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Chopard is a Swiss-based luxury watch, jewellery and accessories company founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard at the age of 24. Chopard initially concentrated on developing precise pocket-watches and chronometers.
In 1963 the company was taken over by young goldsmith and watchmaker Karl Scheufele, after Paul-Andre Chopard, the last master watchmaker who maintained the horological roots of the family, was forced to give up the business since his sons, following other careers, refused to manage the business.
Mr Scheufele is still the company president and has kept it as a family business. In the 1990s his children joined the business. Caroline is the head of the jewellery division, while Karl-Friedrich manages the watch-making department.
In 2006 the company celebrated the 30th anniversary of Happy Diamonds watch collection.
The company has strong links with the Cannes Film Festival, which started in 1997. The relationship was initiated after a chance meeting between Caroline, Chopard co-president, and Pierre Viot, president of the festival.
By Viot’s request, Mrs Gruosi-Scheufele, with the help of a team of Chopard master craftsmen, redesigned the Golden Palm Award. The Palme d’Or redesigned by Chopard was unveiled on May 24, 1998.
The partnership continued with Chopard’s introduction of a new award to promote creativity in films. Since 2001, the Chopard Trophy has been awarded to two young actors as Male and Female Revelation of the Year.
During the festivals, for every red carpet, the Chopard Company dresses celebrities in its jewellery pieces and watches. The company employs a staff of more than 100 people who work with the stars.
To mark the 60th anniversary of the festival in 2007 the Chopard Company developed the Red Carpet Collection in co-operation with celebrated designer Valentino. Caroline Scheufele created 60 jewellery pieces inspired by the celebrities at Cannes, while Valentino designed 10 gowns to complement 10 of the company’s jewels.
