Valued at BRL 16.5 million and seized by the Federal Revenue Service in October 2021, the jewels that would be a gift from the Saudi Arabian government to Michelle Bolsonaro carry the sophisticated signature of the Swiss brand Chopard. Founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard, it is seen as one of the leading luxury brands on the planet and, at first, produced exclusively chronographs and pocket watches.
Watchmaking remains one of Chopard’s strengths, and sporting one of its pieces on your wrist can cost upwards of $50,000 (about R$300,000). It was only from the 1970s onwards that the company actually started to invest in the manufacture of jewelry, with emphasis on diamond pieces.
It can be said that the cat leap happened in 1998, when it closed a sponsorship agreement with the Cannes Film Festival. It then began producing the Palme d’Or for the charming film awards annually, in addition to promoting the brand throughout the entire event by promoting parties, meetings and dinners. Not to mention the red carpet, a fashion show with a certain air of spontaneity, just the right amount to show off her latest creations to a select audience.
The brand tends to establish partnerships clearly with an eye on renewing its customer base. He wants to be a symbol of prestige and status also for millennials and generation Z and, for that, he hired Rihanna, who in 2017 signed a capsule collection, launched worldwide in Cannes — where else?.
Two years earlier, it surprised the most purists by teaming up with Disney to launch on the market (only on the shelves of Harrod’s, in London, to maintain an air of exclusivity) a jewelry collection with pieces inspired by princesses and famous characters such as Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, Belle, Mulan and Pocahontas.
Julia Roberts, not so young but a symbol of timeless good taste, is one of its poster girls, as well as many of the stars competing for the Oscar (Marion Cotillard in 2008, and Julianne Moore, in 2015, took home the statuette of best actress with designer jewelry).
Chopard is present in virtually all of South America: Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia, but does not have stores in Brazil. Around here, it even had a corner inside the late Daslu, in the early 2000s, but it didn’t go beyond that. Nowadays, to acquire one of its pieces, only online or at an exclusive reseller.
This does not diminish the interest of the company’s directors in the consumption power of Brazilians. So much so that the brand is represented annually at the Cannes Festival by national celebrities who are true visibility and audience cannons on the networks. From 2019 to 2022, Marina Ruy Barbosa (41.6 million followers on Instagram) played the role of Chopard “ambassador” at the French film festival.
A year earlier, Bruna Marquezine (43.9 million followers) had been in the news when she appeared for the flashes with a necklace with 1,050 precious stones and 372 carats, adorned with a 69-carat solitary tanzanite dangling over the neckline. The jewel was valued at more than R$ 3 million. A bargain compared to Dona Michelle’s kit.
Source: Folha
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
