Happy 25th

Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele on the last quarter century of the maison’s watch manufacture and on what makes its LUC collection stand out.

- Wei-Yu Wang

“OF COURSE, IT’S only a milestone at the end and we have lots of things that we want to do still. But looking back, we accomplished a few interesting movements and I think it was time well-spent, and most of all, it gave an additional dimension to our brand,” says Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, speaking about the 25th anniversary of its watch manufacture’s founding.

The maison was once better known for its jewellery pieces, such as the iconic Happy Diamonds collection. But about three decades ago, Scheufele, who joined the family company in the 1980s, initiated a plan to properly entrench Chopard in the Swiss watchmaking landscape. This resulted in its own manufacture opening in Fleurier in 1996, and it has since been steadily carving out a niche for itself. In the process, it grew from a small operation into a modern, hightech manufacture with well over 200 employees. Scheufele compares the early day to a start-up. “We kept a bit of that spirit,” he says. “We still have a very innovative spirit within the team, which is a wonderful and motivating atmosphere.”