Serious fun to be had with Chopard's Happy Mickey collection launched in London showing the at 80, Mickey is still on sparkling form. Chopard has always had a playful approach to jewellery and the Happy Mickey collection is no exception. The face of the famous little mouse sparkling with black and white diamonds twirls around in pendants and watches and his famous three circle silhouette decorates bracelets, earrings and pendants. At the launch event at the Electric Cinema in Portobello Road, London, Caroline Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard presented the collection. "We have always been associated with the cinema and celebrities so why not Mickey Mouse, who is the most famous and also immortal celebrity?," says Ms Scheufele, aptly dressed in a Mickey Mouse t-shirt and wearing round her neck, the hefty entirely diamond and ruby set Happy Mickey pendant that sells for over £100,000. Mickey's jaunty shoes are paved in yellow diamonds. "Why should high jewellery always be serious?" asks Ms Scheufele with a smile. "After making so many animal-themed jewels," says Ms Scheufele, "Mickey was not so difficult. But there are so many rules to follow when dealing with Mickey. He comes with pages and pages of instructions. You have to be particularly careful with his nose." Walt Disney spokesperson Carla Bowden explained to me that entertainment company cherry-picked Chopard after researching the jewellery sector and a visit to BaselWorld Fair. Ms Bowden says that Chopard had the reputation and the right values to be the chosen partner for this precious recreation of the world's favourite mouse. Eva Herzigova and Jemma Kidd turned up with their posse of little children and they all put on their velvet Mickey Mouse ears, provided at the entrance, while the children watched vintage Disney cartoons and cut a Mickey Mouse cake.
