< Historic Diamonds / Famous Diamonds
How The Queen of Kalahari Diamond Influenced a Red Carpet Jewelry Frenzy
From the Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana to the Grammys, Academy Awards, and the Cannes Film Festival, the Queen of Kalahari diamond has endured a magnificent journey with the help of the masterful artisans at Chopard.
Published: January 30, 2026
Written by: Hannah Militano
Chopard knows the power of a natural diamond. When artistic director and co-president Caroline Scheufele first set her eyes on the Queen of Kalahari diamond, it was love at first sight. After cutting the diamond into 23 stones and crafting a high jewelry collection dedicated to the Queen of Kalahari, the Swiss jeweler has reaffirmed its distinguished reputation for exceptional craftsmanship.
Meet the Experts
Caroline Scheufele is a German-born Swiss businesswoman. She is the artistic director and co-president of Chopard, the Swiss-based luxury watches and jewelry manufacturer.
Livia Giuggioli Firth is an Italian activist and founder of Eco-Age. She is an advocate for sustainability, specializing in the fashion and jewelry industry, where she created the Green Carpet Fashion Awards.
From the Queen of Kalahari’s discovery in Botswana, to the collection’s appearances on A-listers galore, learn all about the diamond’s journey from mine to red carpet.
The Discovery of the Queen of Kalahari Diamond
In 2015, a stunning diamond discovery captured the world’s attention – and inspired the artistic vision of Caroline Scheufele, co-president of Chopard. Lucara Diamond Corp. unearthed the Queen of Kalahari diamond, a magnificent 342-carat natural diamond recovered from the Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana. In the center of the Kalahari Desert, Botswana is a landlocked country, famous for its diamonds and for keeping 40% of its land area under conservation, dubbed the “Gem of Africa.”
That same year, the 1,109-carat rough Lesedi La Rona diamond was discovered in Botswana. Though nowhere near the largest diamond, the Queen of Kalahari reached its exceptional status through its perfect D color and absolute purity, boasting a grade F (Flawless) clarity and certified type IIa quality. Type IIa diamonds contain no measurable nitrogen or boron, making them the chemically purest diamonds found in nature. They only represent about 1 to 2 percent of natural diamonds, according to the GIA.
“I immediately sensed that this was an incredibly rare gem of exceptional beauty and purity,” Scheufele says of her first encounter with the diamond. “The energy and emotional charge emanating from this gem are truly incomparable.”
The Sustainable Efforts Behind the Queen of Kalahari
As a staunch advocate of sustainable development in jewelry, Scheufele worked with the Karowe Diamond Mine to engage with Eco-Age’s independent Green Carpet Challenge validation criteria, which reflect the best international practices in environmental and social justice. That’s when Scheufele and the owners of the Karowe mine welcomed the Eco-Age team to independently assess all elements of its mining activities.
Livia Firth, the founder of Eco-Age, told Only Natural Diamonds, “When I was working with Chopard, we sourced an incredible diamond from the Karowe diamond mine in Botswana.” She explained, “The diamond mine was awarded the GCC Brandmark in recognition of excellence in establishing best practice standards for the extractive and mining sector. The award was the result of a stringent validation system, but I wanted to go see for myself and understand exactly the handprint of the diamond mining industry and how it can be a positive force for good.”
A whirlwind adventure, Chopard decided to document each stage of the process. The journey was filmed by director Alexis Veller for his 55-minute behind-the-scenes film, The Queen of Kalahari, emphasizing the importance of provenance and the rarity of diamonds.
How the Queen of Kalahari Became the Garden of Kalahari Collection
This ultra-rare diamond provided the stones and inspiration for the most precious jewelry set Chopard has ever produced, dubbed the Garden of Kalahari. From the Queen of Kalahari diamond came a set of 23 diamonds. And from the 23 diamonds came six fabulous pieces of jewelry.
Emerging triumphantly from the High Jewelry workshops of the Geneva-based Maison, the collection has glistened on red carpets everywhere, from the Grammys to the Oscars. “This is a truly exceptional stone, but we did not wish to treat it as a mere trophy,” explains Scheufele. “But instead to prepare it for a destiny worthy of its stature.”
As artistic director, Scheufele personally supervised every single stage of the collection’s development with the help of the peerless expertise of the Chopard ateliers. Impressively, five of the 23 stones weigh over 20 carats. All of the most popular diamond cuts are represented in the collection – cushion, brilliant, heart-shaped, emerald, and pear.
This is a truly exceptional stone. We did not wish to treat it as a mere trophy, but instead to prepare it for a destiny worthy of its stature.
“Faced with this rough diamond, we had a number of potential options,” says Scheufele. “I wanted to explore every possibility and to represent all diamond cuts.” Through unfettered creativity and impeccable technical skills, Scheufele and her fellow Chopard artisans and gem-setters completed the dynamic diamond collection, representing nearly a full year’s work. Thousands of hours went into creating the luminous jewels, fully embodying the savoir-faire of the Maison Chopard.
Throughout the whimsical assortment, a 50-carat brilliant-cut diamond is transformed into a sunflower. A 26-carat heart-shaped stone blooms into a dainty pansy, while a 25-carat pear-shaped stunner blossoms into a teardrop petal, and a 21-carat emerald-cut glides alongside a water lily.
The Garden of Kalahari necklace – the centrepiece of the collection – revels in the magic of transformation. A model of ingenuity and the playful spirit at the heart of Chopard’s design ethos, the necklace can be worn in four different variations, including a sleek choker or with a diamond flower for an added touch of femininity. The diamond flower can also attach three pendants, boasting the largest diamonds in the assortment (the 50-carat brilliant-cut, 26-carat heart-shaped, and 25-carat pear-shaped). Each of the attachments can be worn alone or all together.
The heart-shaped diamond pendant and the pear-shaped diamond can be worn attached to a stunning pair of mismatched chandelier earrings, as seen on Charlize Theron at the 2017 Academy Awards and then on Lady Gaga at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
“The ateliers really outshone themselves in working on this exceptional project, and the synergies among the different crafts were further strengthened by the process,” says Scheufele.
Sabrina Carpenter wore jewels from the Garden of Kalahari collection to the 2025 Grammy Awards, while Mariah Carey, Rihanna, and more can count themselves as fans.
The Garden of Kalahari demonstrates the masterful craftsmanship of the artisans involved in its conception, as well as the creative genius that was essential to its development under the patronage of Caroline Scheufele, and Chopard’s undying reverence for the Queen of Kalahari diamond.
