At the age of 24, Louis-Ulysse Chopard started his company L.U.C. Chopard in Sonviller, Switzerland. Since the brand's inception in 1860, Chopard understood the need for thin and accurate pocket watches to be functional for daily wear. The brand gained world recognition in 1912 after Tsar Nicolas II became a client. Following Louis-Ulysse's death in 1915, his sons Paul-Louis and Paul André took over the business and moved their headquarters to La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1963, the company was taken over by Karl Scheufele, who remains the brand's owner. Arguably Chopard's most recognizable design, the "Happy" line, was inspired by Scheufele's daughter Caroline. In 1996, his son Karl-Friedrich established Chopard as a manufacturer of its own range of in-house movements under the name L.U.C., creating groundbreaking, exquisitely finished watches that have earned the brand worldwide acclaim.