Meet the 28yo at the heart of Swiss luxury brand Chopard
On her first visit to Australia, Caroline-Marie Scheufele is warming to her new role at the venerable family business.
Caroline-Marie Scheufele recalls a rule growing up that on Sundays, any dinner table conversation about the family business attracted a CHF5 (Swiss francs) fine. “And my sister, who invented the fine, collected a lot of money, I can tell you.”
The family business is Chopard, the Swiss watch and jewellery brand founded in 1860. Caroline-Marie’s grandfather, Karl Scheufele III – himself a third-generation goldsmith and watchmaker – bought it from Paul-André Chopard in 1963.
Chopard’s Red Carpet ‘Art’ high jewellery collection on show at the State Theatre in Sydney. Caroline-Marie Scheufele, right, is a third-generation member of the family-owned and run business. Louie Douvis
With his wife, Karin, and their two children it has expanded significantly from five employees to about 1500, mostly in Geneva and Germany, and boutiques all over the world. In 2022, the company reported sales of CHF410 million, according to the Morgan Stanley Swiss Watch Industry Report.
Of the world’s major watch companies, only Chopard and Patek Philippe are family owned and run. This model has its challenges, but in the case of the Scheufele family, it has also served them well.
Chopard high jewellery from the Red Carpet collection. Louie Douvis
Caroline-Marie’s father, Karl-Friedrich, is Chopard’s co-president with his sister Caroline, who is also creative director. Her 76-piece “Art” Red Carpet Collection of high jewellery, which launched in May at the Cannes Film Festival, is in Australia for the month of December.
Gradually, the three children of Karl-Friedrich and his wife Christine are stepping up, too.
The Alpine Eagle Australia Limited Edition watch is a collaboration with First Nations artist Shaun Daniel Adams, who is better known as Shal.
“My parents always said ‘you are free to do whatever you want. You don’t have to come into the family business,’ ” says Caroline-Marie, 28. “And that helped us to have other hobbies. For example, I was in the Swiss equestrian team for dressage for five years. I was really dedicated – I still ride my horses before work every morning.”
Her sister is 22 and studying jewellery design at Central Saint Martins in London, and her brother is managing the family’s newly opened 15-room hotel at 1, Place Vendôme, Paris where Chopard’s historic boutique is located.
The rear of the watch features an artwork by Shal.
Caroline-Marie studied business management then did internships with a diamond company in Amsterdam, at Harrods in London, and in Chopard’s high-jewellery department, which involved counting thousands of often very tiny gemstones.
She formally joined the business in 2020, first in finance and then human resources, before settling into product development, which her father describes as “the heart of the company”.
Life & Leisure meets Caroline-Marie on her first visit to Australia. Aside from the Red Carpet high-jewellery event for clients, she is launching the Alpine Eagle Australia Limited Edition watch. Just 20 timepieces were made, in a collaboration with First Nations artist Shaun Daniel Allen, known to his friends as Shal.
“I’m proud of it, I believed it had to be something that reminded us of Australia,” she says of the “sunburnt red” dial and Shal’s artwork reproduced on the caseback.
“Another collection I created with my dad with an Alpine Eagle timepiece is the Summit series of four watches, basically using high jewellery in a watch.” It launched at Dubai Watch Week last month. “When it came out, I’ll never forget it. I was really proud of that.”
High jewellery and a matching gown, designed by Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s creative director and aunt of Caroline-Marie Scheufele.
Every new Chopard watch design idea must be presented to the family, so decisions are taken collectively. Unlike most luxury brands, this means faster turnarounds. Discussions for the Shal collaboration began in March and the watch was launched nine months later.
“In a way it’s so much easier,” says Caroline-Marie. “And all the managers in our office talk to my dad every day, so they’re close. When a decision has to be taken, things can go really fast. I think in big corporate environments, it’s much slower.”
Not only do the Scheufeles work together, they also live in the same street on Lake Geneva. Caroline-Marie, who married her Spanish musician boyfriend a year ago, even races Porsches with her father (Chopard sponsors the Mille Miglia classic and vintage car event in Italy).
A watch in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold, set with octagon-cut emeralds (21.65 cts), pear-shaped diamonds (25.87 cts) and brilliant-cut diamonds (2.43 cts) by Chopard.
For now, while there’s no pressure on her or her siblings, they are attuned to the future. Aside from learning from her managers, Caroline-Marie has an external mentor in Qatar who specialises in next-generation family businesses.
“Chopard started so small and now it’s so big,” she says. “Sometimes my brother and sister and I ask ourselves, ‘what are the next steps?’ But we’re very lucky that my parents are there to help us also discover and find our path. They work every day with us. ”
Caroline-Marie Scheufele wears one of the new Alpine Eagle Summit Series watches. Louie Douvis
Caroline-Marie also admits to catching herself talking business “more than my parents do now. Sometimes Mum even says ‘let’s talk about something else’.”
That sounds like grounds for a donation to the CHF5 fine jar.
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