Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend but Chopard is what makes them happy. After all, as the maison’s famous motto goes, “Diamonds are happier when they are free.”

Chopard’s Happy Diamonds design was first launched in 1976 and became an instant icon for its constellation of diamonds that float, spin and dance freely on the watch dial with every move of the wrist. Chopard designer Ronald Kurowski was inspired by sunlight sparkling on a waterfall while walking in Germany’s Black Forest one day. Back at the manufacture, he wanted to recreate the ephemeral magic of the scene, of water droplets dancing in the sunlight. And so, the idea of Happy Diamonds was born.

Twenty-one brilliant-cut diamonds dance freely around the dial in the Happy Diamonds Heritage (©Revolution)

Instead of locking the diamonds in place with traditional prongs, Kurowski came up with the idea of setting each brilliant-cut stone in a gold bezel, with a curved beveled base that lets them spin unfettered without scratching the dial. Then he let them footloose between two sapphire crystals, all 30 of them totaling 1.7 carats.

Chopard Happy Diamonds advertisements from the 1970s

Eschewing tradition, Kurowski chose a cushion-shaped case that was instead very much of its time, rounded at the edges and in white gold, with a matching central dial that told time, framed by polished black onyx. It was powered by a manual 3Hz movement, the ETA 2442, with roughly 41 hours of power reserve.

That year, the Chopard Happy Diamonds won the prestigious Golden Rose of Baden-Baden for its fresh creative design.

Chopard Happy Diamonds collections from the 1970s

Here’s a little-known fact: Kurowski’s Happy Diamonds design was not originally intended for full-scale production. Instead, it was meant as a once-off piece unique for the competition. But when the winning piece was showcased at the Chopard booth during the 1977 Basel, it garnered much attention and orders started flooding in. In that first year, Chopard sold more than 10,000 Happy Diamonds watches.

Happy Family

In the years that followed, Chopard’s Happy Diamonds spread the joy, morphing first into jewelry with the Happy Clown born from a sketch by a young Caroline Scheufele in 1985, and brought to life by her father Karl Scheufele. “It marked the beginning of Chopard’s journey into jewellery,” she says. “It carries a sense of emotion and freedom that continues to inspire us today.”

Caroline, Karl, Karin and Karl-Friedrich Scheufele

Indeed, Chopard went on to launch entire families based on the concept first mooted in Happy Diamonds. In 1993, Caroline struck on a eureka moment and added a playful sprinkle of diamonds to a stainless steel sports watch for women. She called it Happy Sport. Not only did it continue the legacy of the Happy Diamonds with its dancing gems, it took the concept in a bold new direction by letting them move freely across the dial. Since then, Happy Sport has seen several iterations and went on to become one of Chopard’s enduring commercial successes. This year’s Happy Sport the First revisits the original with two very wearable sizes in 26mm and 33mm, featuring five diamonds on the first and seven on the latter.

From Happy Sport, Chopard continued to expand on the idea with the likes of Happy Fish (2002) where gem-set gold fishes take the place of dancing diamonds around the dial, and Happy Spirit (2003), featuring concentric circles on the dial cradling a diamond in the center. There was also a Happy Sport Tourbillon Joaillerie, which made it to the GPHG shortlist in 2014. It combined high watchmaking with high jewellery, bringing together Chopard’s inhouse manufacture expertise with its unparalleled skill in gem-setting and not forgetting seven dancing diamonds.

For its 40^th anniversary in 2016, however, Chopard went back to the original cushion-shaped case for a stunning Happy Diamonds women’s watch festooned with diamonds on a mother-of-pearl dial. This year’s 50^th anniversary sees an even more faithful return to the original Happy Diamonds.

Chopard Happy Diamonds 40th Anniversary, 2016

Called Happy Diamonds Heritage, this year’s iteration reproduces the compact streamlined proportions of the original 1976 men’s watch in the same cushion-shaped case, only this time in 18K ethical yellow gold paired with black onyx polished to a glittering shine on the entire dial surface. Twenty-one brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 1.05 carats dance freely around the dial with each move of the wrist.

Chopard’s 2026 Happy Diamonds Heritage reprises the 34mm size of the original (©Revolution)

In place of the original ETA movement, Chopard has given it a manufacture upgrade with the in-house Chopard 10.01-C hand-wound movement. First introduced in 2024’s L’Heure du Diamant watches, it is one of Chopard’s smallest and thinnest movements at 15.7mm in diameter and 2.9mm thick. Accordingly, the new watch measures just 34mm by 8.53mm thick. You can catch a glimpse of its elegant Côtes de Genève decoration on its nickel-silver bridges via a porthole on the caseback, which mirrors the central dial on the front of the watch. Power reserve, meanwhile, is a respectable 45 hours.

A glimpse of Chopard’s 10.01-C hand-wound movement from the caseback (©Revolution)

All good things come in pairs. As such, Chopard is also releasing a Heritage iteration of the 24mm Happy Diamonds, concurrently with the 34mm example. It bears nine diamonds and is powered by a quartz movement.

Chopard Happy Diamonds Heritage 34mm and 24mm (©Revolution)

Tech Specs: Chopard Happy Diamonds Heritage 34mm

Movement Manual winding Chopard Caliber 10.01-C; 45-hour power reserve
Function Hours and minutes
Case 34mm × 8.53mm; 18K ethical yellow gold; water resistant to 30m
Dial Black onyx with 21 white diamonds
Strap Black alligator leather; 18K ethical yellow gold pin buckle
Price SGD 63,400 / USD 48,400

Tech Specs: Chopard Happy Diamonds Heritage 24mm

Movement Quartz movement
Function Hours and minutes
Case 24mm × 6.72mm; 18K ethical yellow gold; water resistant to 30m
Dial Black onyx with nine white diamonds
Strap Black alligator leather; 18K ethical yellow gold pin buckle
Price SGD 31,400 / USD 24,000