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

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.