Caroline Scheufele, born December 14, 1961 in Pforzheim, Germany, is a German business woman. She is the Artistic Director and Co-President of Chopard, the Swiss-based luxury watches and jewellery manufacturer. She is the daughter of Karl and Karin Scheufele, German entrepreneurs who purchased the company in 1963. During the 1980s, Caroline Scheufele expanded the business into the jewelry sector. In 1998, Caroline Scheufele redesigned the Palme d’Or for the Cannes Film Festival, and made Chopard an official event partner. Under her direction, the brand became one of the first to grow the market in sustainable luxury goods and ethical gold.
Biography
Childhood
Caroline Scheufele was born on 14 December 1961 in Pforzheim in Germany. Her parents managed the watchmaking company Eszeha, based in Pforzheim. In 1963, her father Karl acquired the Geneva-based watch manufacturer Chopard, and over the following years, the family traveled back and forth between Germany and Switzerland. At the age of 12, Caroline moved to Switzerland in order to study at Geneva’s International School along with her brother Karl-Friedrich. She decided to join the family business immediately after obtaining her diploma, while enrolled in classes in Design and Gemmology. She completed a year of further training at Eszeha, spending time in each of the company departments, including export, packaging, after-sales service, and others while continuing to work in the Design Department. Back in Geneva, she joined her brother’s office.
Launching of the jewelry side
In 1985, she designed an articulated clown made of floating diamonds. Her father put the piece into production. The clown was the first piece of jewelry made by Chopard and marked the company’s launch into this sector. From that time onward, the company developed the jewelry side of its business, later expanding into fine jewelry.
In 1997, Chopard opened a boutique in Cannes. Caroline Scheufele wanted to link the boutique’s opening to the festival. So she headed to Paris to meet Pierre Viot, Director of the Cannes Film Festival. The Palme d’Or used to consist of a gold platedpalm leaf resting on a Plexiglas pyramid. Its design had remained unchanged for 50 years. Pierre Viot invited her to redesign the award piece and she agreed. Caroline Scheufele redesigned the Palme d’Or for the Cannes Film Festival and made Chopard the official event partner from 1998 onwards. Since that time, the award has been manufactured within the company’s workshops.
Under the direction of Caroline Scheufele, Chopard has become one of the first brands to use raw materials that meet the highest possible social and environmental standards, and supports Fairmined certified responsible gold. In 2010, the brand joined the Responsible Jewellery Council, which sets out a code of good conduct and promotes responsible practices. In 2011, Caroline Scheufele met Livia Firth, wife of actor Colin Firth, who is involved in sustainable development. As the founder of Green Carpet Challenge, Livia Firth encourages brands to invest in more ethical designs. Following their encounter, Caroline created a collection made entirely from ethical gold certified by Fairmined and diamonds from certified members of the Responsible Jewellery Council. Fairmined gold is extracted from sustainable mines supported by the Alliance for Responsible Mining. Since 2014, the Palme d’Or has been made in Fairmined certified ethical gold. Over time, Caroline has forged partnerships and agreements with various players operating in the responsibly extracted ethical gold market and developed the production of sustainable jewelry and watches. As of 2018, all Chopard watches and jewelry are made in 100% ethical gold.
Record
In 2015, Caroline Scheufele acquired one of the world’s largest and purest raw diamonds from a mine in Botswana on behalf of Chopard. She used this 342-carat diamond, known as the “Queen of Kalahari”, to create a fine jewelry collection that was exhibited in Paris in 2018 and baptized “The Garden of Kalahari”.
