Manufacture
AndrewD offers an insightful tour of the Chopard L.U.C Manufacture in Fleurier, providing a detailed look into the brand's commitment to high watchmaking. This report highlights the meticulous craftsmanship and dedication of the staff, showcasing Chopard's journey in producing quality in-house movements and finely finished timepieces.
What I was most impressed with on my visit was not only the focus on quality handmade in-house watches, but also the production of an in-house movement for use in their entry-level men’s and ladies watches. [Click Here]
Chopard LUC have come such a long way in a relatively short period of time, but each step has been carefully planned and I get the impression that everyone is excited to be part of a Manufacture that is striving to produce high quality products. The inspiration of the Scheufele family and the desire to preserve the history of watchmaking and to give something back to the Swiss watchmaking industry is wonderful to see.
Currently around 5000 watches are produced per year at the LUC facility in Fleurier. To put that into perspective, approximately 50,000 watches (including ladies quartz models) are produced by Chopard annually. There are approximately 150 staff working at the LUC facility.
Chopard started renting a couple of rooms from the Swatch group (ETA) and now owns and occupies the entire building.
Computer numerical control (CNC) machines are loaded with individual blanks and parts are cut one at a time with high degrees of tolerance. There is still a considerable amount of hand finishing performed at this early stage under microscopes to remove burs and to check tolerances before the parts go for further decoration and fine finishing.
The range of parts produced ...
Perlage is hand applied, the carousel being turned by hand, so each plate is unique and demonstrates the ‘hand’ of the watchmaker.
The range of finished components ...
Blue wax is applied over lettering to protect it. Sandpaper is used to inscribe the Geneva stripes.
My sincere thanks to the wonderful staff of Chopard in Fleurier who looked after me for the day.
Andrew
Really Impressive to see their facilities and the finishing done by hand, I love seeing and learning about how our watches are made and really the work they do restores my faith in humanity somehow, the third from last picture, what a wonderful view to have at work :-) Thank You for Sharing your Trip with Us. S
at the office you must have had, what a great insight. These L.U.C mouvements are absolutely superb, great pictures too. Thank you very much. Cheers, Francois
Thank you, Andrew for showcasing just how much work and dedication goes into all L.U.C. pieces made by the hands of some incredibly nice people. It is a great place to visit for any watch enthusiast! Those unaware of Chopard´s efforts in the field of HH, will most definitely walk out with a renewed perspective on them. Thanks again for sharing! Your photos are super cool! Hope all is well, Alex
And actually a manufacture that I think deserves more credit in horology and not just jewelry. Their image gets distracted by the fact that, like Cartier, they also make accessories and fragrances, but L.U.C deserves worthy praise for their achievements in horology. And I have always though they have good designs too.
Hello AndrewD, Thanks for the report, have to admit I really enjoy seeing the process from start to finish. Kind regards Anthony
such as specialty tools I recognized. The picture with the 4 tools standing up in the wood block, those were solid ruby cutters for cutting radiused, polished countersinks for jewel holes. I'd love to know where they get those...I want a set.... It was refreshing to see so much detail of the manufacturing operations, their CNC jig setups, and whatnot. I wonder what is so special about the brand of CNC I see them using- it seems to be a common swiss watch industry brand, which leads me to believe
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