For its 150th year, Chopard created a 150-piece collection of animal-shaped jewels and pledged a three-year partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. So it seemed natural to mark the occasion with an event punctuated by an abundance of forest foliage. Hosted by the Swiss watchmaker and jeweler's co-president and artistic director, Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, the anniversary and launch party gathered 120 loyal customers and a handful of celebrities for an intimate dinner on Thursday night at the Frick Collection.
Developed by Gruosi-Scheufele, the line of gems includes monkey-shaped pendants, bracelets with diamonds and sapphires placed to resemble swimming sardines, and rings fashioned after bear cubs, frogs, and turtles. Reflective of the habitats of these creatures, event producer Ron Wendt Design fabricated vitrines and tabletop centerpieces using plants and flowers found in a range of different geographic regions. Natural ferns, moss, ivy, water lilies, lady slipper orchids, and succulents from the rainforests decorated the inside of displays. For the tables, the design team crafted containers made from reclaimed wood, cork, and birch and placed those on rectangular tables with burlwood-framed mirrored tops.
Olivier Cheng's menu for the event was equally evocative of nature, involving a sea-themed first course of langoustines in coconut kaffir lime broth with chili tapioca and hon shimeji mushrooms, followed by a land-based entrée of beef tournedos accompanied by ragout of morels, and leeks, haricots verts, and almond-potato puree. Dessert came with a flourish: a troupe of waitstaff poured hot chocolate sauce over individual portions of opera cake and berry domes to reveal burnt sugar sculpted into the number 150.
