POWER PACKED

How the art of watchmaking finds expression at Chopard’s manufactures in Fleurier and Meyrin

- by Preetika Mathew

— Within Switzerland, the municipalities of Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds are by far the most commonly mentioned ‘heart of the Swiss watch industry, home to the manufactures of some of the biggest and most familiar names.

Fleurier, which is an hour-and-a-half drive from Geneva, and Meyrin, within Geneva itself, are by comparison more understated locales, though this doesn’t diminish their horological heft in any way. The small village of Fleurier is home to several haute horlogerie brands, a movement maker, and the office of a prestigious quality certification seal, while Meyrin is regarded as one of the main industrial hubs for watchmaking in the region. Common to both is Chopard, which has a manufacture in each.

Fleurier

Fleurier, which means ‘Village of Flowers’, is a historic village in the Val-de-Travers region of the canton of Neuchâtel, and watchmaking here can be traced back to 1730, following iron discoveries in the region. Chopard’s modern history in Fleurier began with Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President, who founded the manufacture here in 1996 with the idea of developing an haute horlogerie collection of watches. “Establishing a true Manufacture could only have been achieved in Fleurier, not in Geneva. This step brought our group a wealth of expertise we did not previously possess,” said Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. Today, the Fleurier manufacture is dedicated to the production of its L.U.C (Louis-Ulysse Chopard) collection, named after the founder of the brand. The line represents the pinnacle of watchmaking for Chopard, characterised by in-house, superlative, and high-precision movement making, and intricate craftsmanship, decoration, and finishing.