Chopard - A Brand History!

Watchmaking was a common profession in the Swiss Jura, so to separate his new business from dozens of competitors, he distinguished himself with the motto “Quality with the maximum possible work by hand.” It’s a work ethic which still applies to this independent luxury manufacturer today.

Despite carving a fine reputation in Switzerland, Chopard watched as the Industrial Revolution put several domestic watchmakers out of business. Convinced he could market his fine pieces in Eastern Europe, Chopard travelled through Poland, Russia and Hungary. Before long, his watches could be seen in the court of Tzar Nicholas II, and Chopard had established itself as a pan-European success.

Just over a century after its foundation, Chopard entered a completely new era in 1963, when renowned jewellery entrepreneur Karl Scheufele III bought the company. With Scheufele’s influence and expertise, Chopard started offering fine jewellery in addition to watches. In 1976, these two segments combined with great success in the famous Happy Diamonds collection, a range of ladies’ watches with diamonds that appear to float freely between two transparent sapphire crystals.

In 1988, Chopard sponsored the re-launch of the Italian Mille Miglia vintage car rally, which spawned its highly lauded Mille Miglia sports watch. The brand has released a new special edition each year since – the 2011 Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono boasts an in-house self-winding chronograph movement, 44mm case and a unique Dunlop racing tyre rubber strap.

In 1996, Chopard aimed to rekindle the spirit of its humble nineteenth century origins by becoming a ‘manufacture’ – it dedicated itself to producing all movements in-house. The L.U.C. 1.96 was the first in-house Chopard movement of the late twentieth century, and it helped the “1860” hunter-back case win a coveted Watch of the Year award in 1997.

Today, Chopard offers three core watch collections, each put together with painstaking attention to detail and unrivalled hand craftsmanship. The L.U.C. range features Chopard’s renowned in-house movements, exceptional tourbillon complications and innovations such as the L.U.C. Tonneau – the first ever tonneau-shaped self-winding movement. The Classic range is predominantly made up of the famous Mille Miglia piece: rubber straps, generous case sizes and skilfully engineered chronograph movements are the order of the day in this collection. Finally, the Ladies’ collection bridges the gap between fine watchmaking and high jewellery, with pieces such as the aforementioned Happy Diamonds and the delicately appointed Xtravaganza.

Additionally, Chopard [soon to launch online at TIME²) has a longstanding relationship with the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and offers a collection of audacious designs to support it.

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