Julia Roberts & Chopard Celebrate the Magic of Movies (and Diamonds)

Why shouldn't diamonds—and emeralds and sapphires and tourmalines and spinels—always inspire unbridled joy? This has long been the driving ethos of Caroline Scheufele, co-president and artistic director of Chopard, the 163-year-old Swiss watch and jewelry brand her family has owned since 1963.

The work speaks for itself. There are the fantastical haute joaillerie creations she debuts each year at Cannes—as fairy godmother of the glittering festival, Scheufele spends two weeks flitting from red carpet premiere to gala to afterparty, sprinkling her troop of A-listers in magic dust (read: diamonds). Even closer down to earth, exuberance is still the M.O. Take the My Happy Hearts collection, meant to be worn as dainty daily reminders of self-love. Or that the first-ever piece of Chopard jewelry—designed by a 16-year-old Scheufele in 1985—was a clown with a tummy full of floating gems, a house signature known as the Happy Diamonds that was developed for the brand's watches in the '70s. Recognize a pattern here?

In 2021, to celebrate the launch of new variations of the iconic 1993 Happy Sport watch—dancing diamonds, sporty stainless steel, a revelation—Chopard signed on Julia Roberts to be the face of the campaign since, well, who better to personify free-spirited, diamond-flecked joy than a star as legendary for her cinematic achievements as for her brilliant smile?

At Cannes last year Roberts made a surprise appearance at the premiere of James Gray's Armageddon Time, stepping onto that famous red carpet in a black tuxedo jumpsuit, a giant 100-carat yellow diamond dangling from her neck. Ten months later—and on the eve of the International Day of Happiness (yes, it's a thing)—actress, director, and jeweler have reunited again, this time to bottle a little bit of that movie star magic in more permanent form.

Chopard has officially named Roberts the ambassador to all of its collections, from Happy Sport to high jewelry, and to celebrate the announcement, Gray is directing her in a series of short films paying homage to—what else?—the art of cinema. Twelve vignettes, which will be released throughout the year beginning on March 20, will portray life behind the scenes, peeling back the curtains on all the frenzied exuberance and candid moments that viewers rarely get to see—because sometimes it's what happens backstage that proves most indelible.

Even Roberts's favorite Cannes memory took place off-camera: “The first time I was there, running late and racing down the hallway," she said in a statement, of her festival debut in 2016. "Somebody was still sewing me into my dress, so we were all running down the hallway to the elevator and somebody was sewing away. And I just thought ‘It’s so classic.'" Those of us paying attention that year know that she did make it to the red carpet, which she walked barefoot—with George Clooney on her arm.

“Julia Roberts is that rare thing: a genuine movie star," Gray says. "She also happens to be a person with a tremendous sense of humor about it all, and somehow, she hasn’t let her legendary status go to her head."

Below, a preview of what's to come:

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