The supermodel joins artistic director Caroline Scheufele in Manhattan to mark the anniversary of a watch line that evokes childhood memories of her mother.
Bella Hadid describes Caroline Scheufele's mind as "a rainbow with butterflies and colors, and it's never-ending." The supermodel and Chopard's co-president and artistic director reunited Tuesday at Casa Cipriani in downtown Manhattan for a daylong celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the jewelry house's "Happy Diamonds" line. The event also drew Karl-Anthony Towns, Jordyn Woods, and fellow campaign ambassador Liu Wen.
Chopard debuted "Happy Diamonds" in 1976, named by Scheufele's mother, Karin. The design featured free-floating diamonds that resonated with an era when women were abandoning fashion conventions. Seventeen years later, as minimalism and athletic-inspired dressing gained momentum, Scheufele launched "Happy Sport First," pairing diamonds with stainless steel in what she says was the first mechanical watch to combine the two materials. Workshop staff insisted the fusion was impossible, but Scheufele persisted. The studio head promised her, "I'll give you a rose for every one we sell."
"Now she has a rose garden!" Hadid quipped.
To commemorate the milestone, Chopard is reissuing the original watch style, now available in yellow gold. Hadid, who previously fronted the "Ice Cube" campaign, appears in new "Happy Diamonds" advertisements wearing a dress from Scheufele's clothing line, Caroline's Couture. For the Manhattan event, the brand introduced the "Happy Sport Joaillerie New York Special Edition," featuring over 9 carats of Ashoka-cut diamonds and an apple-shaped "NYC" charm. An exhibition of the "Happy Diamonds" and "Happy Sport" collections will run at the Fifth Avenue boutique.
Hadid wears two Chopard "Happy Hearts" bracelets without removal: one Scheufele removed from her own wrist to give her, and another presented as a birthday gift. She calls them her "lucky charm." "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 explained. "I wasn't able to wear 'Happy Diamonds' from Chopard at the time!"
Both women favor mixing high and low elements—Scheufele pairs Chopard pieces 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 said. "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."
Hadid has made Cannes Film Festival fashion increasingly spectacular each year with archival pieces, with Scheufele accompanying her as "a true BFF." Chopard has long sponsored the festival. Hadid recounted their informal exchanges: "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."
The personal significance runs deeper for Hadid. "Growing up, this was the watch that I remember my mom wearing my entire life. It's a visceral, visible memory of my childhood," she said. "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."
She resists familial labels for Scheufele: "I don't like to say she's my mother or my auntie. This is my sister. We're the same age!"
Chopard anticipates another anniversary in 2026: 80 years of the Cannes Film Festival. For the moment, Hadid and Scheufele focused on the evening ahead.
"We have weather, we have the sunset, we have diamonds. What could be better?" Hadid said, turning to Scheufele. "And this one can dance until the sun comes up, too."