18ct yellow gold, ruby and diamond set 'Happy Diamonds' bracelet watch. Circa 1980

In 1860, Louis-Ulysse Chopard established his workshop in the small village of Sonvilier, Switzerland. Chopard began to produce timepieces with merit, precision and reliability and he quickly gained a solid reputation among enthusiasts and found buyers as far afield as Eastern Europe, Russia and Scandinavia. 

In 1921, the founder’s son, Paul Louis Chopard, opened a branch in La Chaux-de-Fonds and subsequently relocated the company headquarters there. By 1937, he moved the firm to Geneva, the capital of Haute Horlogerie, or Fine Watchmaking, thereby bringing it closer to its cosmopolitan clientele. In 1943, Paul André Chopard, grandson of Louis-Ulysse, took the helm. In 1963 he sought a buyer capable of reviving and perpetuating the brand’s rich heritage, since none of his sons wished to take over the company. This was when he met Karl Scheufele, descendant of a dynasty of watchmakers and jewellers from Pforzheim, Germany. After a brief meeting, Karl Scheufele decided to buy the company. Under the impetus of the Scheufele family, Chopard experienced spectacular development. Renowned for its creativity, its state-of-the-art technology and the excellence of its craftsmen, it became one of the leading names in the high-end watch and jewellery industry.