Which director has not dreamed of holding it in his hands? Every year, the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival is a dream for filmmakers around the world. The object of all Cannes fantasies, the Palme has been designed since 1998 by the Swiss fine jewelry and watchmaking house Chopard. We were able to preview the Palme d’Or 2024, in the company of Caroline Scheufeleco-president and artistic director of Chopard.
The result of 70 hours of meticulous work carried out by six artisans, the Palme makes the Swiss jeweler the most scintillating partner of the Festival. For several years, the house has been committed to using 118 grams of 18-carat yellow gold certified Fairminded, a certification label which certifies the origin of the gold, produced in artisanal mines – notably by communities of women in Latin America – and “meeting the main global standards for responsible practices”.
Caroline Scheufele designs the Palme d’Or.Alain Perret
The Palme d’Or 2024.Chopard
The brilliance of a prize designed like a jewel
Famous for its grace, the Palm conceals a secret that only keen observers will be able to detect: its stem is cut in the shape of a heart, “Caroline Scheufele’s personal touch”. As usual, she rests on a crystal cushion. The artistic director is delighted to present, each year, the only cinema award crafted like a piece of jewelry, with all that implies of refinement, luxury and elegance. Concretely, the craftsmen inject the plaster around a wax palm, placed on a base. After 15 hours spent in the oven at more than 700 degrees, the wax melts and leaves a negative imprint in the plaster, into which the molten gold is poured. Like the jewelry, the Palme is created in-house, thanks to the artisanal foundry installed within the factory. Cooled, it is then polished and reworked in the workshop, to achieve its purest shine.
“The Oscars are given to films that everyone has already seen,” emphasizes Caroline Scheufele. In Cannes, we discover films. The jury works hard to discover, look at, choose and award a Palme. It’s very special. And it’s a real surprise for the winner. Martin Scorsese placed the Palme in a specific place in his house, away from the other awards received during his career. » The value of the Palme? Answer with a smile. “It’s just the most coveted trophy in the world! There are so many prestigious prizes awarded at the Oscars, at the Mostra, at the Berlinale… But only one Palme d’Or. » Enough to make those who received it lose their minds, like Nani Moretti, rewarded in 2001 for The son’s room, whose reaction always makes the co-president of Chopard smile: “He was so happy that once he arrived home, he realized that he had forgotten it on the suitcase conveyor belt at the airport. Luckily he found her! »
Unicorn and dragon to wear on your finger
In addition to the Palme, Chopard presents a Red Carpet Collection, dedicated to being worn by the greatest figures of cinema on the steps of the legendary Palais des Festivals. Every year, a major challenge: finding a unique theme to dress necks, fingers, ears, wrists, hair, ankles… On the most chic red carpet of the Seventh art. For a long time, the collection was worn by actresses. Caroline Scheufele is now enthusiastic to see that “actors are wearing more and more jewelry, especially brooches”. There is no doubt that this new collection will inspire these gentlemen, since the artistic director has chosen to explore the wonders and fantasy around the theme of Fairy Tales. “Each year we create a new piece: 77 will therefore be presented this year, like the 77e edition and the double 7, my lucky number “.
On the program: “Enchanted forests, distant kingdoms, animals gifted with speech, fantastic creatures with magical powers” and a few regressive surprises. A unicorn ring, a dragon to wear on your finger, two frogs around a necklace, a smiling clown to hang on the lapel of a collar, a lily of the valley with magical properties. Caroline Scheufele had fun bringing together all the codes of the tales (The beauty and the Beast And Alice in Wonderland are particularly popular among the lucky ones who discovered the pieces in preview) for a very personal re-interpretation. Among the key pieces of this collection: a real princess tiara set with diamonds in which a fairy with mother-of-pearl wings is hidden… Who activates her magic to transform into a brooch.
