There are trays of expensive rings and necklaces in front of her, a cadre of well-dressed waiters offering her Champagne, and a long list of celebrities vying for her attention. But Caroline Scheufele, co-president and artistic director of the Swiss jeweller and watchmaker Chopard, is doting on her dog.

“He’s called Byron. Actually, Lord Byron,” says Schefuele of her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She’s seated on a couch on the rooftop terrace of the Hotel Martinez, just outside the penthouse suite that serves as her company’s basecamp during the Cannes Film Festival. (Byron is padding around inside.) For nearly 30 years, Scheufele has been designing the Palm d’Or, the trophy awarded to the event’s best movie. This responsibility has turned her house into one of the festival’s biggest sponsors.

“Before, there were no phones,” she says of how much Cannes has changed since she got involved. “It was very intimate, and the festival wasn’t known as the festival. I think [Chopard] is growing with the festival.”

One of the primary drivers of that growth is the high jewellery collection Scheufele brings to Cannes each year, pieces of which invariably end up on the biggest stars on the red carpet. The annual assortment has one unique design for every year the festival has been held. This time, that means 78 high-wattage jewels and watches.

Byron, who has attended the festival with Scheufele for the last seven years, is uniquely important to the 2025 collection, entitled Caroline’s Universe. She’s a devoted dog lover, and to bring potential buyers into her world, she created not one but two cocktail rings in Byron’s likeness, set with black, white, and cognac diamonds.

“Actually, I took him to the atelier to take pictures,” she says, so that her team of gemsetters could get his expression just right. One ring shows him running, and another depicts his stance when he’s begging for treats. “One is sold,” she adds proudly. (The penthouse also serves as a showroom for VIP clients, a select few of whom are invited to walk the red carpet at the festival before the evening’s stars arrive.)

But it’s not all about her canine best friend. The pieces in this year’s collection celebrate many of the things she loves: Big, colourful, ethically sourced stones; animals found in the air, in the sea, and on land; and the floral beauty of the natural world. There are even a few celestially inspired pieces—including a suite of star-shaped jewels made from white and yellow diamonds, and a panther resting on a crescent moon set with black and white diamonds—to paint a picture of just how big her universe is.

That image comes to life most vividly once the jewels are on the red carpet. Model Bella Hadid wore a megawatt pair of earrings, set with two massive Colombian emeralds totalling nearly 119 carats, from this year’s collection to the festival’s opening ceremony. Halle Berry wore a stunningly articulated diamond collar shaped like a snake to a dinner Chopard gave later that week.

Using such highly publicised events as the stage to unveil these creations is more than smart marketing. It also allows her to shine a spotlight on up-and-coming talent. In addition to dressing well-known names, Scheufele anoints two actors on the rise with the Trophee Chopard, an award that’s been given annually since 2001. The recognition has become a reliable indicator of future success: past winners include James McAvoy, Florence Pugh, John Boyega, and Marion Cotillard.

This year’s honorees are French actor Marie Colomb and English actor Finn Bennett. Scheufele enlists an established name as a godmother or godfather to present the awards. In 2025, that task went to Angelina Jolie.

“We need new talent,” Scheufele said at the Trophee Chopard presentation. “We need the new tomorrow and the new dreams that cinema gives us every day, particularly in this mad world.”

Back on the rooftop, Scheufele is explaining that that mania can even extend to the way clients treat some of her creations. “Sometimes we get things in for repairs, and it’s like, what did they do with it? Did a car go over it? Was it in the washing machine?” she says. “Do you know how much passion and patience went into and love went into a piece from the artisans who made it?”

Even in the absence of such mistreatment, Scheufele says she would probably still have a slightly hard time letting some of these unique pieces go. “I often get attached to some pieces [of the collection],” she says. “But I know where they’re going. I know the next home. And, I mean, if I kept everything, Chopard wouldn’t exist.”

This story was previously published on Robb Report USA.