« Founders, Tradition, and the History of a Luxury Group »
Chopard is today one of the great names in haute horlogerie and also one of the world's best-known makers of fine jewelry. The history of this renowned watch and jewelry manufacture dates back to the middle of the 19th century. Even though it has since grown into a global group, the company still places the greatest importance on a high degree of vertical integration and extensive handcraftsmanship. Discover the Chopard story, a gleaming tradition passed down from generation to generation.
The Origins: A Small Workshop in the Swiss Jura
Louis-Ulysse Chopard was a young, mechanically gifted farmer's son who devoted himself to watchmaking with enthusiasm and great dedication. He was born on May 4, 1836, the second son of Félicien Chopard and his wife Henriette, who had four children together. His father was an experienced, tradition-minded farmer who encouraged his sons to learn the watchmaker's trade. At the time, many farmers in the mountain villages of Switzerland assembled watch movements at home as a way to earn some extra income during the lean, unprofitable winter months. Every spring, representatives of the watch companies came to collect the finished movements. This is where the story of one of the world's best-known manufactures begins.
In the beginning, however, watches were fitted with dials and hands and cased up, then brought to market as finished models. The young Louis-Ulysse Chopard quickly recognized that the watch trade offered the highest profit margins in this business, and that it would therefore be economically more attractive for him to work independently rather than supply other firms as a home worker. And so his desire to found his own brand grew, and in 1860 the 24-year-old finally took the plunge into self-employment, beginning a story that is second to none. In Sonvilier, a small village in the heart of the Swiss Jura, he founded the workshop that became the nucleus of the watch and jewelry group that still bears his name today.
International Expansion as a Recipe for Success
Although the young watchmaker did not engage in mass production of any kind, the high quality and reliability of his products allowed him to build up a substantial customer base relatively quickly. He soon realized that opening up foreign markets offered a rewarding prospect for the future and began systematically selling his watches in various countries, initially above all in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Scandinavia. In 1912, for example, he traveled to Poland, Hungary, and the Netherlands to present his latest and most refined creations. In this way, he won an international clientele that included prominent figures of history. Among them was Russian Tsar Nicholas II, at whose court watches and chronometers from the house of Chopard marked the relentless passage of time. Over the years, the focus of production shifted increasingly from the pocket watches that dominated at first to wristwatches, which remain by far the most important part of the brand's watch lineup today and which also hold the greatest significance in the history of the jewelry group.
The Move to La Chaux-de-Fonds and Geneva
Louis-Ulysse Chopard died on January 30, 1915, in the midst of World War I. To his son Paul Louis, born in 1859, he left a company that had already reached a considerable size and maintained trade relations with numerous countries. In 1921, Paul Louis Chopard set out to make history and opened the first branch, along with a new headquarters, in La Chaux-de-Fonds. This left a lasting mark on the town, as it was the starting point for a watchmaking story all its own.
To be closer to his international clientele, he moved again in 1937, this time to Geneva, which was already regarded internationally as the "capital" of haute horlogerie. During this period, too, the excellent reputation of the brand founded by Louis-Ulysse Chopard rested above all on the high reliability and accuracy of its watches.
Six years later, Paul André Chopard, the founder's grandson, took over the management of the company.
Family History Isn't Always Easy: The Search for a Successor
When Paul André, at an advanced age, was looking for a suitable candidate to carry on the company, he faced a major problem: none of his sons showed any interest in the business and its remarkable history. A solution that pleased everyone involved emerged, however, when he met Karl Scheufele in 1963. Scheufele came from a family of jewelers and watchmakers from Pforzheim and, after a brief meeting, announced his intention to acquire the storied firm and breathe new spirit into a brand well established in haute horlogerie. Over the course of some 40 years, Scheufele and his family succeeded in growing the company to an impressive size. In addition to highly skilled watchmakers and jewelers, Scheufele relied above all on innovation and a high degree of creativity in the production of wristwatches and jewelry. With the Scheufele family, a new era began in Chopard's history.
Dynamic Growth, Preserved Independence
Scheufele and his wife Karin, who are still active in the company today, also pushed ahead with its international expansion.
Through it all, they achieved something not granted to every renowned Swiss watch manufacture: they have kept their company independent to this day, while many other storied Swiss brands have long since become part of the portfolio of the Swatch Group, French luxury goods conglomerates, or Asian investment firms.
The Handover to the Next Generation Is Secured
Karl and Karin Scheufele need not worry about the continuation of their life's work, as both of their children already serve as co-presidents of the company and stand ready to succeed them. While Caroline Scheufele is responsible for jewelry and the women's collections, her brother Karl-Friedrich oversees the men's collections and heads the group's own manufacture in Fleurier, where the movements for the wristwatches of the L.U.C collection are produced. The legacy of Louis-Ulysse Chopard should therefore remain in good hands for the future. The L.U.C Collection marks the milestones of his history.
And the odds are good that the company he founded will hold its own in the 21st century as an independent maker of fine jewelry and high-end wristwatches, because with watch and jewelry collections such as Happy Diamonds and Happy Sport watches, as well as the watches of the Classic Racing Collection and the Chopard Imperiale, it is now present in nearly every major city in the world. Most would therefore call this a happy ending to the story, but those who know the Scheufele family know it may just as well be only the beginning.
