Chopard
Swiss manufacturer and retailer of luxury watches, jewellery and accessories From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie S.A.,[1] commonly known as Chopard (French pronunciation: [ʃɔpaʁ]), is a Swiss manufacturer and retailer of luxury watches, jewellery and accessories.[2][3] Founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in Sonvilier, Switzerland, Chopard has been owned by the Scheufele family of Germany since 1963.[2][4][5]
| |
| Chopard | |
| Company type | Private (société anonyme) |
| Industry | Watchmaking, luxury goods |
| Founded | 1860 |
| Founder | Louis-Ulysse Chopard |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Co-Presidents: Caroline Scheufele Karl-Friedrich Scheufele |
| Products | Watches, jewellery |
Production output | 75,000 watches (2016) 75,000 jewelleries (2016) |
| Revenue | More than CHF 500 million (2016) |
| Owner | Scheufele family |
| Website | chopard.com |
Chopard is best known for making high-quality Swiss watches and jewellery, and its clients have included Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.[5][6] The company is headquartered in Geneva and has a site in Fleurier, Canton of Neuchâtel, that manufactures watch movements.[7]
History
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Perspective
Early history
The company founder, Louis-Ulysse Chopard, was a Swiss watchmaker who grew up in Sonvilier, a town in Swiss Jura. In 1860, he established his L.U.C. manufacturing company in Sonvilier, having observed that it was more profitable to market a finished watch than to just make the mechanical movement.
After Louis-Ulysse's death in 1915, the company was taken over by his son Paul-Louis and grandson Paul-André.[5] The company specialised in making pocket watches and ladies’ wristwatches. In 1921, Paul-Louis moved the company operations to a larger town, Chaux-de-Fonds, in the Canton of Neuchâtel. In 1937, at that time a company of 150 employees, the company relocated to Geneva. This enabled the movements made by the company to be certified with the Geneva Seal, a mark applied only to watch movements made in the Canton of Geneva.[7] Paul-André took over the company in 1943.[8]
In 1963, having no children wishing to continue in the business, Paul-André Chopard sold it to Karl Scheufele III, a German goldsmith and watchmaker from Pforzheim, who was seeking a watch movement manufacturer exclusively for his own business.[8][9]
Recent developments
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In 1974, the Chopard factory moved from the center of Geneva to Meyrin-Geneva and in 1976 the company started making watches that contained its signature free-floating diamond behind sapphire glass. In the 1980s, the company expanded into making sports watches for men and diamond jewellery for women.[9]
In 1996, the company established its own complete watch movement manufacturing facility in Fleurier, in the Swiss Canton of Neuchâtel. Prior to that time, all Chopard's movements had been assembled from third-party components. The movements made in Fleurier were intended for the high-end watches in the Chopard range.[7]
In 2010, the company celebrated its 150th anniversary, by which time the company's estimated sales were €550 million in total (of which €250 million were from watches) with about 100 stores around the world.[10]
In 2014, Chopard recorded sales of CHF800m (US$915m) and had roughly 2,000 employees worldwide, of whom 900 were working in Switzerland.[7][8] The European Patent Office lists more than 20 references to Chopard since 2002.[11]
In 2015, French actress Marion Cotillard designed a bracelet for Chopard's Green Carpet Collection made of ethical Fairmined-certified gold.[12]
In December 2018, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released a report assigning environmental ratings to 15 major watch manufacturers and jewelers in Switzerland.[13][14] Chopard was given a below-average environmental rating as "Lower Midfield", suggesting that the manufacturer has only taken a few actions addressing the impact of its manufacturing activities on the environment and climate change.[13] Since 2013, Chopard has been promoting its products as using ethical and sustainable gold; implementing this practice with the company's full product line remains a long-term objective.[15][16]
In 2020, Cotillard designed her own sustainable jewelry collection for Chopard entitled "Ice Cube Capsule". She designed seven items curated from Fairmined-certified ethical gold and diamonds.[17]
The company produces around 75,000 timepieces and 75,000 jewelleries each year, and is an active member of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH.[18][19][20]
Auction record
A Chopard "Happy Diamond" wristwatch was sold in auction by Christie's for around US$1.67 million (CHF 1,685,000) in Geneva on November 10, 2015.[21] The watch has quartz movement and carries a pink marquise-cut diamond, weighing approximately 2.62 carats, and a blue marquise-cut diamond, weighing approximately 1.48 carat.[21]
Sponsorship
Chopard is a corporate partner of:
- The Mille Miglia car rally since 1988.[22]
- The Cannes Film Festival since 1998, sponsoring the Trophée Chopard prize and making the Palme d’Or trophy.[7][9] To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival and the 20th anniversary of their partnership, Chopard created a special Palme D'Or adorned with 'Fairmined' diamonds.[23]
- The Historic Grand Prix of Monaco as official timekeeper since 2002.[24]
See also
References
External links
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