All in the Family

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"I'm passionate about stones," says German-born Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, co-president and design director of Chopard, the Geneva-based fine-jewelry brand. "Real rocks," she insists.

Gruosi-Scheufele, an energetic blond with a 20-carat sparkle in her eye, is sitting with her father, Karl Scheufele, in Chopard's New York headquarters several days before the opening of the company's Thierry Despont-designed Madison Avenue flagship. Just for the occasion (it's the brand's 100th store), she's had 20 exceptional pieces of jewelry specially crafted in Chopard's Geneva workrooms, and the pieces are finally starting to emerge—one more extraordinary than the next. There's a necklace of black diamonds, amethysts and sapphires, and another one that features at least 20 emeralds the size of almonds—all perfectly matched—that was two months in the making. Gruosi-Scheufele's favorite piece from this collection (called the 709 Collection after the flagship's address) is a whimsical, lily-shaped necklace made of pink heart-shaped sapphires, diamonds and quartz.

For the past two years, Gruosi-Scheufele has been focusing on the development of the family owned brand's high-jewelry collection, or what she affectionately calls the "real rocks." "There's not much real creation in the market at that level, and so we wanted to fill the gap," she explains. Ever since Gruosi-Scheufele joined the company, which her father bought in 1963 from Paul-Andre Chopard, a descendant of the founder, Louis-Ulysse Chopard, she has been looking for ways to expand the brand beyond its watchmaking roots. In 1976 she came up with the concept of Happy Diamonds, now a company signature, wherein 30 diamonds float inside a man's watch. It was a huge hit and an opening to the bigger market of fine jewelry. "My father collected clowns, so I designed one with Happy Diamonds in the stomach, and that was the beginning of our jewelry," she says.

Ten years ago, Gruosi-Scheufele recognized the need for more fine jewelry—and, frankly, more exceptional, camera-ready pieces—on the red carpet. She signed on as the official sponsor of the Cannes Film Festival and started smothering celebrities like Sharon Stone, Elizabeth Hurley and Charlize Theron in Chopard's "real rocks." One thing led to another, and demand for statement pieces grew along with Chopard's high-jewelry collection. The Madison Avenue store keeps some of these special pieces on the floor. Additionally, Gruosi-Scheufele created a few more accessible pieces to coincide with the New York store's opening. A men's limited-edition tourbillon watch features the city skyline engraved on the back. And for women, the Happy Apple watch and pendant are a wink at the city's favorite symbol.