In 1860 a young watchmaker named Louis-Ulysse
Chopard had a dream of making and selling watches with his own name printed on
the dial. He therefore opened a small business in the village Sonvilier in
Switzerland, in an old stone building with the letters L.U.C. painted over the
entrance. A business we today know as the international luxury watch and
jewelry corporation Chopard.
In the 1920s Chopard moved his small business to La Chaux-Fonds, and later to Geneva in 1937, with the goal of moving the company closer to its cosmopolitan clientele. A strong and solid reputation was soon established in the quality watch industry, and the buyers came in from all over Europe, including Russia.
Chopard’s
ownership went through three generations of Chopard men before the family lost their interest in the keeping the company. The company was therefore sold to Karl Scheufele, a young man
descending from a long line German jewelers and watchmakers. The sale took
place in 1963.
At the point
of sale Scheufele moved his own company (named Eszehal) under the Chopard brand and
with this move the jewelry segment were implemented into Chopard.
Under the
new ownership Chopard went through an extensive modernization face, with strong
emphasis on international expansion. The first brand boutiques were opened in
Hong Kong, Geneva and Vienna in the 1980s.
Further
brand and product line extensions were introduced during the following period.
From the 1970s until today there have constantly been introductions of new collections, all with great success. These collections were, among others, the Happy Diamons collection of 1976, the Happy Sport collection of 1993 and the L.U.C. series starting in 1996.
Their first fragrance was introduced in 2006
with the launch of Chopard pour Homme. The first female fragrance Happy Spirit
followed a year later.
Chopard have also expanded into
other accessory lines such as leather bags, eyewear and writing instruments.
During
these years Chopard also acquired several partnerships.
An official partnership with the International Film Festival in Cannes started in
1998.
The first 8 meter world sailing championship sponsored by Chopard was held in 2006.
Over
the 153 years of existence Chopard have grown to be a well know international company. From the opening of the first three boutiques in the 1980s, they now have almost 150 brand boutiques under its name, and thousands of retailers worldwide. Through it all Scheufele
have still managed to maintain Chopard as a family business. The
leadership now consists of Scheufele as company president, and his two children
as head of the two different divisions; jewelry and watchmaking.
MK
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