There are gems that make history. One of these is the enormous emerald called Insofu, which in the language of Zambia, where it was mined, means elephant. It is no coincidence, therefore, that with Insofu Chopard first created a pendant that can be transformed into a brooch in the shape of an elephant, surrounded by small diamonds, with 50 emeralds of various cuts and sizes. The animal is, however, only one of the 15 pieces obtained from the cut of the rough emerald, which weighed 6,225 carats, or over 1.2 kilograms: five pairs of earrings, four necklaces, three rings, a bracelet and a jewelry watch.
The emerald was purchased by the Swiss Maison in 2022. It took almost three years to conceive the collection and a year to cut such a large (ma delicta) stone with the help of Indian experts. The result is the high jewelry collection, which, unsurprisingly, is called Insofu. The initial stone was then transformed into jewelry stones, 850 carats of emeralds in all. The operation was led by Chopard Co-President and Artistic Director Caroline Scheufele.
There is a story behind every stone, and my role is to listen to and honor the natural magic they bring with them as treasures of the earth. With the Insofu Collection, it was about respecting this intrinsic beauty.
Caroline Scheufele
Chopard was among the first Maisons to emphasize the importance of using sustainably sourced gold and gemstones. And the Insofu collection demonstrates this with its partnership with Elephant Family, a wildlife conservation charity founded by Mark Shand in 2002.
