User:Solarys-fr/Caroline Scheufele

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxCaroline 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. As Artistic Director and Head of the Creation and Design department at Chopard, Scheufele is responsible for the High Jewellery division, for the design and creation of jewels and ladies’ watches as well as for fragrances and accessories. She is also in charge of the international retail business.

Caroline Scheufele, born on 14 December 1961 in Pforzheim in Germany, is the co-president and artistic director of Chopard. She is the daughter of Karl and Karin Scheufele, German entrepreneurs who purchased the company in 1963.

During the 80s, 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 becomes one of the first to grow the market in sustainable luxury goods and ethical gold.

Childhood
Caroline Scheufele was born on 14 December 1961 in Pforzheim in Germany. Her parents manage the watchmaking company Eszeha, based in Pforzheim.

In 1963, her father, Karl, acquired the Geneva-based watch manufacture Chopard, and over the following years the family traveled back and forth between Germany and Switzerland.

At the age of 12, Caroline left Germany for Switzerland and enrolled at the International School of Geneva along with her brother Karl-Friedrich. She specialized in design, jewelry and gemology.

Launching of the jewelry side
She joined the family business immediately after obtaining her diploma, but continued to attend classes in Design and Gemology.

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.

In 1985, Caroline 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.

The Palme d’Or
In 1997, Chopard opened a boutique in Cannes. As a cinema buff, 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 plated palm 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.

2001: Co-Presidency
In 2001, Caroline Scheufele and her brother were named Co-Presidents of the company. Caroline is the Artistic Director in charge of fine jewelry, design and artwork, as well as perfume and accessories. Her brother is in charge of watches, innovation and business strategy. They jointly manage marketing, publicity and communications.

Caroline Scheufele is also in charge of international retail and travels the world to introduce the brand to other countries.

She establishes partnerships with charitable organizations such as Elton John AIDS, the Prince of Wales’ Prince’s Trust, the José Carreras Foundation Against Leukemia, Petra Nemcova’s All Hands and Hearts Smart Response, Natalia Vodianova’s Naked Heart Foundation, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser’s Education Above All, and the WWF.

Ethical Gold
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 (RJC), 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, she 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 RJC. 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. In 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”.

Career
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx In 1985, she created the Happy Diamonds jewelry collection, a Chopard jewellery line that is based on the idea of enabling diamonds to shine more brightly by freeing them from their retaining settings and enabling them to move about freely. In 2006, the Red Carpet Collection was created: sixty unique high jewellery pieces were launched on the occasion of the 60th Cannes Film Festival.

Scheufele was a guest judge on season 13 of Project Runway. The episode entitled "Priceless Runway" required the contestants to create red carpet looks inspired by Chopard jewelry.