Happy Diamonds Chopard 1986 Eau de Parfum

This is one of my most cherished winter favourites, that I will probably put away for a while now that temperatures are rising.

I remember when I first tried it, I would not have guessed it to be from 1986. Maybe 1966. It just seemed a lot older than the typical 80s perfumes. It's an animalic perfume well suited for fur. I could feel a brief similarity to Bal a Versailles during the very first minute, but thankfully it passed - I'm not a big fan of BaV. Too dirty - Happy Diamonds is animalic in a different way, purer, with a very luxurious feeling to it.

Civet is strong, but there's a warm blend of tonka and benzoin, a little vanilla, and amber. Orange blossom is the most prominent flower note, but iris and heliotrope come through after maybe 10-15 minutes. Then the benzoin becomes smokier, and this is where it becomes a true 80s beauty. I have seen it compared to Sonia Bogner Now, and while there is a certain resemblance, I find Happy Diamonds to be less amber-vanilla-powdery, and all in all a better and more high quality perfume.

I definitely think of it as a winter scent - I get an image of my mum back in 1984, when she wore a cream white fur coat, high heeled boots, had Sue Ellen hair and smoked green Dunhill cigarettes. I don't have any of those things, but I happily wear this beauty anyway in the colder months.

This fragrance was released in 1986, the first from the noble jeweler Chopard. Apparently also the best! I snagged this at a flea market for €20. The 75 ml size (which I own) would normally cost over a hundred euros, and this scent is definitely worth it.

From the "fascinating" scented water, there are still 40 ml left from the original 75 ml. One spray costs me to describe this fragrance to you. It’s as if the most beautiful nuances, fruits, flowers, and resins come out with that "one" spray. I am endlessly fascinated. I have hardly smelled anything so beautiful and worship-worthy as a "spoiled" nose, and I have smelled a lot.

With the first spray, it feels as if "juicy" sun-ripened fruits caress the nose, and a little later, floral blossoms join in. The "bitter" clove is soft and cuddly here, a bit of heliotrope, a little more tuberose, and aphrodisiac ylang-ylang seduce.

The base note with animalic elements sets in a bit too early, but it doesn’t disturb at all. Vetiver and civet make the scent herbaceous, almost a little leathery, while sweet notes of vanilla, benzoin, and tonka bean come through only in nuances; the sweetness is definitely there, albeit not very strong. The base note can definitely be described in one word: Finest cashmere.

Happy Diamonds could just as well have come from a house like Etro, Jean Patou, or Annick Goutal, definitely a classic that would still fit in 2024.

A fullness of scent, a dance, not "only" oriental, fruity, balsamic, woody, floral, but a bit of everything. Like the most beautiful brilliant, the finest gold, or the purest diamond full of facets. That is Happy Diamonds.

This Chopard bears a great resemblance to the 1900 from MCM; however, Happy Diamonds is the luxury edition here, darker, deeper, and more expressive.

A fragrance for kings and actually the true Clive Christian N°1. Sorry Clive, I love your N°1 very much, but Happy Diamonds more than deserves the title of "most expensive perfume" in the world.