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Interview: Karl-Friedrich Scheufele - Chopard L.U.C.

Substantial sections of this article were published in iW magazine (June 2008).

This unabridged version appears by courtesy of FineLife Media Inc.

INTERVIEW:  KARL-FRIEDRICH SCHEUFELE – CHOPARD DRIVER AND WATCHMAKING MARATHON “RUNNER”

By Dr Melvyn Teillol-Foo and V.L. Kong

Co-President of Chopard, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele has taken on the company’s technical products in the Watchmaking Division and re-established Chopard as an authentic Manufacture. Mr Scheufele kindly agreed to a deep and frank discussion about his work and passions.

IW=International Watch Magazine & PuristS

KFS=Karl Friedrich Scheufele

On Passions about Watchmaking, Vintage Cars and Mille Miglia

IW: We would like to learn a bit more about you. How did you get started in watches? Was it an interest that was “naturally transferred” from your father, as he was a watchmaker? [Editor’s Note: Karl Scheufele III]

KFS: It was not a direct transfer from my father. I could not say that he is really passionate about watchmaking although he had full training as a watchmaker. Conversely, although I was trained as a jeweller, I am more interested in watchmaking. It would probably take me a long time but I could still sit down and make a piece of jewellery – if required! The watchmaking interest developed over time. It really started in the late 1980s when I became interested in watch movements. More recently, I rediscovered my grandfather’s watch and clock collection, which I reactivated and turned into what you know as the L.U.CEUM (Chopard Manufacture museum).

Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and father, Karl Scheufele III © Chopard SA

IW: During the 1980s you were also into vintage cars and Chopard has been a sponsor of the revived Mille Miglia since 1988….

KFS: Yes – that ‘virus’ was transmitted from my father and in fact, the vintage cars played a role in the watchmaking. The way that vintage car engines are built – the attention to detail – the finish – all these things fascinated me and I was constantly thinking how to take some useful inspiration from them.

IW: Perhaps one of the inspirations is the ‘crank’ that is supplied with some Quattro movements – are they based on the starting cranks of vintage cars?

KFS: I must admit that actually came from sailing boats. We needed something to help with winding the watch. The 8-days power reserve is great but 4 barrels takes some time to wind. Some people don’t mind but some people are impatient so I thought we should have a little tool.

IW: We thought it looked like a starting crank for automobiles.

KFS: I can tell you that if you had tried it once, you won’t do it again – it can be dangerous from the kickback and depending on the size of the engine, you can break your arm!  I used to have old motorcycles and it’s the same story – to start them, you really have to think about what you are doing.

IW: Why did you choose to be involved with the Mille Miglia race?

KFS: In 1987, a friend suggested I should go down to Italy to have a close look at the Mille Miglia Rally. I met the organisers and we were back in 1988 as sponsors. I realised that this was the perfect combination of all the meaningful sports cars from a very interesting era gathered, without any brand emphasis, including brands that don’t exist anymore – it’s a living museum that comes alive once a year. That’s the great thing about the Mile Miglia. It’s a sporty event and not just a Concours d’Elegance, where you stand around all day and polish your car; you really get to drive them. I’ve participated annually since 1988.

IW: So, you enjoy driving 1000 miles every year in Northern Italy?

KFS: Yes – it helps to have Jacky Ickx as your co-driver. Most of the time, he doesn’t drive because he says he has driven enough in his life. He just likes to look at the countryside and lets me drive!

IW: I saw an interview with Sir Sterling Moss who is getting on in years (b.1929) and he said the competitive fire is still there when he drives in veterans’ races.

KFS: Yes – you can tell – he really wants to win.

{Editor’s Note: Jacky Ickx is a 6-time Winner of Le Mans endurance race]

KFS and Jacky Ickx © Chopard SA

On Winning in Industry

IW: That takes us neatly to the next question – what does it take to be a winner or survivor in the watch industry of the 21^st century?

KFS: When I started with this L.U.C. project, I discussed it with someone in the watch industry whom I appreciated a lot – the late Teddy Beyer (Theodor Beyer of Chronometrie Beyer, Zurich). He used to tell me that the watch industry is a marathon; it’s not a sprint. This is what I kept in mind. You have a lot of ‘sprinters’ in our industry but if you want to make a real impact, it’s more the Long Run. Sometimes, my people come to see me saying, “Look at the others and what they are doing”. I reply, “Let’s see 10 years down the road…” That is why we started with a basic movement and not a grand complication. That’s our philosophy. You can build upon the solid foundation but if you don’t have the foundation, you’re never going to really take off. Recently, we have been approached by a number of people wanting to “talk about supply of movements” but I told them, “You declare that you are a manufacture and you make beautiful complications, so what’s the problem – don’t you have movements? We decided to do it step-by-step and I don’t want to miss a step.

IW: You have the ‘luxury’ of being family-owned and doing what you feel is right for your company. Some of the other groups have fiscal size but are constantly juggling share prices, dividends and shareholders. Do you think that gives you an advantage or disadvantage?

KFS: It gives us more advantages than disadvantages. We are spending our own money and not shareholders’ money. We probably consider the risks more because it is our own money but at the same time we have a long-term approach. We have seen large companies build factories and not even moving in. The problem there is not always about the willingness to make decisions but sometimes, somebody makes a decision and can’t really justify it. In a smaller company, we have to really think about it before we do something.

On Design Philosophy

IW: Do you have a design philosophy from the Classic and moving forward to the avant-garde Tech range?

KFS: Every watch has its history in terms of design. I admit that we probably don’t communicate enough on why we do certain things. For the initial L.U.C. 1.96, I wanted it to be as classical as it could be. So the size, compared to today’s world, was…

IW: Perfect?

KFS: [chuckle] It is perfect for some but for many, it is too small. I know that going down the road – it is still just fine. The idea for the QF was to recreate a watch that Chopard made in the 1950s. This is actually a watch that we have in our museum but much smaller than the new version; and we were somewhat inspired by it. The QF was another important step and we wanted to go back to the roots of Chopard. The Tech series came about because we recognise that we are living in today’s world. At the Manufacture, we utilise and combine high-tech methods of production with traditional craftsmanship. We looked at how we could express this, not just with the movement inside but also with the Tech design on the outside.

IW: How do you start the design process? Do you sketch out a concept and unleash your designers or do you receive hundreds of designs that are whittled down to one? In other words, does your process go from a top-down approach or vice versa?

KFS: They are different approaches and the one I favour for the Men’s watches is to start with a sketch on a piece of paper (that I am capable of doing) and letting the designers explore those directions. I still remain open to what they come up with, of course.

IW: When ideas are sketched out, they are a reflection of past experiences and influences in your life at that time; what if those change?

KFS: If you are developing a new movement and for technical or other reasons you want to have the power reserve indicator in one spot; once you have decided that spot, even conceptually, it’s going to stay there. If a year later, you change your mind and want the indicator somewhere else, you would destroy a year’s work. You have to be very sure of what you want. For example, take the Chrono One – a subtle design mandate was that the centres of the left and right sub-dials are not in-line with the centre of the dial. That was intentional because I said from the beginning that I wanted sub-dials that were as big as they can be. The only way to do that was to ‘cheat’ and move them up a little bit.

IW: Didn’t you make things difficult for your engineers by moving all the pivot points out of line?

KFS: Yes….

IW: Tough – they just had to do it?

KFS: Yes….

IW: Some German competitors use soldered lugs. Why did you not do the same to accentuate your craftsmanship?

KFS: We opted in the beginning for a one-piece case because soldered lugs are old technology and not as high-value solution as making a tool to form a case out of solid metal. Remember that I worked in case making and our founder companies (Eszeha and Chopard) have some expertise in case making. Today, of course it is a philosophical question because you can solder very precisely with modern equipment and the lugs will stay on forever. In the old days, soldering was difficult and you always had some failures.

IW: Does L.U.C. have ‘signature’ design cues that you will not stray from?

KFS: Yes, for example (pointing to the new Chrono One) with this watch, the basic shape of the L.U.C. case remains except it is little more angular. There is a family resemblance across the L.U.C. range and within branches of the family for details like hands, dials and cases.

IW: Case shape is very important for ladies; how do you design a ladies watch that is feminine and still instantly recognisable as a L.U.C.?

KFS: That’s why it’s not out yet! [Laugh]  In terms of shape and aesthetic, I haven’t liked what I’ve seen so far….

IW: Ladies love the Tech look and are waiting for a Ladies L.U.C. watch since you first hinted in 2001 that a ladies watch was possible. When will you address those needs?

KFS: We never stopped the Ladies L.U.C. movement; we have a list of projects but not enough people to do them all. We think it is important to consolidate the position on the Men’s side first. For the Chrono One (formerly Project GT3), the entire department worked for one year at the expense of all other projects to make the L.U.C. 10^th anniversary celebrations. Even if it hurts, you have to put aside everything and accept that something else does not get done; but I think it was worthwhile.

IW: Serendipitously, fashions have changed with the delay to issue a ladies L.U.C. and now ladies are wearing bigger watches. Could you use the base L.U.C.1.96 movement for ladies’ watches soon?

KFS: Possibly…. [enigmatic smile]

IW: The Mille Miglia range is reaching 44mm case diameter but the base L.U.C. movements are 27.4mm diameter. Although we would like to see L.U.C. movements in Mille Miglia watches, is there a design policy that you do not want to use too small movements in big cases or use movement spacers?

KFS: Yes – the reason we made the Mille Miglia GTXL was that a large movement was available. I would not have made the GTXL if the movement were not available. I do not appreciate a small movement in a big case. It’s like opening the hood of a big car with a tiny engine inside; my aesthetics would be disturbed.

IW: How do you reconcile the desire to have a L.U.C. movement in a Mille Miglia watch with the size differences?

KFS: That’s why it would not be in a GTXL case. If we were to make a Mille Miglia with L.U.C. movement, it will stand out – it will be something else – not only to commemorate the fusion.

IW: As a sporty watch, it may require a central winding rotor as a micro-rotor may not be appropriate….

KFS: Possibly…. [enigmatic smile]

On New Technology

IW: Where do you think watchmaking on a global scale (not just Swiss) will go in the next 5, or even 10 years? One watchmaker recently gave me his thoughts over the next 50 years.

KFS:  50 years? [chuckle] Well, maybe we start with 10 years. I can see mechanical movements playing an important role going forward because we have passed the stage where you could say this was a fashion. The mechanical watch offsets or is a contrast to the kind of world that we are living in. That is why many people appreciate it as we are surrounded by electronics and gimmicks – you don’t even know which mobile phone to buy anymore because tomorrow there’ll be a new one out that can do more.  If you ask yourself, which is the object that you would like to keep, appreciate and hold on… to pass on; what else can it be but your mechanical watch?

IW: The previously mentioned watchmaker talked about hybrid movements – mechanical/electronic or other future technology. Do you see Chopard going down the hybrid route?

KFS: If it allows us to add either function, precision or some real added value, then why not?

IW: What about the hot topic of new materials as used by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Ulysse Nardin, Breguet and others?

KFS: We founded a new venture called ‘Chopard Technologies’ in Fleurier and moved a group of people from everyday operations into that ‘think tank’. Without talking too much about it, we are part of many initiatives within industry. Patek is talking about it but we are also part of this development scheme with silicium. I would only want to use new technology if it adds to the functionality of the watch. For example, to make a base plate out of titanium is nice and may be a little lighter but it does not make the watch better or more precise. To make a base plate from silicium is interesting but we are going to lose out on all the beautiful possibilities of decoration – it would look like a piece of plastic, after all. We’ve played with these ideas in our minds already. We have certain ideas about it and we are working on one or two things, which may be interesting…using silicium but using it where I think it belongs. I don’t see a movement completely made out of it.

On Performance

IW: You pay a lot of attention to the performance of your watches but as a manager, how do you define good performance in your industry?

KFS: Good performance for a watch is not that different for a company. When a watch movement is well conceived, you can more easily put it together, regulate it and it will last longer without service. So, if you have a good team working well together, it can get you much further than a team that doesn’t. Each element is extremely well connected and has to work with the other components. It’s always the same story – a good initial vision, good communication, and then you have a good base to develop whatever you want.

IW: What improvement would you like to see at Chopard as a company?

KFS: The biggest challenge that we face and need to more thoroughly address is to ensure enough young watchmakers for the future. We are already doing our bit with a small watchmaking school in Geneva to step up from 8 students at any given time to 12 or hopefully more. In Fleurier, we have just bought another building and intend to create a watchmaking school.

IW: Is this also to support the maintenance of watches and refurbishment of parts?

KFS: Yes – while I was confident that mechanical watches would continue to play a role, we have to ensure adequate maintenance support. This is part of the marathon of watchmaking. The ‘sprinter’ does not think about that; he is looking at his next career step and does not have to worry about 25 years down the road. I’m not implying that everybody is thinking like that but as a family-run company, ‘le patrimoine’ (heritage) thinking is paramount.

The same goes for training people and the ability to re-make parts to maintain our watches. Everybody is waking up to this now.

© MTF @ PuristSPro.com

On Qualite Fleurier

IW:  Since the establishment of the Qualite Fleurier and initial issue of watches by Chopard, Bovet and Parmigiani, we have not heard much about the QF mark. What do you think of the penetration of the QF mark in the market place?

KFS: There are two things:

First, the bar is pretty high, if not, very high. It prevents the companies from producing too many watches with the QF mark. Every cased watch is tested and takes a longer and finite time. The testing equipment could handle more pieces but not too many more. So, we have to go back to the drawing board in one or two cases. We are working on a new QF movement.

Secondly, as QF an independent organisation, it should communicate independently and not through the founding brands. I was insisting that we should do more to promote QF. When you are alone – decisions are made easily; when you are two parties – it’s a little more difficult; when you are three…

IW: Can anybody submit watches for testing at QF?

KFS: Yes – we have had interest from other companies asking for information.

IW: I was thinking more of a consumer mass testing of many brands using the QF as a benchmark. Is there anything in the rules to prevent this, in theory?

KFS: The regulations did not really foresee this question about consumer testing. To apply as a manufacturer, you have to fulfil two criteria – the movements that you present have a cost and the finishing has to reach QF standards. An independent institute does the crash testing. Theoretically, if your watches went through all these, they could proceed to QF testing.

IW: Theoretically, such a consumer test could be an independent assessment not only of watch brands but also of the QF test itself, especially if watches with the Geneva Seal were included as positive controls.

KFS: I agree – that could be interesting.  By the way, the COSC has decided to change their rules as of 2009. Rather than just testing the base movement, if you are adding complication modules (chronograph, calendar etc), you must present the whole assembled movement for testing. It is not quite testing of cased-up watches but still a revolution; I’m glad that QF inspired them. The number of chronometers may drop in 2009 because the standards will be higher and for example, if you test a perpetual calendar for chronometry, the results will not be favourable for a COSC rating.

IW: How has QF affected Chopard processes?

KFS: QF is a long-term project. It has helped us in the development of new movements, testing equipment and attention to details. Those improvements alone are enough to say that QF is an excellent thing.

IW: QF standard includes a very small chronometry window (0 to +5s/day) and a 24-h impact torture test. What have you actually modified on the L.U.C. 9.96 movement that sets it apart from the “usual” L.U.C. 1.96 movement to survive the impacts and still deliver such precision?

KFS: This demonstrates what I said earlier; we had to improve on our anti-shock mechanisms because we realised that we had to pass the QF tests. That alone has convinced us to keep up the QF Initiative and we are planning to increase the number of watches submitted; in fact, Chopard will make the most watches of QF standard in the world.

IW: Watch collectors already know that COSC is not a real world test of chronometry as only the movement (and modules after 2009) is tested; Philippe Dufour has commented that QF is a way forward to test watches. What are your impressions?

KFS: It is as close to real-life testing as we can get and it’s like taking a car for a test-drive rather than just an engine test on a dynamometer.

On Production

IW: The annual production numbers we have are Chopard total 80,000 and L.U.C. sub-total at 4,000; is that about right? How many of those are quartz watches?

KFS: Yes, those are approximately correct and we should be at 35,000 mechanical and 45,000 quartz movements in total for Chopard, which includes the Classique and Mille Miglia ranges.

IW: What happened to the ‘Eszeha’ range?

KFS: That was a one-off a kind to celebrate 100^th anniversary of our founder company.

IW: So that won’t happen again until the 200^th anniversary?

KFS: Yes – well, maybe the 150^th anniversary of Eszeha. But we do have the 150^th anniversary of Chopard coming up in 2010.

On Grey Markets

IW: There are genuine Chopard watches, sold in parallel with the regular distributor network, but not discounted heavily. What are your feelings about the grey market?

KFS: In an ideal world, we would want our watches to be sold within authorised retail shops. The guarantees are filled out correctly, we know the history of the watch from “birth” and there is follow through that protects the customer. The problem is the world is so small in today’s market and we are confronted by some dealers who order more than they can actually sell in their territory. For some of them, it is even a ‘sport’ to re-export and re-sell. We are constantly playing the policeman because we want to protect the customer to ensure they get a real guarantee, track back the after-sales service and help in case there is a problem. We don’t encourage the practice; we constantly monitor and we also know our black sheep.

IW: Will they be “out of the flock” eventually?

KFS: [chuckle] Well, some of them had to “leave the flock”!

On After Sales Service and Communication

IW: I know of cases, personally, where the authorised dealer has stamped the warranty card but left the date blank and resold to a secondary dealer or even a tertiary dealer in a different country. How do you detect that if it’s an “official” stamp?

KFS: We can find out and we have a pretty good IT system in place now so we know, without revealing too much. What I am concerned about is watches travelling all over the place without record of transport conditions.

IW: Indeed – if a watch moves through three countries on two continents and becomes faulty, it still has the Chopard name on it; what do you do then?

KFS: We always decide in favour of the customer; if there is doubt, we always help the customer. I encourage this and at the end of the day – the customer has to be happy.

IW: This brings us neatly to the infamous ‘date-change’ problem with early L.U.C. movements. I had a date change problem that disappeared by itself without servicing, so I’ll never know what went on. Can you elaborate on this issue?

KFS: The early L.U.C. date-change was too precise and parts got stuck because of tight tolerances. Funnily enough, the problem arose because the change was too precise. The date changed precisely at midnight with an instantaneous jump.

IW: Is the re-engineered part replaced at a regular service?

KFS: Yes – if a watch comes back for an overhaul, whatever improvements and upgrades have been made since it last left the workshop will be automatically implemented.

IW: Will the customer know this or is it done silently?

KFS: It is done silently but maybe we should communicate this…

IW: With such low production of L.U.C. movements, you may not find out about potential issues until enough pieces are in use. Since the L.U.C. 1.96 date-change issue, if you find a problem in new movements, do you have a procedure to announce to the public or will you still upgrade them silently?

KFS: If we have an issue that is serious enough, I prefer to make an official announcement. We’ve had an issue with the 2006 Mille Miglia GTXL  – we were supplied with caseback screws that were not rustproof and had a lot of returns after summer, when people had been swimming. That was the first time that we made a real recall and we repaired a thousand watches in a very short period. We asked our retailers to contact every customer who bought one and to return watches in stock. It took three months.

IW: It would have been shorter if you had made the announcement on PuristSPro because we would have reached all the people at once. It is important for our website discussions because people who experience good things don’t say much but once they have a bad experience, they post repeatedly. Most of the “apparent” complaints on PuristS Chopard forum have been about few watches but repeatedly posted by the same two guys.

KFS: You’re right – again this goes back to our communication policy.

On Auction Houses

IW: Do you think the auction houses have anything to do with increasing the demand for secondary markets? Interesting pieces are coming up for auction almost brand new in their sealed plastic bags.

KFS: I receive lots of catalogues because I collect pocket watches and I’m disappointed because there are less of the pieces that I like. There are less really antique watches; all I see are watches “made yesterday”, still in plastic wraps, brand new, with fitted box etc. I cannot prove it but it seems that someone actually buys these watches and puts them to auction. I really cannot understand the logic. The role that auction houses play here is not helpful but buying watches under these circumstances is one’s own responsibility. You don’t know what the “brand new” watch went through. I don’t approve of that and I think it is a shame.

IW: It may be a marketing approach to increase awareness of a model or the brand to be more accepted by the public and establish a market value. We were very surprised at the prices achieved by one brand for watches used as props in recent spy movies.

KFS: I think that is taking a short-term view. You cannot create a hot commodity doing that and it can backfire; that’s my opinion. I think a brand has to be built over a long period of time. If there is enough interest, watches will find their way to an auction house, will be sold second-hand and achieve whatever price as a natural situation. It is very dangerous to try to manipulate this.

[Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted before the troubles at a prominent auction house were made public at the end of 2007]

© MTF @ PuristSPro.com

On Collecting

IW: You mentioned collecting pocket watches; what type of watches do you like and do you collect anything else?

KFS: I’m interested in antique pocket watches that are ‘technical’ from the 18^th and 19^th century. In my opinion, most wristwatches at auction are totally overpriced.

IW: Do you have an interest in striking watches?

KFS: Striking pocket watches – of course.

IW: And in the future, a striking wristwatch with the Chopard name on it?

KFS: It’s one of our projects, of course!

IW: Will L.U.C. start making new pocket watches like Patek Philippe?

KFS: There is a very remote chance that pocket watches will come back in fashion but I really don’t think so.

On Limited Editions

IW: What is your philosophy on limited editions; what is a Limited Edition?

KFS: There are two kinds of Limited Editions. There are the natural limited editions because you just cannot produce more of a certain watch, so you don’t even have to limit it. There has to be a real reason or concept behind a planned limited edition and not for the sake of the term. As an example, we make our Mille Miglia editions limited to the number of the year, so every year there is one more produced. The concept is the annual rally and our participation as sponsors. For the owner, there is increased appreciation of the watch knowing that there will only be “so many”. For Chopard production team, it is also an advantage because we know we will not make this anymore and can plan accordingly. Not having to worry about re-making that model frees us up to so something new.

On Idols, Rolex and Successor Plans

IW: Do you have any idols or role models? They do not have to be from the same industry.

KFS: Real idols…I admire certain people for specific attributes because I know what it takes in their fields. Sports for example, I enjoy bicycling and admire Eddy Merckx, whom I know and remember what he did – before doping. He made a bicycle for me from hi-tech materials and there I appreciate hi-tech materials because they make a difference to performance.

[(Editor’s Note: Eddy Merckx was 3-timesWorld Cycling Champion and 5-times Tour de France Overall Winner).

IW: Do you have a favourite watchmaker, dead or alive? Perhaps it’s no so easy to talk about the live ones.

KFS: I’m familiar with a watchmaker who lived close by to Fleurier called Ferdinand Berthoud who founded a watchmaking dynasty and moved to Paris to make marine chronometers for the King of France. Berthoud’s contribution to watchmaking and technical writings is enormous. It is something I discovered when I moved to Fleurier and that I’m really getting into.

IW: What do you think of Rolex?

KFS: I have one or two Rolex watches. I think Rolex, in many ways, is an example to the industry for their consistency, approach to quality and the fact that they leave very little to chance. All these things to me represent a role model.

IW: Rolex have had only three CEO since they started with very smooth handover. Like Philippe Stern wanting a smooth leadership handover for Patek Philippe, do you have a successor plan to stay a family-owned company?

KFS: For my successors – not yet – I only reach 50 years old next year (2008). In our case, it was a smooth transition.

IW: You have a very successful company now; has anyone offered to buy Chopard?

KFS: Obviously, contacts or rather attempts have been made but we’re still here. So, the answer is consistently the same. I could not imagine myself doing anything else; I’m pretty happy doing what I am doing.

On Horology Website Forums and Magazines

IW: Back in 1996, when Chopard brought out the L.U.C. 1.96, it created a lot of excitement on ‘ThePuristS’ because suddenly there was a new movement manufacture. What do you think of the relationship between Chopard and horology websites? Would you have done anything differently and what do you think of their performance in promoting information?

KFS: I’m very happy with PuristS’ efforts at promoting information about Chopard and watchmaking in general. But I’m not happy with our lack of interaction with websites today. In a way, we’re very Swiss about it and we’re still looking for a good solution to this. We’re really ‘up in Fleurier’, which means we are remote and not realising the importance of Internet resources.

IW: Do you visit PuristS’ Chopard forum daily or weekly?

KFS: More weekly – my problem is connected with a lack of time and constantly travelling.

IW: Do you have any message to PuristS and readers of this magazine across the world?

KFS: I greatly appreciate the enormous interest that the website and magazine create and the service as links between manufacturers and fans. The manufacturers are not always performing in the best way when you talk about communication. This helps the cause of fine watchmaking – I really appreciate that.

IW: Thank you.

iW Publisher’s note:

Dr Melvyn Teillol-Foo is an executive moderator on PuristSPro.com and former moderator of Chopard discussion forum on ThePuristS.com om.  He is also a quoted authority on the industry, appearing in feature articles on the watch industry in Wall Street Journal and other international publications.

Mr V.L. Kong is the current moderator of Chopard discussion forum on PuristSPro.com .

Copyright June 2008; all rights reserved. 

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