Chopard redesigns the Palme d’Or for the 75th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival – The Hollywood Reporter

The Cannes Film Festival receives a special gift from Chopard to celebrate its 75th edition: a redesigned Palme d’Or.

The Swiss luxury jeweler – a longtime supporter who toasts his own landmark 25th anniversary partnership with the festival – has prepared a personalized and ethical Palme d’Or that features double-set diamond leaves on a base of pink quartz. The prize, awarded during the closing ceremony, is the highest distinction awarded at Cannes since it rewards the best image selected by the jury.

Chopard’s Artistic Director and Co-President, Caroline Scheufele, chose to revisit the Palme d’Or designs to mark the occasion and, in doing so, sprinkled two sheets of diamonds from suppliers certified by the Responsible Jewelery Council. One leaf is adorned with 75 diamonds and the other with 25, to respectively honor the anniversaries of the party and of Chopard’s involvement in the celebration of cinema.

The rose quartz base, replacing a traditional rock crystal cushion, is significant in that, according to Greek mythology, the powdery pink, delicately veined gemstone was created by Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love . According to Chopard, rose quartz was selected because it symbolizes “the unconditional love that binds the festival to cinema”. Thus, the Cannes theme of the house this year is “Chopard loves cinema”.

In announcing the newly designed Palme d’Or, Chopard released some fast facts about the process, including the number of tiny leaves affixed to the Palme d’Or (19), the number of artisans in the Haute Jaoillerie workshop of Chopard devoted to the manufacture of the piece (6), the hours spent (70) and the weight of the Fairmined certified 18-carat ethical gold used in its manufacture (118 grams).

The news comes after a historic year in 2021 when French filmmaker Julia Ducournau won the top prize for Titanium, marking the first time it has been awarded to a female director since Chopard established the award as part of its 25-year partnership. The other trophies awarded during the closing evening, including the best actress, the best actor, the Grand Prize, the best director, the screenplay prize, the jury prize, the Palme d’or for short films and the Camera d gold, all made in the Haute Joaillerie workshops of Chopard in Geneva.