Vintage Chopard Happy Sport Ref 8246 ladies quartz 26mm watch in two-tone 18K yellow gold and stainless steel, featuring the iconic 5 floating round brilliant diamonds between dial and sapphire crystal, cream Roman numeral dial, ruby cabochon lug accents, and the signature two-tone beaded bubble-link bracelet. Circa 1990.

Fits up to 6 inch wrist.

The Chopard Happy Sport was created in 1993 by Caroline Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, as a deliberate challenge to the convention that diamonds must always be fixed and formal. Chopard, founded in Sonvilier, Switzerland in 1860 and now headquartered in Geneva, has been a leading independent Swiss luxury watch and jewelry house for over 160 years. The Happy Sport became an immediate icon upon its release — the first watch in history to feature freely floating diamonds inside the crystal — and it transformed Chopard from a respected watchmaker into a global luxury fashion statement. The combination of sports watch proportions, precious stone accents, and the playful animated diamond element created a watch that appealed equally to jewelry lovers and watch enthusiasts in a way no previous timepiece had managed. Collectors prize early Happy Sport pieces, particularly two-tone ruby lug variants, for their rarity, their historical significance as the original floating diamond watches, and their continued relevance as objects of desire decades after their introduction.