From Basel! Chopard celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Happy Sport watch

In creating the Happy Sport, Chopard invented far more than a watch, also introducing a unique allure, a flash of brilliance, an inimitable attitude. Its only rule? Freedom. Since 1993, the Happy Sports watch has freely combined various genres: steel and diamonds, the eternal and the ephemeral. A true avant-garde visionary, Caroline Scheufele dreamed up an incredibly beautiful watch, which breaks the rules of horology. Sophisticated, yet sporty. Joyful, independent, mischievous and thoroughly modern, it plays with aesthetic codes while keeping in touch with its essential femininity. Accompanying a world of changing cycles, evolving styles and inner revolutions, Happy Sport opens up infinite horizons for perpetual transformations, beating to the tune of feminine emancipation that remains very much on the move. Because life is far too precious to be fettered, Happy Sport encapsulates the pulsating rhythms of an uncompromising life.

“Diamonds are happier when they are free!”

It all began with a bold move. “Diamonds are happier when they are free!” exclaimed Karin Scheufele – who at that time had been heading the family Maison alongside her husband since 1963 – when she first set eyes on the outlines of what would become the Happy Diamonds concept. This statement became the name of the collection. Rather than static diamonds caged in by a setting, however precious, it was decided to take an entirely different route.  In 1976, with society changing faster than ever, Chopard’s brilliant idea was to leave diamonds entirely free between two sapphires, thus enabling them to move without restraint, and through this very movement to restore their inherent sparkle. Happy Diamonds proved an instant source of fascination, saluted by the media and in strong public demand. They became a bestseller.

Birth of an icon

In 1993, Caroline Scheufele – daughter of Karl and Karin Scheufele and now Co-President and Artistic Director of Chopard – in turn captured the spirit of the times by imagining a sports watch based on an original and improbable association. In an era when it was considered unthinkable to combine the precious nature of diamonds with a metal as sporty as steel, Caroline Scheufele took the innovative approach of combining them for the first time in the history of jewellery-making. After diamonds had been released from their setting, Caroline Scheufele sought to desacralise them, while losing nothing of their magic nor their fascination. They were thus no longer reserved for formal occasions, instead becoming firmly entrenched in fast-paced modern life. Whether paired with jeans, trainers, stilettos or in the office, the Happy Sport accompanies women in pursuing their dreams, throughout the many facets of their lives. A talisman from which they cannot bear to be parted…

Infinite creativity

Guided by Caroline Scheufele’s creative vision, the Happy Sport has been constantly reinvented, reflecting successive styles and evolutions in society, of which it remains a radiant symbol. In 25 years of existence, Happy Sport watches have appeared in more than a thousand versions. A wealth of models echoing the abundant creativity cultivated by Chopard, the most prolific of contemporary watchmaker-jewellers, and embodying countless ways of expressing its incredibly diverse range of skills. The Happy Sport has thus become the first women’s collectible watch: reinvented with each new season in ever more ingenious interpretations, it continues to win feminine hearts as it always has, loyal to its bold, free-spirited nature. A spirit embodied in multiple shapes and variations: round, square, oval, set with diamonds as well as rubies, sapphires or emeralds – lucky charms of all kinds that further accentuate its “talisman” spirit. And, of course, an inexhaustible palette of colours.  Nature has always been a powerful source of inspiration for Caroline Scheufele and the timely variations of the Happy Sport reflect the magic of the maritime world and the skies above, with Happy Fish, Happy Ocean and Happy Snowflakes all becoming iconic models. In 2016, Chopard, offered Happy Sport and those who wear it even greater freedom with a strap that every woman can change as she wishes, in sync with her moods or outfits. Whatever the version, Happy Sport watches have made their mark on the watchmaking world by overturning our traditional relationship with time: they are no longer worn to merely tell the time, but instead to enjoy the marvellous sight of moving diamonds and their merry dance.

For its 25^th anniversary, Happy Sport adopts the best of two worlds

To celebrate its 25^th anniversary, the collection enriched the repertoire of its stylistic versatility with the strength of a self-winding movement: the 09.01 C calibre specially developed for 30 mm feminine cases by Chopard Manufacture. Equipped with this movement, new interpretations are being introduced in 2018 with the Happy Sport Manufacture, featuring a dial combining the tender charm of textured mother-of-pearl with dainty pastel shades; as well as the Happy Sport Oval Automatic which gives new life to the oval design of the Happy Sport in a revamped and incredibly contemporary version. This creation bears witness to Chopard’s ever more seamless integration of its two centres of excellence – the result of a unique combination of the myriad skills and expertise contributing to the grandeur of watchmaking and jewellery.

The combined talents of artisans at the peak of their craft thus give rise to fresh Happy Sport interpretations, notably featuring the ancestral art of Urushi lacquer for the dials and Fleurisanne engraving for the movements.