An Icy Evening with Chopard & Highsnobiety
Sixty-three stories above the sprawling Big Apple landscape, an artist chisels away at his latest sculpture. Cutting, scraping, and slicing into a slab of ice. Situated on a terrace overlooking the East River, a small crowd gathers around his shiny medium. Onlookers maneuver the pack to catch a glimpse of a shape slowly unveiling itself. Etches deepen into carvings along the sleek walls. A spire grows. A skyscraper forms. Unlike other artworks, this frozen masterpiece is built to last just for the remainder of the night, allowing just enough time for Highsnobiety and renowned Swiss artisan of everything that sparkles, Chopard, to break the ice.
Yes, pun intended.
As New York Fashion Week kicks into high gear (and highsnobiety’s immersive event series NINY culminates), there’s no better time than now to gather fashion’s biggest names in one room to introduce the world to Chopard’s coolest new "crown jewel," the Ice Cube Collection. The venue de la nuit is none other than SAGA, a two-star Michelin fine dining experience and Manhattan’s buzziest restaurant to brag about securing an elusive reservation.
Seriously, the wait is months long. But the rules don’t apply when you are the leading purveyor of haute joaillerie.
Set atop one of the Financial District’s tallest skyscrapers, Highsnobiety’s own David Fischer and Chopard CEO of the Americas, Jean-Baptiste Maillard, welcome attendees with a toast to a line inspired by their metropolitan surroundings.
“Tonight is the meeting of minds,” declares Maillard, clad in a finely tailored suit and perfectly buffed patent loafers. “But it’s also the meeting of two different worlds.” Fischer, attired in lace-up sneakers and his signature baseball cap, smiles in agreement.
For a brand synonymous with heritage jewelry collections and old money charm, this is a momentous new era for Chopard. One that’s a bit younger. A touch trendier. A smidge more defiant. And a whole lot more sustainable. Oh yeah, and fronted by none other than Bella Hadid: “Carla Bruni’s twin” to some, “mother” to Zillennials.
For decades, the Swiss maison has seen a steady upward trajectory of prominence within luxury retail. By coupling legacy craftsmanship and an eagerness to evolve, Chopard has further cemented its status as maker of top-of-the-line fineries. Since its founding in 1860, trends have obviously cropped up repeatedly, but it's Chopard’s ingenious interpretation of them that has interestingly set them apart—timepiece and timepiece again. With a growing Zillennial demand for all things renewable and gender-neutral (and an equally growing influence on the market), Chopard is reading the room. Their answer? The latest rendition of Ice Cube designs for next-gen clientele.
Featuring pendants, rings, bangles, and earrings, the collection is a call and response to industry trends. Manifesting as treasures fully produced with 100% ethical gold, these new sparkling offerings are unprecedented in the realm of jewelry. Sleek Bauhausian lines and easy stackability—each tenant of the Ice Cube Collection is a nod to the skyscrapers of sprawling capitals that have birthed the avant-garde, say it with us, timepiece and timepiece again.
Gasp! Is that how they’ve chosen these trendy Gen Z invitees? Is that how they’ve selected the downtown skyscraper setting?
It’s fashion, darling. Not a detail is amiss. Let the feast begin.
Golden name tags line the dinner tables as guests slowly migrate from the moonlit terrace to the panoramic windowed dining room. Candles light the intimate salle a manger. The Brooklyn Bridge twinkles on the horizon. An avid watch collector finds his seat next to a fashion photographer. A journalist finds her seat next to a rising hip-hop star. The steady stream of “nice to meet you’s” and “how do you do’s” dwindles as the overhead lights dim.
Uniformed servers perform a ceremony akin to the changing of the guard. Queued shoulder to shoulder behind each respective guest, they deliver a white dish of gem-sized ice cubes. Fitting! Atop sits a cube of pink pineapple dipped in coconut liquor and another of yellow pineapple sprinkled with rose petals. Two bites to amuse the bouche. To wash it down: a fresh pour of sommelier-selected white wine.
“Cheers to Chopard!” the tables erupt in a cacophony of clinks.
Empty plates are cleared, and servers refill shallow glasses. “Can I get an Ice Cube?” asks one fashion editor. No, not the jewelry—though, wouldn’t that be nice? A waiter returns with a rocks glass of a lemon-hued beverage. Inside sits one ice cube embossed with a quintessential Chopard “C.” Et voila, the Ice Cube.
A similar procession of servers slash guards of award-winning fare cycle through the rounds of gastronomic presentation. Snapper crudo, accompanied with leche de tigre, julienned avocado, and thinly sliced serrano pepper: refreshing. Arctic char atop marrow beans and a schmear of fava: delicate. Beef tenderloin with truffle jus, chimichurri, pomme puree, and a summer bean spread: robust. Perhaps the best adjectives to describe the jewels of the evening, too…fancy that!
Waiters return for a second offering of wine (red, this time) and an airy dessert for a honeyed ending of an inaugural celebration. La fin? Ice cold nougat swimming in a sesame strawberry sauce for that umami-type beat. Invitees dig in before it has time to melt. The hip-hop star kindly asks for a second. His wrist is already iced out in the Ice Cube Collection—all the more reason to sweetly celebrate.
Discover Chopard’s Ice Cube Collection here.
