WATCH SPECIAL
The Gentleman’s Journal
K ARL-F R I E DR I CH SCH E U F E LE Co-President of Chopard
What sets Chopard apart? Chopard prides itself on being an independent and family owned brand; we master all of the different production processes of our watches and jewellery pieces in-house, from the very first step with methods such as the melting of the gold. We believe it is most important to respect tradition but to also welcome innovation and creativity. We work hard to achieve the best we can in everything we do, in line with our moto… ‘Passion for Excellence’. How did you get into the watch industry? I was literally born into the industry and while growing up, I spent a number of afternoons in the company playing with watch parts and doing some sketches for “new timepieces”. Later on, after my international Baccalaureat, I followed an accelerated apprentice-ship in jewellery and definitively joined Chopard at age 25, going through all different departments before being able to take on some responsibilities…
mechanical movements. Our L.U.C collection, which I started in 1996, fully meets my taste and expectations. What can we expect from Chopard in the next year? We don’t communicate about future creations, as we like to offer an element of surprise connected to our novelties. Therefore, I invite you to visit BaselWorld (March 27th - April 3rd, 2014) and you will not be disappointed… Who have you been most surprised to hear wears your watches? The other day, we received a repair from the former German Chancellor (1974 – 1982) Mr. Helmut Schmidt and I heard that it is his favorite and only watch he wears since the 1980’s.
What watches do you own and what style of watch do you like? Obviously, I own quite a few Chopard watches and no other brands… there are however some exceptions and one of them is a watch from Philippe Dufour - a very unique master watchmaker who works all by himself in the Swiss Jura. As for style, I prefer the more classical watches, with pure and elegant lines and of course combined with high quality Winter 2013
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