Throwback Thursday: Chopard Happy Sport’s Iconic Dance of Diamonds

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Chopard’s Happy Sport timepiece, but the Happy Diamonds concept itself has an earlier point of origin. It was created for jewelry in the 1970s by Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s co-president and creative director, and stands as both a definitive interpretation of the ladies’ watch and as an early indication of Scheufele’s ongoing genius as a designer.

Why are the diamonds “happy?” Because they are free to move about, unlike other diamonds, which are trapped inside prongs, bezels and various other metal restraints. Seven diamonds are bezel-set and cased between two transparent sapphire crystals, within which they move freely. Over the years, the Happy Diamond aesthetic has been interpreted in a variety of ways, including Happy Beach, La Vie en Rose and Happy Spirit. This year, the Happy Sport Medium Automatic combines the Happy Diamond aesthetic with mechanical watchmaking. The original Happy Sport watch was created in 1993. The Happy Sport Square followed in 1998.