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Chopard

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Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie S.A.,cite-ref-1[1] commonly known as Chopard (French pronunciation: [ʃɔpaʁ]), is a Swiss manufacturer and retailer of luxury watches, jewellery and accessories.cite-ref-0-2-0[2]cite-ref-3[3] Founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in Sonvilier, Switzerland, Chopard has been owned by the Scheufele family of Germany since 1963.cite-ref-0-2-1[2]cite-ref-4[4]cite-ref-1-5-0[5]

Chopard is best known for making high-quality Swiss watches and jewellery, and its clients have included Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.cite-ref-1-5-1[5]cite-ref-luxos-6-0[6] The company is headquartered in Geneva and has a site in Fleurier, Canton of Neuchâtel, that manufactures watch movements.cite-ref-ftinterview-7-0[7]

Contents

• History

• Early history

• Recent developments

• Auction record

• Sponsorship

• See also

• References

• External links

History

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.cite-ref-1-5-2[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.cite-ref-ftinterview-7-1[7] Paul-André took over the company in 1943.cite-ref-ey-8-0[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.cite-ref-ey-8-1[8]cite-ref-history-of-chopard-9-0[9]

Recent developments

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.cite-ref-history-of-chopard-9-1[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.cite-ref-ftinterview-7-2[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.cite-ref-luxury-10-0[10]

In 2014, Chopard recorded sales of CHF800m (US$915m) and had roughly 2,000 employees worldwide, of whom 900 were working in Switzerland.cite-ref-ftinterview-7-3[7]cite-ref-ey-8-2[8] The European Patent Office lists more than 20 references to Chopard since 2002.cite-ref-11[11]

In 2015, French actress Marion Cotillard designed a bracelet for Chopard's Green Carpet Collection made of ethical Fairmined-certified gold.cite-ref-chopard-12-0[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.cite-ref-44-13-0[13]cite-ref-45-14-0[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.cite-ref-44-13-1[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.cite-ref-15[15]cite-ref-16[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.cite-ref-17[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.cite-ref-18[18]cite-ref-19[19]cite-ref-20[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.cite-ref-2-21-0[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.cite-ref-2-21-1[21]

Sponsorship

Chopard is a corporate partner of:

• The Mille Miglia car rally since 1988.cite-ref-22[22]

• The Cannes Film Festival since 1998, sponsoring the Trophée Chopard prize and making the Palme d’Or trophy.cite-ref-ftinterview-7-4[7]cite-ref-history-of-chopard-9-2[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.cite-ref-special-edition-palme-d-or-23-0[23]

• The Historic Grand Prix of Monaco as official timekeeper since 2002.cite-ref-24[24]