Benjamin: Chopard's luxury jewellery artisans

Benjamin
Jewellery Apprentice Artisan

Distinguishing itself by the virtuosity of its artisans, part of Chopard's journey as a luxury jewellery and watch Manufacture has involved upholding the values of the Scheufele family, who have been at its helm from 1860 to the present day. Training lies at the heart of the Maison's ethos, and one of its most precious assets is nurturing and protecting its "artistic hands", the talented craftsmen and know-how behind its extraordinary creations. This is achieved through Chopard's own apprenticeship workshops in Fleurier and Geneva, where it trains those who will become the greats of tomorrow. In Fleurier, the apprentices learn the watchmaking and micromechanical trades; while in Geneva, they are trained as watchmakers, jewellers, micromechanics and watch-exterior finishers.

Some Chopard-trained future jewellers may work for the Maison once they have completed their studies. Such is the case for Benjamin, who planned to study art history at university, but in the end chose to take a year out to get involved in creative projects, before being accepted for a one-week internship at Chopard in January 2016. An apprenticeship in luxury jewellery-making followed with a position subsequently becoming available in Chopard’s creative department. During his training, Benjamin learned the full range of hand craftsmanship techniques, starting from the raw material.

While officially an apprentice must be able to fashion nickel silver, brass, silver and gold, he enthuses: "Chopard as a whole goes far beyond the regulation requirements for training and is also committed to teaching historical techniques that are no longer used today. In my case, I was lucky to have a trainer who taught us modern jewellery, in accordance with the Federal Apprenticeship Ordinance, as well as a lot of historical alternatives, while allowing us to work with a large number of raw materials." In 2008, this commitment resulted in the Manufacture being awarded the "Best Training Company Prize" in the "Applied Arts" category by the State of Geneva.

Training is the only way to guarantee the survival of the ancestral arts of watchmaking and jewellery. Without transmission, there is no possible future for these professions dedicated to beauty.
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Karl-Friedrich Scheufele

Benjamin, Apprentice Jewellery Artisan

Man sketching a luxury jewellery piece on paper

Benjamin luxury jewellery apprentice heating up a blowtorch

Man using a luxury jewellery saw on a piece of metal

Man cooling down a metal piece in a liquid

Luxury jewellery apprentice polishing a metal piece

"At Chopard, you learn to shape titanium, wood, certain types of plexiglass, aluminium, resins and plastics. There is great versatility in terms of approaches, techniques and styles."