Chopard and Liu Wen Mark Happy Diamonds Anniversary for China

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A New Generation of Chinese Consumers Shapes Happy Diamonds at Fifty

The appointment of Chinese model Liu Wen coincides with the rise of guochao, a domestic trend favoring products designed within China that has significantly lifted local brands. Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele noted the shift during the anniversary launch at New York Fashion Week last month. You have to give something special to China, otherwise they do it themselves, Scheufele said, as reported by ft.com, adding that the brand intends to develop special editions tailored to the market. In the new campaign imagery, Wen wears updated Happy Diamonds pieces featuring elongated rectangular sapphire crystals based on a 2006 archive design, alongside a brand-new line of Happy Clown pendants.

From a Waterfall Inspiration to a Sixteenth-Century Sketch

The collection traces its origins back to 1976 when Chopard designer Ronald Kurowski created men’s dress watches featuring bezel-set diamonds moving freely across black onyx dials after observing a waterfall in southwest Germany’s Black Forest. Karin Scheufele, mother of the current co-presidents, coined the name Happy Diamonds, observing that free-moving stones capture a sense of unconstrained happiness. While Kurowski conceived the original watch application, Caroline Scheufele expanded the concept into jewelry at age 16 by sketching a clown pendant with a transparent belly filled with spinning diamonds. Her father, Karl Scheufele III, had the sketch manufactured for her birthday. That initial clown design eventually anchored the official 1985 jewelry launch, arriving the same year Scheufele joined the family enterprise.

Reviving the Happy Sport for Vintage Watch Buyers

Alongside the anniversary jewelry, Chopard is reissuing the Happy Sport The First watch for 2026, recreating the original 1993 model designed by Scheufele to fill a gap in women’s sports timepieces. I used to do a lot of sports, but didn’t have any cool watches to wear swimming or to play tennis — a friend gave me a Rolex, but I cannot wear a Rolex, Scheufele recalled to ft.com. The 2026 reissue retains the replica dial, signature pebble-link bracelet, and sliding diamonds across 33mm and 26mm dial sizes. Scheufele anticipates the model will resonate strongly with younger Chinese consumers and vintage enthusiasts, noting that current market demand leans heavily toward nostalgic reissues and distinctive high-jewellery creations that are currently outperforming watch sales across the firm.