Bella Hadid Reveals the Chopard Watch She Says Reminds Her of Her Mom

4 min read

“Her brain is like a rainbow with butterflies and colors, and it’s never-ending,” says Bella Hadid of her longtime friend Caroline Scheufele. The supermodel and the co-president and artistic director of Chopard came together on Tuesday at Casa Cipriani in downtown Manhattan. The occasion? A daylong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the jewelry house’s “Happy Diamonds” line that also drew Karl-Anthony Towns, Jordyn Woods, and Hadid’s fellow campaign ambassador Liu Wen.

In 1976, Chopard introduced its “Happy Diamonds” line, christened by Scheufele’s mother, Karin, and featuring free-floating diamonds that fit perfectly in with a time when women were casting off fashion rules and dressing for themselves. In 1993, as minimalism and sport-inspired dressing were cresting, Scheufele created the “Happy Sport First” line, which combined diamonds with stainless steel—the first time the two materials had been put together in a mechanical watch. The workshop told her it couldn’t be done, but with her characteristic determination, she wanted to make it happen. The head of the studio, she recalls, told her, “I’ll give you a rose for every one we sell.”

“Now she has a rose garden!” Hadid jokes.

Caroline Scheufele and Bella Hadid.

To mark a half-century, Chopard is bringing back the original version of that watch style, which also comes in yellow gold. Hadid, who has previously starred in a campaign for Chopard’s “Ice Cube” collection, is featured in its new “Happy Diamonds” ads, wearing a dress from Scheufele’s clothing line, Caroline’s Couture. Especially for the Manhattan event, the brand unveiled its “Happy Sport Joaillerie New York Special Edition,” complete with over 9 carats of Ashoka-cut diamonds and an apple-shaped “NYC” charm. The brand’s Fifth Avenue boutique will also play host to an exhibition of the “Happy Diamonds” and “Happy Sport” collections.

Hadid never takes off her Chopard “Happy Hearts” bracelets: one that Scheufele gave her from her own wrist, and one that she gave her as a birthday gift. She calls them her “lucky charm” and never takes them off. “Since high school, I was always one to stack my crystal bracelets, something my mom would give me, and then a watch that maybe I would’ve thrifted,” she says. “I wasn’t able to wear ‘Happy Diamonds’ from Chopard at the time!”

Like Hadid, Scheufele adores a high-low mix, juxtaposing her Chopard finery with chunky beads and evil-eye bracelets. “I feel like I’m an old soul and Caroline is a young soul, and that’s why we connect so much,” Hadid says, “because I understand her and she understands me. I look over and the person that I idolize the most in all of fashion is doing the same thing that I always thought was a little weird. And I’m like, you know what? I see you!”

Jordyn Woods and Karl-Anthony Towns with Scheufele.

Hadid has become known for her Cannes Film Festival fashion statements, upping the ante every year with archival grails, and Scheufele has been by her side like a true BFF. (Chopard is a longtime sponsor of the festival.) “Sometimes we have these little pep talks. We’ll be in the car or going to the carpet and I’ll say, ‘Oh gosh, hair and makeup today. I just didn’t want to sit in it.’ She goes, ‘Yeah, me neither.’ So I just did my own braid.

“And then on top of it, we both love diamonds. So that works out well for two best friends.”

“Diamonds never deceive you,” Scheufele says. “Unlike some other things in life!” Hadid chimes in.

Liu Wen with Scheufele.

Hadid’s connection to the style goes way back—and hits very close to home. “Growing up, this was the watch that I remember my mom wearing my entire life. It’s a visceral, visible memory of my childhood,” Hadid says. “Especially when you look up to your mother so much, you’re like, ‘You deserve that because you’ve been through so much in life. I’m a child. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to wear something so beautiful.’ And now here I am doing the campaign of something that is so important to me and my mother and my family and my childhood. And then to see it come to fruition with someone who I like to call my true family…I don’t like to say she’s my mother or my auntie. This is my sister. We’re the same age!”

The brand is looking forward to another major anniversary next year: 80 years of the Cannes Film Festival. But as we speak, Hadid and Scheufele have their minds on the evening’s festivities.

“We have weather, we have the sunset, we have diamonds. What could be better?” Hadid says, as she turns to Scheufele. “And this one can dance until the sun comes up, too.”