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Caroline Scheufele may have inherited her position at Swiss-based luxury watches and jewellery manufacturer Chopard, but the mark she has made on the company during her tenure is distinctly her own. An embodiment of the Maison’s glamorous and light-hearted persona, under her direction — Caroline is currently co-president alongside her brother Karl-Friedrich Scheufele — Chopard has achieved milestones aplenty. Notably, Chopard was one of the first movers to use Fairmined certified responsible gold. In 1998, Scheufele timed a Chopard boutique opening in Cannes with the town’s eponymous film festival, partnering with the event to redesign the famous Palme D’Or award. In 2015, Caroline acquired one of the world’s largest and purest raw diamonds from a mine in Botswana on behalf of Chopard, a 342-carat diamond, known as the ‘Queen of Kalahari’. Here, we speak to to Scheufele about all that illustrates her incredible vision for the brand.

 

Tell us about your relationship with watches and jewellery; was it ever a question of spending your career in this industry, or was it always assumed that this would be your path? As a child, I dreamed of becoming a dancer! Dancing made me feel carefree and happy – traits I have tried to carry through with me in my career. I was always creative, I spent a lot of my time drawing and very early started imagining fanciful creations; I designed a watch as a young girl from pieces of aluminium foil. When I was a teenager, I designed a clown pendant with small dancing diamonds twirling in its centre. My father had it made in secret by the workshops, and eventually this clown became the first ever piece of Chopard jewellery and was a big success! From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be part of our family business.

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From left: Palme D’Or Award designed by Chopard; Chopard Insofu Emerald.

As someone who has had a multi-generational involvement, what excites you about where the industry is going today?
I think the industry is evolving fast; so much has happened in the few past years, it has really shaken things up. The pandemic and global ‘shutdown’ for one, but also a heightened awareness of how fragile and precious our planet is and how we all need to do our bit to protect it. We are lucky at Chopard to have a multi-generation clientele; I get so much joy from seeing young women coming to our stores, looking for the timeless creations that their mother or even grandmothers wore and I know that they shape the future. This new ‘GenZ’, those born since year 2000, definitely value quality and sustainability, so our Chopard values particularly appeal to them.

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Chopard featured in Netflix's Emily in Paris.

What do you think defines the Chopard brand and what has been your unchanging vision for it?
Family spirit has always been at the heart of Chopard and is something quite unique that differentiates us in the world of High Jewellery and High Watchmaking. We are an independent Maison, which really offers the freedom to support our Artisans. Today, more than 50 skills are mastered within our workshops, including some of the rarest and the most complex. This drives the creativity that sets the Maison apart.

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You have helped steer Chopard to become an industry leader in sustainability — in fact, the brand became one of the first to grow the market in sustainable luxury goods and ethical gold. Why is this so important to you? My family have always held responsibility and ethics at the heart of their philosophy and have consistently considered sustainability as a core Chopard value. More than 30 years ago, the family had the vision to develop vertically integrated in-house production, and to invest in mastering high-quality craftsmanship, leading us to set up a rare in-house gold foundry in 1978. Since the launch of The Journey to Sustainable Luxury in 2013, we are constantly improving the sustainability performance of our production processes, building responsible supply chains and playing our part to spark positive change for the communities touched by our business and products. It is not an easy journey, but it is the right one.

 

How has the The Queen of Kalahari affected the story of Chopard? What is its significance to the Maison from your perspective today? As far as I can remember, I have been fascinated by precious stones and lucky enough to work with some of the most beautiful in the world. The Queen of Kalahari was an incredible, ultra-rare 342-carat diamond of perfect colour and absolute purity which has provided the most precious jewellery set ever produced by Chopard: The Garden of Kalahari. This incredible project inspired us more than ever to source exceptional stones in order to celebrate their enduring beauty. By purchasing a rough diamond, we are able to follow its entire journey through to final creation. We are actually working on a new collection at the moment, revolving around a fabulous emerald called Insofu. I am absolutely fascinated by this stone, when I saw it for the first time I experienced an incredibly strong emotion, as if it was calling out to me. I instantly knew that it would be a ‘must-have’ gem for Chopard and I am immensely excited to begin this new adventure.

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What opportunities have you seen and pursued in the cultural and social space that you believe have been important to the brand?
For example, your involvement with the Cannes Film Festival, celebrity culture etcetera. I am very proud of the longstanding partnerships we have developed at Chopard, particularly with the Cannes Film Festival since 1998, and the legendary Italian 1000 Miglia classic car race since 1988. As a great lover of the seventh art, the collaboration with the Cannes Festival brings me much joy. In 25 years, I have been privileged to witness some unforgettable moments in the world of cinema and a lot of emotions. Since 2014, we have also used the symbol of the Festival, the Palme d’Or, to draw the world’s attention to the theme of ethics and environmental responsibility. Our workshops have made the award the first ethical film trophy, crafted from Fairmined-certified gold. Our strong involvement with the arts and culture have led me to meet some very inspiring people, they use their celebrity as a positive force and I truly appreciate this. As you know, Julia Roberts is the face of our new Happy Sport watch and she really embodies everything we love at Chopard; spontaneous joie de vivre, authenticity and respect for others.

 

What are you most proud of in your work for Chopard?
There are so many things I could mention, but number one would have to be our Journey to Sustainable Luxury, particularly the commitment to using 100% responsibly sourced gold in all of our jewellery and watches.


What lies ahead for Chopard?
Joie de Vivre is inherent to Chopard, so we will continue to find ways to celebrate happiness and bring positivity to our cherished clients. We will also continue to promote our traditional know-how and craftsmanship through our contemporary and ethical creations. Watch this space!