Although the brand dates back to 1860, it was in 1996 that the Chopard Manufacture was established in Fleurier with the aim of producing its own high-precision calibers. This upcoming thirtieth anniversary in 2026 represents an important milestone in Chopard’s history, but also in its ability to manufacture its watches independently. In the same logic, Chopard also owns its own gold foundry, which is extremely rare in the watchmaking landscape. This integration of the manufacturing tool allows it to remain independent and maintain control over the required quality, whether for cases or movements. Moreover, Chopard is a founding member of the Fondation Qualité Fleurier, a very demanding label combining aesthetic criteria, precision, robustness, and a “100% Swiss made” status. This expertise allows it to stand out in a watchmaking world dominated by large groups and is reflected in breakthroughs in terms of innovation.
Ideas and Inventions
During the last Dubai Watch Week, Chopard presented the L.U.C Grand Strike, the most complicated watch in its history, featuring a grande sonnerie and a tourbillon. This haute horlogerie piece bears the very strict seal of the Geneva Seal, as well as the COSC certification. It also benefits from Chopard’s patented sapphire gongs technology, producing an incomparable melody. This is the latest chapter in the long story illustrating the Manufacture’s spirit of innovation, which began with the creation of the L.U.C 96.01 caliber in 1996, equipped with a gold micro-rotor and the patented Twin technology, based on two coaxial barrels. This caliber served as the basis for an entire family of movements (perpetual calendar, tourbillon, etc.) accompanied by the birth of the L.U.C line, which embodies Chopard’s haute horlogerie.
Indeed, many L.U.C models are both COSC certified and sometimes Geneva Seal or Fleurier Quality certified, placing Chopard at the top in terms of precision and finishing. For the 25th anniversary of the collection, Chopard spectacularly reinterpreted its minute repeater with the Full Strike Sapphire, featuring a case entirely in sapphire, another achievement that positioned Chopard at the very forefront of Swiss haute horlogerie. This technical mastery is also demonstrated in the field of high frequency, notably with the Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF model, equipped with an 8 Hz (57,600 A/h) automatic caliber, COSC certified, a very high frequency for a production model. This spirit of innovation also applies to materials, not only the ethically sourced gold cast in-house: Lucent Steel A223 is an exclusive Chopard steel, 70% recycled, twice as hard as standard steel, hypoallergenic, and very bright (its appearance approaches that of white gold).
Peer Recognition
Chopard has received numerous watchmaking awards around the world over the past 20 years. The most important come from the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, considered the Oscars of watchmaking, which rewards the most deserving watches and brands across about fifteen different categories. Since the creation of the GPHG in 2001, Chopard has been awarded more than a dozen prizes, including the top honor, the Aiguille d’Or, for its L.U.C Full Strike in 2017. The Scheufele family has also gone on stage to receive awards for eco-innovation, for jewelry watches several times, for ladies’ complicated watches, and most recently for sports watches. Personally, Caroline and Karl-Friedrich Scheufele have been recognized multiple times for their commitment and passion, unanimously acknowledged within the watchmaking and jewelry community. In another area, Chopard is among the pioneers of responsible gold (whether through Fairmined initiatives or Responsible Jewellery Council certification). Genuine, these ethical and human values strengthen the brand’s likability, which sees the third generation of the Scheufele family joining parents and grandparents within the company: the arrival of Karl-Fritz brings a breath of fresh, benevolent, and joyful energy that is beginning to be reflected in certain product ranges.
Iconic Collections
Few brands offer both women and men a wide choice of collections. Honor to the ladies with the iconic Happy Sport and Happy Diamond, the first watches (1993) to combine steel and diamonds, featuring the famous “dancing diamonds” moving between two sapphire crystals as if floating above the dial. At the very high end, the Impériale line was recently awarded by the GPHG jury the prize for ladies’ complicated watch for its Impériale Four Seasons. In high jewelry, numerous unique pieces or very small series regularly make magazine covers and are nominated in competitions such as the GPHG, notably in the L’Heure du Diamant collection. On the haute horlogerie side, the L.U.C family immediately comes to mind, with its extremely meticulous finishing and complications requiring exceptional expertise: perpetual calendars, minute repeaters, and tourbillons. The most contemporary line and highly sought after by collectors, the Alpine Eagle stands out at the forefront of modern sport-chic: ultra-thin, high frequency, textured dial, integrated bracelet in Lucent Steel.
A Very Limited and Very Elegant Series
Finally, the collection that has built Chopard’s reputation for nearly 40 years among motor racing enthusiasts and sport-chic chronograph lovers, the Mille Miglia, continues to charm and reinvent itself by offering different complications, colors, and materials at each edition of the legendary race. It is extremely rare for Chopard to create editions outside the rally context, and even rarer in quantities as limited as the Mille Miglia BMC x GMT, with only 25 pieces. Its beige safari grained dial does not exist in any other range of the brand, and its COSC-certified automatic caliber was borrowed from another model, increasing the exclusive nature of the collaboration with GMT magazine. Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and the founder of GMT magazine (who had interviewed him in its very first issue in 2000) realized this collaboration to commemorate GMT’s 25th anniversary and to share their common passion with its readers. You are part of it—take this opportunity to acquire a very elegant and exclusive watch under very reasonable conditions.
