Watches and Wonders 2023 got off to a glittering start with actress Julia Roberts all smiles about Chopard. The Swiss watchmaker has ethically sourced all of its gold since 2018 and has been working on creating traceable supply chains for a number of its gemstones.
ADVERTISEMENTJulia Roberts was the talk of the town at luxury horology event Watches and Wonders as she arrived in Geneva with glitz and glamour to help Chopard announce a new sustainability initiative.
The Hollywood actress sported a white suit with a Chopard Happy Sports 25mm watch made with 80% recycled steel to showcase the brand’s new commitment to lower impact steel.
Chopard has been incorporating recycled steel into its pieces since 2019 but now has revealed that all of its timepieces that use steel will be made with a minimum of 80% recycled steel.
The brand’s partnership with Lucent Steel uses their own steel scraps created during production, as well as scrap from other industries, such as automotive to produce the material. While a small amount of virgin steel is still required to produce good quality stainless steel pieces, Chopard plans to reduce the current 20% to just 10% of the total steel used in its watches by 2025.
Chopard currently uses between 25 and 30 tonnes of steel each year to create more than 45,000 watches.
Speaking at a press conference at Watches and Wonders, Roberts said of Chopard, of which she is a brand ambassador: “They are forerunners and pioneers. What initially attracted me to them was the work they were doing to revamp their gold practices. It was something I admired. It is with so much pride that I can talk about all these different steps they are taking.”
She went on to say how she also feels accountable to her children who have inspired her to think more consciously about the environment.
Chopard has ethically sourced all of its gold since 2018 and has been working on creating traceable supply chains for a number of its gemstones.
Caroline Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, said she hoped the news would inspire others in the industry: “It's a big message, not only for consumers, but also I hope that we made the point as as a family, as Chopard, towards our colleagues so that they all join into the journey. At the end of the day, this is what's going to make a change, it's not one company and not only our industry.”
