On This Gentleman’s Watch: Chopard President & CEO Marc Hruschka

As the President and CEO of Chopard, Marc Hruschka is embracing the company’s signature passion, and insisting on bringing the US branch to the next level of luxury

By Stephanie Wilson / Photography by Reynaldo Alés

[highlight_text] “Behind my creative work, there always lies a vast amount of research, perception, imagination, meetings with other people-in short, life itself!” [/highlight_text]

With designs that are instantly recognizable worldwide, Chopard has long been the leading name in luxury timepieces and jewelry produced by a family-owned company. Chopard has bred passion since the company’s founding in the Swiss Jura in 1860 by Louise-Ulysses Chopard. The company has grown exponentially, all while respecting their family-style roots. Chopard can be credited with producing some of the most astounding jewelry and timepieces available. So magnificent are their pieces, Chopard has long been the partner of the unrivaled Cannes International Film Festival, where the most sophisticated celebrities can be seen wearing their Red Carpet Collection. The venerable jewelry-maker has also become something of a good luck charm on Oscar day, as they have outfitted many a winner in recent years, including this year’s Best Actress Helen Mirren.

Almost one hundred years after the humble beginnings of the now worldwide-recognized brand, Paul Andre-Chopard, the grandson of Louise-Ulysses, realized that he had no namesake interested in following into the jewelry world. Karl Scheufele, a young goldsmith and watchmaker from Germany ultimately acquired the company in 1963, choosing to keep the recognizable Chopard name. Karl went to work modernizing Chopard, bringing the luxury brand into the new century.

As a new member of the Chopard family, Marc Hruschka is the ideal face for the brand’s US division. Tall, debonair, and sophisticated, Hruschka is a family man, working for a family-owned brand. A dedicated husband and father of four, Hruschka has embraced his role in the company since day one.

With over 17 years in the luxury goods industry, Hruschka joined Chopard in 2006 as its new president and chief operating officer. It seems as if the role was fated for him, as he was raised in the jewelry industry; his grandfather was a jewelry distributor, and both his mother and father still work in the industry as a designer and manufacturer, respectively. Despite the urgings of his father, Hruschka did not plan on heading into the jewelry world, yet as fate would have it, he was offered a job at Tiffany & Co. upon completing his schooling in Texas. He worked with many major luxury houses over the years prior to finding his current home at Chopard.

“What attracted me to Chopard was that it is a family-owned and operated company. The only shareholders are family members,” he explains. “Family businesses are becoming rare, especially in the luxury industry, so it’s a great place to be. As they say, ‘At Chopard, passion rules,’ and it really does.”

The family behind the Chopard name is now headed up by brother and sister Karl-Friedrich and Caroline Scheufele as co-chairpersons. Caroline’s role in the company is as the head of luxury jewelry design, as well as the creator of jewels, ladies’ timepieces, fragrances, and elegant accessories. “Behind my creative work, there always lies a vast amount of research, perception, imagination, meetings with other people-in short, life itself!” Caroline exclaims. Karl-Friedrich has his eye more on the business pulse, as he is in charge of the manufacture in Fleurier where the signature L.U.C watch movements are developed and made. He is also responsible for the entire men’s watch division and business management aspects. As he is known for saying, “Luxury is man-made,” and Chopard has been making it for years.

The sibling team brings an innovative duality to the company, as they are able to approach both the feminine and masculine mindset.

What Hruschka brings to the table is a determination to further strengthen the organization of the brand in the US, leading the company to further growth in this key market. One of the first projects is the implementation of a new flagship store in Manhattan, slated to open in the Fall of 2007. “We have always had a residential feel in our boutiques,” says Hruschka. “In our new flagship, we are not going to lose that; it gives our clients comfort, and it feels warm and inviting.” The store, which will be on Madison Avenue, will be triple the size of the current store, ultimately contemporizing the typical boutique feel.

Hruschka has his finger on the pulse of all of the US’s business operations, including marketing, finance, wholesale, press, charities (of which Chopard is involved in many), and more. But at the end of the day, he understands that his role is to bring the already world-renowned company to the next level. “Chopard has always been about quality, design, and innovation,” he explains. “Given the amount of product we make each year, we need to focus, and position ourselves at the top of the luxury pyramid. Everything is made by us because we are fanatics about controlling the quality and design.”

Nowhere is this more evident than in their extraordinary timepieces. In 1996, Chopard opened the Chopard Manufacture, thanks to a dream by Karl-Friedrich. “For quite some time, his passion has been to start a new manufacturing facility, which is not an easy thing to do,” Hruschka explains. The Chopard Manufacture creates all the watch movements on its own premises, from initial planning to final production. The detail-orientated company even goes as far as alloying their own gold in order to determine the color and quality. The wristwatches crafted aren’t made solely by machines, but by watchmakers whose skillful craftsmanship forms the focal point of the manufacturing process.

The first piece made in the Manufacture was the L.U.C 1.96 movement, which is a self-winding chronometer, followed in 2000 by the L.U.C 1.98, which was first presented at Basel in Switzerland. The wonder of this piece is the nine-day power reserve, which inspired two patents. The innovative company also developed self-winding movements with a moon display and perpetual calendar, whose dial displays the date, day of week, month, the leap-year cycle, and the 24-hour indication. “This means that there is a piece in this watch that only moves once every four years, for leap year,” explains Hruschka. “It’s amazing.” The L.U.C Qualité Fleurier is a special edition piece created to mark the 10th anniversary of the Chopard Manufacture, which has the self-winding movement, and endowed with a power-reserve of approximately 65 hours. So exclusive is this model that only 250 versions were made, for only the most discerning of connoisseurs.

A museum has opened in honor of these fame-worthy timepieces, called “L.U.CEUM” named for the L.U.C watches, based on the initials of brand founder Louis-Ulysse Chopard. Karl-Friedrich explains, “I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of time with all its many aspects and facets. I wanted to establish a museum that would express this passion and share it with others…. I wanted to create a place that would inspire people to pause, to reflect upon and to contemplate the notions of time and slowness…. Making timepieces is my calling.” The museum is chock full of the history, and follows the “traces of time,” the museum’s theme, as it includes the earliest Chopard watch, elementary clocks, such as sundials, sandglasses, and oil-lamp clocks.

With more innovations on the way, it is no doubt that Chopard will continue to rise to the challenge of creating the most inspiring timepieces and jewelry for years to come. With Hruschka behind the helm, this is sure to be a little less challenging.