The Chopard History

Chopard’s humble roots date back to 1860 when Louis-Ulysse Chopard, the son of a farmer, established a high-precision watch manufacture in Sonvilier, Switzerland. At the time, Louis-Ulysse was only a 24-year-old youth whose passion for crafting innovative timepieces earned him a solid reputation among the famous and the royal, including the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Specialising in chronometers and pocket watches, Chopard soon gained prominence in the international market as a Swiss manufacturer of reliable and high-quality timepieces.

In 1915, Louis-Ulysse’s son Paul-Louis Chopard set up a branch in the Swiss town of La-Chaux-de-Fonds and, in 1937, relocated the company headquarters to Geneva. However, post the Second World War, prospects for the company looked bleak, and by the 1960s, Paul-Louis’s son Paul-André Chopard considered selling. German goldsmith and watchmaker Karl Scheufele III acquired the Swiss firm in 1963 and started a new era for Chopard. 

A Legacy of Chopard’s Timeless Creations

The remarkable legacy of Chopard timepieces has its origin in the high-precision chronometers and pocket watches manufactured at Sonvilier. However, as its reputation spread far beyond the Swiss borders, its watchmaking innovation and flair scaled new heights. 

Chopard’s first Happy Diamonds watch was created in 1976 and was a unique patented invention of the company. With movable diamonds spinning and sliding between two transparent sapphire crystals, the Happy Diamond watches redefined the theme of diamond-decked timepieces. In 1980, Chopard revealed St. Moritz, an elegant steel sports watch with shock and water-resistant properties. Taking challenges and innovations a notch higher, Chopard’s first complicated wristwatch, the Luna D’Oro with a retrograde display and perpetual calendar, came out in 1984. In 1988, Chopard’s partnership with the motorsport endurance race Mille Miglia inspired the brand to create a collection of timepieces embodying a sportive spirit and design of vintage cars - the Mille Miglia line of watches. 

The watchmaking finesse continued in the 90s with the launch of the 1993 Happy Sports collection featuring timepieces crafted from steel and diamonds.  Happy Sports collection redefined watch designs as it became the first watch series to flaunt moving diamonds placed between two crystal sapphire glasses on the face of the watch. It was a grand success, and it was followed by the launch of the iconic Imperiale Collection - a tribute to modern achievers and empresses, a collection that took inspiration from the heydays of great empires. 

Chopard has also been instrumental in establishing the Fleurier Quality Foundation - an independent body that tests the quality of Chopard timepieces. Along with submitting the results acquired from the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute for precision, this institute uses more comprehensive testing methods to evaluate a masterpiece so that each timepiece ranks high on both technical and aesthetic criteria. The validation criteria include: The watches have to be completely Swiss-made; they should have COSC-certified chronometers, and they should pass the chronofiable test (ageing cycle, shock resistance tests, etc.). Once the technical aspects are tested, the watches go through an aesthetic qualitative evaluation where the metal or avante-garde materials used and their finishing is checked (no plastics are allowed). Finally, the finished watches are tested using the Fleuritest machine - a machine that replicates the condition of a watch when it is worn for 24 hours. Chopard’s L.U.C watches and calibres continue to ace the Fleurier Quality Foundation Certification tests and have become an example of watchmaking expertise.

In 2003, Chopard launched the Jacky Ickx collection to honour the six-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours Endurance Race. The 150th anniversary of Chopard in 2013 saw the launch of four new L.U.C watches and calibres - the All in One, the L.U.C 1937, the Engine One and the L.U.C Louis-Ulysse Tribute. On its 20th anniversary of the Happy Sports line of watches, the same year, Chopard launched a new Happy Sports line with automatic movement for the first time.

The following year, the company presented its first watch in Fairmined gold: the L.U.C Tourbillon QF Fairmined. Chopard also uses Fairmined Gold to craft the Palme d’Or.

Featured Watch Collections and Brand Ambassadors

While Chopard has quite an extensive list of watch models and designs, some collections need a special mention. 

The Alpine Eagle collection of contemporary and sport-chic timepieces is inspired by the Alps and the majestic strength of the eagle. The iconic Happy Sport collection launched in 1993 combined diamonds with a stainless-steel case and remains desirable even today. However, the innovation with diamonds is epitomised in the L'Heure du Diamant collection with a harmonious blend of fine watchmaking and gem-setting. Illustrating the highest standards of Swiss watchmaking, the minimalist and elegant L.U.C watches reflect meticulous craftsmanship and contemporary taste. Chopard also offers the quirky Ice Cube Collection with a perfect combination of refined elegance and geometric clarity for those who have an eye for offbeat designs. Other notable watch lines include the Mille Miglia and Imperiale.

Among the exceptional watch series, Chopard features Métiers d'art (combining luxury materials to create beautiful watches) and Grand Complications. Among the award-winning watches, Chopard boasts of the 2017 Jewellery Watch Prize Winner Lotus Blanc Watch and L.U.C Full Strike, the winner of the 2017 “Aiguille D’or” Grand Prix. 

Among Chopard’s iconic faces are Julia Roberts, Deepika Padukone, Sadie Sink, Jung Ryeo-Won, Aja Naomi King, Dorra Zarrouk, Anne Nakamura, and Yang Zi. 

Chopard has taken several strides in the world of sports and cinema. It is the official partner of the recent James Bond movie, No Time to Die, with the actress, Ana de Armas, flaunting watches from the Green Carpet Collection. Chopard is also the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival. In the world of sports, this horological giant is the official timekeeper of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique (GPMH).

Today, Chopard is among the last of the family-run watchmaking and jewellery companies. The values of Chopard: Family spirit, craftsmanship, independence, creativity, audacity, generosity and emotion reflect in their watches. The Scheufele family has gracefully upheld the values and traditions of quintessential Swiss watchmaking while paving the way for modern luxury.