Louis-Ulysse Chopard began his venture into the world of timepieces in 1860 when he was only 24.  He opted to set up a small factory in Sonvilier, which is in the Swiss Jura Mountains.  The rest of Chopard’s family was also involved in the watchmaking industry, so he decided to follow in their footsteps.  However, Chopard decided to concentrate on a particular area of the industry – developing precise pocket watches and chronometers.  The business of Chopard watches remained in the family until the 1960s.  During this time, the company was led by Paul-Andre Chopard.  However, Paul-Andre’s sons were not interested in joining the family business, which prompted him to sell the business to Karl Scheufele, who had honed his watchmaking skills at his own family’s company.  Under the leadership of Scheufele, the Chopard company began incorporating jewelry into their watches.  Scheufele remains the president of the Chopard company today.  Two of his children have also joined the business.  Son Karl-Friedrich now runs the watch division of Chopard and daughter Caroline is head of the jewelry design department at the company.  A major breakthrough for the Chopard watch collection came in 1996, when the company crafted a new automatic movement for watches.  That model went on to become known as the L.U.C. watch, which was eventually given the honor of “Watch of the Year” in 1997. 

 

The Chopard Legacy

 

Chopard watches have continued to gain popularity around the globe.  Currently, Chopard has three production sites in Europe (Genevia, Fleurier, and Pforzheim, Germany) in addition to the eight U.S. locations (New York, Beverly Hills, South Coast Plaza, Bal Harbour, Palm Beach, Honolulu, Natick, and Houston).  The integration of jewels into the creation of Chopard watches served as an important means of advancement for the company.  They currently partner with New York’s William Goldberg Diamond Corporation, which is among the top suppliers of precious stones worldwide. 

 

The Chopard Watch Collection

 

The most notable Chopard watch is the Happy Diamonds, which features seven, free floating diamonds within the dial. The luxurious watch is encased in 18-karat gold with free-floating diamond and sapphire accents.  In 1988, Chopard aligned with an Italian vintage car race, the Mille Miglia, to create a unique line of watches to showcase the company’s appreciation and involvement in sports. The Mille Miglia men’s watches feature brightly colored dials in tribute to the vintage racecars.  Another important partnership is the one Chopard shares with the William Goldberg Diamond Corporation.  The corporation patented a recreation of a diamond cut known as the Ashoka, which represents a flawless diamond.  In 2006, Chopard partnered with William Goldberg to create a unique Chopard watch line that is set specifically with Ashoka diamonds.  The line (which is currently in the production stage) will feature six different Chopard watch models that use the Ashoka diamonds. 

 

Chopard at Wingate’s

 

Wingate’s is proud to offer a selection of definitive Chopard watches for men and women including: Dual Tec, Happy Diamonds, Ice Cube, Imperiale, La Strada and Mille Miglia.