CHOPARD, A FAMILY FLAIR FOR BEAUTY
Here is a company that for the past 150 years has been committed to proving that a watch can be a work of art. But if you ever thought that the best watch must be of Swiss origin, you might be surprised. Despite Geneva having been the Chopard headquarters for many years, the brand’s genealogy is not quite as you may have imagined. One thing is certain though: its products are absolute perfection.
Swiss Point of Departure
The history of the Chopard brand begins unconventionally: in two different locations. First, let us travel back to 1860 in Sonvilier, a little town not far from Geneva. There, a young ambitious watchmaker, Louis-Ulysse Chopard, has just opened his first workshop. Since quite a few similar shops were being opened in the area, there is nothing all that extraordinary about the idea itself. But it is only Chopard who manages to shine bright among the multitude of competitors. His pocket watches are both beautiful and reliable. Their unique design satisfies the taste of Tsar Nicholas II. Chopard’s small workshop is rapidly gaining recognition and people start associating his name with the highest quality.
German accent
While Chopard is gaining international fame, Karl Gotthilf Scheufele is making great strides in Germany. He not only creates splendid watches, but his earrings, necklaces and bracelets are just as awe-inspiring. Karl’s projects give evidence of his passion for stunning details and also of his ingenuity. It was Scheufele who came up with the idea for a special clip that enabled attaching a pocket watch to the wrist. We are greatly indebted to Sheufele, because in this way he made women’s watches widely popular; no longer treated merely as timers, but also as jewelry. His story is about success, although Scheufele’s dream of opening a facility in Switzerland is put on hold. The specter of war hangs over Germany.
Next generations
Louis-Ulysse Chopard dies in 1915. His son Paul-Louis and grandson Paul-Andre take over the workshop. Like Louis-Ulysse, they are as skillful in watchmaking as they are in doing business, so the family business flourishes. They relocate to Geneva. A similar story uncoils in Germany, where Eszeha, Karl Scheufele’s studio, still operates quite vigorously after the death of the founder. It is managed by the son and grandson of the goldsmith. It is Karl III, who fulfills his grandfather’s dream of moving the family business to Geneva. In this way he also intertwines his family’s destiny with that of the Chopards.
Marrying the two families
Scheufele is well aware of the fact that, despite the huge success in Germany, to develop its brand further, it must combine it with Swiss legendary products. At the same time, Paul Andre Chopard is struggling with a serious problem – he is 70 years-old himself, and none of his sons are interested in the family business. So he decides to put the company up for sale, and his offer immediately draws the attention of Scheufele, who wrote about the first meeting:
‘As soon as I visited the Geneva workshops and saw the venerable Mr. Chopard seated at his workbench in front of the window, I knew that our two companies were bound to get on well. After half an hour of conversation, I knew it was the right choice.’
Family above all
Admittedly, Scheufele was right. Joining efforts with the Swiss workshop helped him spread his wings. His creativity in design and beautiful Art Deco designs gave the Chopard brand a new life. That’s when lines and collections, which today are synonymous with craftsmanship and art at the highest level, began to appear. Take the Happy Diamonds collection. The first watches in the series were made of onyx, which was supposed to imitate light-splitting waterfall drops. Up to this day, the distinctive diamonds, ‘dancing’ on the watch case are one of Chopard’s hallmark motifs. Another thing you should know about the brand is that it is still in the hands of the Scheufele family, making it one of the last such enterprises in the industry. Undeniably, an incredible talent for creating luxurious jewelry and watches that generate perfect combinations of jewelry and art is a family value. Just take a look for yourself!
