Cover Chopard’s headquarters in Meyrin, Switzerland (Photo: Chopard)
Chopard’s headquarters in Meyrin, Switzerland (Photo: Chopard)
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A visit to Chopard’s manufacture in Meyrin, Switzerland, reveals the Swiss luxury watch and jewellery brand’s dedication to innovation, creativity and independence
For watch and jewellery lovers and connoisseurs alike, the thrill of a manufacture-visit to discover the inner workings of some of the world’s renowned luxury brands is no different from exploring Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. The experience at Chopard’s headquarters in Meyrin, Switzerland, is one of the more special ones, for it allows access to one of the industry’s rare few in-house gold foundries, which Tatler Singapore had the opportunity to visit in April this year.
Located just a 20-minute drive from Geneva city centre, the 26,000-sqm facility was built in 1974, with 5,000sqm dedicated to the production of the Swiss family-owned manufacture’s luxury watches and jewellery. In 1978, Chopard’s visionary founder Karl Scheufele, the father of current co-presidents Caroline and Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, decided to vertically integrate production, starting with gold smelting.
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Above Chopard’s headquarters in Meyrin, Switzerland (Photo: Chopard)
Chopard’s headquarters in Meyrin, Switzerland (Photo: Chopard)
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Given how important gold is in watch and jewellery production, the foundry, which is located in the basement of one of the buildings, is certainly the heart of the manufacture. Just like how blood runs through our veins, the gold produced at the foundry is a life source that flows through the other workshops of the manufacture. It is the foundation, and essential in lending preciousness and strength to the final product.
All of the gold used in Chopard’s creations come from this foundry. Not only does the brand smelt its own gold, it, since 2018, only uses 100 per cent ethical gold sourced from mines that adhere to stringent international best practice environmental and social standards. More specifically, the ethical gold used is sourced through two transparent and traceable schemes: freshly mined artisanal gold produced in a responsible manner, and Chain of Custody gold from Responsible Jewellery Council-certified refineries. This commitment is deeply rooted in the Scheufele family’s values—to be transparent and responsible in its processes, ensuring the gold used in its creations are not only beautiful but also morally permissible.
Above Gold is melted and then poured into a mould (Photo: Chopard)
Above Pure gold is mixed with other materials such as copper, silver and palladium in various proportions to achieve the colours of white, yellow or pink gold (Photo: Chopard)
Gold is melted and then poured into a mould (Photo: Chopard)
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An artisan working in the gold foundry took us through the process of creating the gold that is used at Chopard. Depending on whether he is making yellow, white or pink gold, he mixes small grains of raw gold with various proportions of alloy.
For a standard 8kg ingot of 5N gold, he combines 6kg of pure gold and 2kg of alloy, primarily copper, which imbues the gold with a warmer hue. Adjusting the proportions of copper and silver in the alloy alters the colour of the gold to be more or less yellow, and the addition of palladium will yield white gold.
Once the right combination of raw materials is assembled, the artisan places the mix in the crucible of the vacuum furnace, which is heated by an induction coil to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Above Gold placed in a crucible (Photo: Chopard)
Above Once the gold is cast, the resulting gold block is cooled in a basin of water. Once cooled, it can be laminated and shaped into case blanks and other parts (Photo: Chopard)
Gold placed in a crucible (Photo: Chopard)
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The gold quickly reaches its molten state, glowing with a fiery, hypnotic radiance, it is poured into a mould to form an ingot. Once the gold is cast, it is removed from the mould and swiftly immersed in a basin of cold water, which cools the metal and crystallises it into a solid form with the desired 160 Vickers hardness. The ingot will then be pressed by a roller mill to obtain a flatter and sturdier gold bar of 210 Vickers hardness.
Once a gold bar is done, it is brought to the next workshop— upstairs—for stamping into jewellery and watch parts, such as cases. About seven or eight of these gold ingots are made in the foundry daily, depending on the demand. Any gold trimmings or scraps obtained at the stamping or other later stages of manufacturing are returned to the foundry to be melted again and reused.
In the stamping workshop, watch cases and parts have to go through several steps of stamping. Before each stamp, the metal part has to be heated in the furnace to make it more malleable. For a part like a watch bracelet clasp, this could mean repeating the heating and stamping process for around 10 times, while a watch case would take around four. After stamping, the parts move on to the next workshop to be refined and polished before they can finally be assembled.
Above A Chopard LUC Full Strike is equipped with the LUC 08.01‑L calibre, which comprises 533 parts (Photo: Chopard)
A Chopard LUC Full Strike is equipped with the LUC 08.01‑L calibre, which comprises 533 parts (Photo: Chopard)
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In addition to the foundry, there is another gem that can be found at Chopard’s Meyrin manufacture: the Grand Complications workshop, where the legendary LUC Full Strike timepiece was crafted in 2016. Comprising a whopping 533 components, the watch is a minute repeater that chimes the hours, quarters and minutes on transparent crystal gongs. It is an exceptional complication that only three watchmakers at Chopard—each with at least 20 years of experience—are able to work on and assemble.
It took these watchmakers nearly 17,000 hours to develop the LUC 08.01-L calibre featured in the LUC Full Strike, and another 160 hours of meticulous assembly for each watch. Each of the three watchmakers works on a LUC Full Strike from start to finish, which takes about a month. This continuity ensures that the intricate interplay of the components is perfectly harmonised. So far, this has allowed the Grand Complications workshop to produce just over 20 of these timepieces a year, with an aim to increase the numbers to around 30 this year.
At Chopard’s Meyrin manufacture, it is clear that the art of watchmaking is respected and elevated to its highest form. Every component, no matter how small, is crafted and assembled with reverence and care. The brand’s commitment to excellence is evident in every aspect, from the ethical gold sourced for their cases to the intricate movements that bring its timepieces to life.
Annabel Tan is the Editor of Watches and Jewellery at Tatler Singapore, where she covers all things luxury timepieces and fine jewellery across both print and digital platforms. She is also the Editor of Tatler GMT Singapore, a role that deepens her fascination with the ever-evolving world of watchmaking. Outside of work, she’s usually on the hunt for her next favourite watch that she can’t afford, planning her next beach getaway, or catching up on the latest Formula 1 race.
