. So sometimes I dress around the jewellery, rather than the other way around. But I also like layering small jewellery and have some kind of big piece [included]—either earrings or a necklace. Overloading yourself with jewellery, I think, is not a good idea.
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Founded in December 2004 by Natalia Vodianova, Naked Heart Foundation is a charity focused on helping children with intellectual, physical and sensory disabilities. Chopard has been a long-time supporter of Naked Heart Foundation and other non-profit organisations. A portion of its proceeds from the Happy Hearts jewellery collection goes towards charitable causes that are important to the Maison.