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A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 6: Production Sites
Chopard Building Blocks
Chopard is endowed with a considerable sum of expertise and innovative capacity. Why is this?
It probably stems from the family principles of self-reliance.
Vertical integration
Karl Scheufele persistently worked to achieve vertical integration of production and reduce dependence on suppliers.
“We make almost everything ourselves, from cases to straps. Ideas are almost instantly translated into reality thanks to our two watch and jewellery design studios” . - Karl Scheufele III.
55 PANORAMASTRASSE, BIRKENFELD, PFORZHEIM
By the mid-1960s, Karl Scheufele GmbH und Co KG company had grown too big for the accommodation in the Ruf house. [See 'A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 3'].
Father-in-law, Fritz Ruf, advised the young Scheufeles to build their own factory in Birkenfeld, outside Pforzheim. Having a prominent and energetic businessman like Fritz Ruf on your side could only have helped. He called upon the Mayor of Pforzheim to explain that the Scheufeles needed a piece of land to build a new factory "as soon as possible". As the usual building approvals at the time took up to a year, it did not fit with Herr Ruf's definition of "as soon as possible means 4 weeks". Negotiations and compromises were made around traditional German bureaucracy so that the construction and building permit procedure proceeded in tandem. The new factory was completed a year later in 1966.
The local Pforzheim newspaper reported:
"In order to mostly avoid a drop in production, the move was postponed until the annual shut-down. Since Monday, August 29, work has been in full swing in the 45 x 25 metre two-storey building, which if nothing else, is impressive for its novel facade alone. This consists exclusively of glass and light metal and was made in Biel, Switzerland. What is more impressive about this building project to an outsider is how, even by today's standards of expansive building, almost literally sprang up out of the ground. At the beginning of this year, several gardens and meadows still occupied the land where the factory now stands. Only about six months passed between the opening of the construction site and the beginning of ground work in March of this year, and the completion of the building and production start-up. Even as the building tradesmen were still putting the finishing touches to the building, the Karl Scheufele company's experienced and capable skilled workers were already at their new work stations, busy making the precious jewellery pieces that helped give the company its good reputation and that have been exported for over six decades to places all over the world, where they helped polish the worldwide reputation of Pforzheim's jewellery-products industry".
8 RUE DE VEYROT, MEYRIN, GENEVA
Ten years later, the same space constraint was felt in Geneva. The initial city centre production workshops were squeezed into 80 square metres. Additional space was rented and by 1970, there were 40 employees in Geneva.
Chopard continued to grow and by 1974, a new factory had been constructed in Meyrin to provide 1000 square metres of useable space for the 50 employees.
The building took a year-and-a-half to plan and build, cunningly re-using the same building plans from Pforzheim.
You have to hand it to the Scheufeles; when they have a successful idea, they build on the same game plan.
The official inauguration was held in April 1975 followed by the legendary gala dinner in the grand Hotel Richemond in Geneva. That was the start of the Chopard tradition of festively-decorated tables named after favourite Chopard product lines. Supermodels in evening wear by Loris Azzaro strolled amongst the tables to showcase the watches.
As a special treat, all 250 guests were transported, if that mundane word could describe how they did it, by the specially hired Orient-Express luxury train to the Basel jewellery and watch fair. To this day, the people who experienced and remember that week, speak about it in reverent tones.
20 RUE DES MOULINS, FLEURIER [Rebirth of the “Manufacture”]
Watch companies that develop and produce their own components and watches entirely in-house are a rarity.
Convinced that the company should make its own watch movements in order to honour its horological past, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele persuaded his father – and the family council – that the future lay in mechanical watches. Karl Scheufele allowed his son to proceed with preparations, and the project was secretly launched in 1993.
Complexity meets innovation
In order to create an original calibre, Karl-Schuefele chose the most complex path: the movement was to be equipped with a micro-rotor to ensure maximum flexibility; automatic winding in both directions to enhance reliability; a substantial power reserve; and the possibility of integrating complications. It was also to feature original execution and aesthetics.
The fledgling “Manufacture” was set up in the Val-de-Travers to ensure discretion, and work on Calibre ASP 94 began in 1993. However, having proved to be far too noisy and unsuited to the desired production strategy, it was subsequently abandoned.
The final version of the new movement was presented in the form of 20 prototypes of Calibre 1.96 .
Producing excellence
Operational testing on the new movement was conducted in Fleurier, where modest rented premises (from SWATCH Group) accommodated the ultra-modern production unit in 1996. As activities began to expand, the building was bought up and completely restored in 2000. From the initial dozen or so employees, the workforce in Fleurier has grown to 145 people. Over 45 million Swiss francs have been invested.
In 2006, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Chopard Manufacture, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, an avid timepiece collector, inaugurated the L.U.CEUM, where historical watches and clocks dating from 1500 to the present day rub shoulders with models from the Chopard L.U.C collection. PuristS visited as a group in 2009 and presented the first PuristS Purity Prize to Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and Chopard.
2016: 20th Anniversary of Chopard Manufacture
We will be treated to a plethora of celebratory horological wonders throughout the year.....
Chopard crafts and professions
Uniting 45 professions
The Meyrin, Fleurier and Pforzheim sites host an impressive range of engineers, prototype makers, designers, goldsmiths, watchmakers, turners, tool-makers, polishers, smelters, engravers, mechanics operating CNC machinery: all are actively involved in making watch or jewellery models, self-winding movements and other vital components.
In Meyrin, Chopard even makes its own gold alloys; Pforzheim is mainly devoted to jewellery, while Fleurier produces the high-end L.U.C watches and Chopard movements.
When it comes to designing exhibition booths for trade shows and boutique displays, Chopard also has its own in-house decoration department.
After-sales service is fully integrated, as are the communication and marketing teams.
24 RUE DES MOULINS, FLEURIER
Fleurier Ébauches is a manufacture dedicated to industrial production of movements. The old building was bought by Chopard in 2007 and after CHF 25 million worth of renovations, it was awarded the Label MINERGIE certificate in 2013. MINERGIE is a registered quality label for new and refurbished low-energy-consumption buildings. This label is mutually supported by the Swiss Confederation, the Swiss Cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein.
So energy efficient that the snow does not melt from the roofs.
Testing Precision at Chopard
The start of Superfast movements
With this industrial scale of production, more Chopard product lines now can boast of "an in-house movement inside".
First Chopard Mille Miglia Race Edition watch with in-house movement.
We look forward to the future products from Chopard.
TIMELINE
1966: Chopard Site Birkenfeld, Pforzheim, Germany opened
1974: Chopard Site and HQ, Geneva, Switzerland built
1975: Inauguration of Chopard Site and HQ Building in Geneva
1996: Manufacture Chopard, Fleurier started
2006: L.U.CEUM Museum, Fleurier opened
2013: Fleurier Ébauches, Fleurier opened
2015: First Mille Miglia Race Edition watch with in-house Chopard movement
2016: 20th Anniversary of Manufacture Chopard
Acknowledgements for Facts and Images:
Chopard Manufacture Archivist A.W.
L.U.CEUM (Chopard Musuem), Fleurier
Scheufele Family
Dr. Melvyn Teillol-Foo, 2015.
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 1: First Generation CLICK following URL to read:
www.watchprosite.com
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 2: Second Generation CLICK following URL to read:
www.watchprosite.com
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 3: Third Generation CLICK following URL to read:
www.watchprosite.com
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 4: New Beginnings CLICK following URL link to read:
www.watchprosite.com
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 5: Happy Diamonds CLICK following URL link to read:
www.watchprosite.com
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 7: Chopard Manufacture - First 20 Years CLICK following URL link to read:
www.watchprosite.com
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 8: Karl-Friedrich Scheufele - Early Years. CLICK following URL link to read:
www.watchprosite.com
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 9: Caroline Scheufele - Early Years. CLICK following URL link to read:
www.watchprosite.com=
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 10: Noblesse Oblige
www.watchprosite.com=
A Brief History of CHOPARD Time and Jewels part 6: Production Sites
Background Deluxe!
Got some wi-fi signal
Another excellent installment!
It may be not so brief history in the end!
It should most definitely not be shorter :)
How is Chopard doing in Taiwan?
An AD salesperson told me that Chopard has been doing OK in recent years.
