Watches / STYLEThreegenerationsof theScheufele
family—(fromfarleft)Karl,
Karl‑FriedrichandKarl‑Fritz—
created Chopard’s newest watch,
the Alpine Eagle, whose starting
point is the St Moritz watch (above
right), seen here in an advertisement
from the 1980s“T
heeasywayhasneverreallybeenthe
Chopardway,”saysKarl-FritzScheufele.
Thethird-generationscion,who
isthesonofChopardco-president,
Karl-FriedrichScheufele, 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
braceletthatfeelslike
secondskin.”
ThelegendaryStMoritz
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 creme
de la creme 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.”
Not one to take no for an answer, Karl-Fritz pressed on
and got his grandfather Karl to come on board; the latter
immediately saw that it was a case of history repeating itself.
Karl recalls, “My son [Karl-Friedrich] has always had a strong
sensitivity to art. I think that had he not joined the maison, he
would have been an artist. When I look at him today, I am proud
of the way he has devoted his talents to serving Chopard. And
so, when he was 22, he came to my office with a concept that
was incredibly innovative and modern. He wanted to launch a
steel watch at a time when Chopard was working exclusivelysingapore tatler. october 2019 123