Only a family-owned maison like Chopard can create its legacy through an instrument of time
“The easy way has never really been the Chopard way,” says Karl-Fritz Scheufele. The third‑generation scion, who is the son of Chopard co-president, Karl‑Friedrich Scheufele, and grandson of chairman Karl Scheufele, is the mastermind behind the brand’s newest watch, the Alpine Eagle.
And it is no wonder that Karl-Fritz said that it wasn’t easy. The birth of the watch started with objection, followed by a clandestine undertaking to create a reinterpretation of Chopard’s first sports watch, the iconic St Moritz that is no longer in production. It was his father Karl-Friedrich who designed the St Moritz at the age of 22.
Similarly, Karl-Fritz is 22 years old this year. The student at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, a hospitality management school in Switzerland, tells us how it began: “About five years ago, I found the St Moritz watch on my father’s desk. I was immediately taken with its fresh design, functional screws, and incredibly comfortable bracelet that feels like second skin.”
The legendary St Moritz watch was first conceived in 1980 by Karl-Friedrich, and is named after the legendary Swiss alpine resort town which he loved deeply. The watch reflected the spirit of winter wonderland on the mountains—where nature, sports and glamour merged and the crème de la crème of society mingled, and was created to be worn both on the snowy slopes and to formal restaurants. For the first time ever, Chopard audaciously treated steel as if it were gold. The functional design was also a bold move; the eight screws that secured the dial were also the focal point.
“After wearing [the St Moritz] for a few days, I became convinced that it could be reinterpreted with a twist, without losing any of its essence or character. I went to see my father and tried to convince him, but he was not particularly interested,” reveals Karl-Fritz. “To him, this watch was an icon and you don’t touch an icon.”
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