SIR
ELTON JOHN & CHOPARD
RAISE MORE THAN £3.9 MILLIONS
AT
THE 7TH ANNUAL
WHITE TIE & TIARA BALL
Woodside, Old Windsor, UK – For the seventh consecutive
year, Sir Elton John and David Furnish opened
their Windsor home to
their friends to raise millions for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and
their
fight against AIDS on Thursday 23rd June 2005.
This glamorous
charity event has now become one of the highlights of the London season.
This year, Chic and Patti
Labelle were the entertainers, along with the Sinikithemba
Choir,
who Elton John met in Durban in January 2005 and invited to perform
with him
and his full band. Sharon
Stone,
Elizabeth Hurley, Rod Stewart & Penny Lancaster, Hugh Grant and
Jemima
Khan, Bob Geldof, Dame Shirley Bassey, Eva Herzigova, Diana Ross, Kate
Moss,
Linda Evangelista, Lulu, Sharon Osbourne, and The
Duchess of York are
just a few of the celebrities who came to support Sir Elton and lend
their name
to this important cause.
Elton John’s love of jewellery is
well known. His friend Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, Co-President
of
Chopard had created especially for him a large yellow gold
and diamond
cross, with a 31-carat exquisite yellow diamond.
Many guests chose to wear for this
elegant night Chopard jewellery creations: for Victoria
Beckham, a
beautiful 59 carats sapphire heart ring, Sharon Stone
chose long
dangling earrings and pear shaped emeralds, Elizabeth Hurley,
a stunning
diamond tiara, Patti Labelle, a large diamond set, The
Duchess of
York, an emerald and diamond set, Lulu wearing pearl earrings
and diamonds,
Eva Herzigova chose earrings from the Copacabana
collection, Penny
Lancaster, adorned with a 56 carats heart shaped diamond
necklace, Dame
Shirley Bassey, chose a cognac diamond set….
But the largest jewel of the night
was the extraordinary 85 carat rough diamond from South Africa
that
Chopard chose to unveil at the event, to add its own touch to the
African
theme. This one of a kind stone is so
exceptional that it will be cut down to reveal two magnificent gems: a
new 35
carat D Flawless Ashoka - the largest Ashoka diamond ever cut
– and an
exquisite 15 carat D Flawless emerald-cut diamond. Both stones will be
cut by
William Goldberg. A generous portion from the sales of these jewels
will be
donated to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
This year’s White Tie & Tiara Ball was the most
spectacular yet. A feel of Africa dominated the
beautiful grounds of Woodside. Following Sir Elton John's and David
Furnish’s
visit to South Africa at the beginning of 2005 - both for the
charity’s first
fundraising event in Africa (The Cape Town Ball) and to visit projects
of the
Elton John AIDS Foundation - they felt that Africa was the only theme
that
should be considered for this year’s event.
As guests walked through the
garden, they were surprised to encounter a couple of giraffes and
zebras and to
hear the sounds of a family of gorillas, at home in Woodside for one
night… A
traditional African musical group and the South African Sinikithemba
Choir set
the African atmosphere.
After the reception, the hosts were escorted to an elegant and
contemporary safari lodge overlooking the lake. The dark wood floors,
crossbeams, tribal shields on the walls, and lavishly draped muslin
were the
set of a sumptuous dinner. Delicious African skewers, African Beef
Entrecote,
were followed by a unique chocolate-roofed African hut and tropical
fruit salad
market boat. The room was filled with luxurious flowers from Africa,
including
proteas, the national flower of South Africa, gathered by Rob Van
Helden. Guests
had the feeling of having decamped to the plains with their finest
dinnerware
and goods…whilst looking out at the African landscape.
Presented by Sharon Stone, the auction raised over £ 1
million. Hosts bid
for unique lots such as a Portrait Session with David Bailey, a Dinner
with
Elton and David at their newly refurbished London home, and a Bentley
Continental Flying Spur.
After the live performances, guests danced late in the thatched portico
overlooking the lake…
Chopard also chose the exotic setting
of the event to launch the latest in its series of Elton John Watches,
a
vibrant “Orange” chronograph,
limited to 2000 pieces, of which a
substantial portion of the sales proceeds will benefit the Elton John
AIDS
Foundation. The guests discovered the watch, as well as a number of
rare and
dazzling diamond creations, hidden in unique African hut-inspired
displays in
Sir Elton John’s garden.
For many years now Chopard has been active in
supporting medical research, and we have given aid to numerous
foundations.
When Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele met Sir Elton John eight years ago, he
immediately approached her with the idea that Chopard could take an
active role
in his foundation’s fight against AIDS. The most original and
effective way for
Chopard to help was to create and promote a series of watches, designed
to
reflect Sir Elton John’s style. Together they have made this
a reality, and
Chopard is truly excited to present another beautiful creation,
“The Orange
Watch” to add to the collection. The Elton John Watch
Collection is available
at the Chopard Boutiques worldwide. Chopard donates parts of the
benefits of
the sales to the Elton John AIDS Foundation as part of an overall
programme of
support. As part of its continuous support, Chopard co-hosted Elton
John’s
Oscars Party in February, and has been for six years the partner of the
wonderful White Tie & Tiara Ball.
Elton John, who serves as Chairman,
established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1993. With offices in Los
Angeles
and London, The Foundation is an international non-profit organization
that
provides funding for prevention education programs and direct patient
care
services supporting men, women, young adults, children, infants,
minorities and
entire families living with HIV/AIDS. Since its inception, the
Foundation has
distributed more than $62 million in grants worldwide.
