Chopard first ventured into the Animal World in 2010 in honor of its 150th anniversary, creating 150 creature-themed pieces, including a cheeky monkey pendant, a princely frog ring, antelope-horn earrings, and a goggle-eyed owl watch. But the Swiss jeweler found it simply couldn’t stop there. This diamond and gemstone Peacock ­bracelet (price on request)—designed by Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele—strutted out at Baselworld in March. “Throughout different cultures, peacock feathers represent pride, nobility, and glory,” says marketing and PR manager Prerna Balani of the bird’s artistic appeal. “Peacocks are also known as a symbol of immortality.” That makes it official: This bird is a keeper.

Labor of Love

The 18k white gold cuff is set with diamonds (in black, brown, gray, and white), emeralds, Paraiba tourmalines, blue sapphires, tsavorites, lazulites, and lapis lazuli—approximately 7,500 stones in all. No wonder it took artisans 2,000 hours of work…and that’s after the design was completed.

True Colors

The peacock got his trademark iridescent blue-green plumage from 33.49 cts. t.w. sapphires and a mix of microscopic 0.5 mm emeralds, tsavorites, and Paraiba tourmalines—a size, says Balani, that’s “virtually impossible to find.”

Ready To Wear

The biggest challenge for Chopard’s craftspeople? Not handcrafting each feather, not setting the teeny-tiny green gems, but creating a cuff that was actually, well, wearable. Though the piece may look stiff, “the head of the peacock moves along with the movement of the wrist,” says Balani—thus ensuring comfort.