Chopard's Caroline Scheufele Will Bring Zambia's 'Insofu' Emerald to a Life of Luxury AOC Jewelry News

The Chopard ‘Insofu’ Emerald weighs in the size of a champagne bottle. It’s named for elephants in Zambia’s Bantu language.

“The size and quality of the crystal make it a rare find indeed,” stated Sean Gilbertson, director of Gemfields, noting that it was also “setting a historic milestone for traceability back to the mine-of-origin, a holy grail for consumers” seeking reassurances on the credentials of their stones as it is the first emerald of this size and purity to meet traceability requirements.

“By purchasing a raw stone, we are able to follow its entire journey through to final creation. Chopard will cut the raw emerald and collect all the cut gems emerging from it….We ensure a complete chain of traceability, which is rare for [such] stones,” said Chopard’s copresident and artistic director Caroline Scheufele who noted that a “fully integrated supply chain” was what made “these treasures of nature so valuable to our clientele,” who despite the COVID-19 pandemic had shown “strong resilience and loyalty” to the house.

AOC has followed Chopard’s Caroline Scheufele for years, and we value deeply her leadership mission in the arena of sustainability, workers rights, and transparency of Chopard stones from discovery to individual ownership. Scheufele recalled her feeling at the discovery of the Insofu emerald as “surpassing any emotion [she] had ever known.”