For nearly three decades, the iconic Palme d'Or awarded at the Cannes Film Festival has been crafted not in a Parisian atelier but in the Swiss workshops of Chopard, just outside Geneva. The family-run jeweller took over production in the late 1990s after a chance meeting between Caroline Scheufele, now co-president and artistic director, and the festival's then-president Pierre Viot.
Scheufele recalls visiting Viot's office in Paris and spotting the original Palme on his shelf. "I said, 'That's the real Palme,'" she told Euronews. When Viot mentioned the festival was considering a redesign, Scheufele—who describes herself as a lifelong cinema lover—offered to reimagine the trophy. "I left that day with the Palme under my arm," she says. "Twenty-nine years down the road, we are here."
From Foundry to Red Carpet
The creation process begins in Chopard's foundry, where 18-carat gold is melted and alloyed. The metal is then cast using a traditional lost-wax technique: wax is injected into a mould to create a model, which is encased in plaster. After the plaster hardens, it is placed in a furnace overnight, burning away the wax and leaving a cavity. Molten gold is poured in, and once cooled, the plaster is broken away to reveal the raw Palme.
Skilled artisans then spend hours filing, finishing, and polishing the trophy. The final step attaches the gold leaf to a unique piece of rock crystal. Scheufele notes that her signature touch is a small heart shape at the base of the leaf, a motif that appears throughout Chopard's designs. "I gave it some flow, because it was very flat, it was like a truck had run over it," she explains. The original trophy was gold-plated; today, it is solid 18-carat gold, sourced ethically.
Chopard's commitment to sustainable luxury is a key part of its identity. The company uses only ethically sourced gold, a practice Scheufele has championed. For more on this, see Chopard's Caroline Scheufele on the Art of Ethical Luxury Sourcing.
The Palme d'Or remains one of cinema's most prestigious awards, and its creation reflects a blend of Swiss precision and artistic vision. As Cannes prepares for its next edition, the trophy will once again be handed to a deserving filmmaker, carrying with it the legacy of a chance encounter and a family's dedication to craft.
