Chopard
Chopard L.U.C Swoops in with Three Chiming Watches and an Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon
Chopard
Chopard L.U.C Swoops in with Three Chiming Watches and an Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon
L.U.C Strike One
Fifteen years on from presenting its first watch with a striking movement, Chopard is renewing the caliber, aesthetic and style of the one that started it all: the L.U.C Strike One. Armed with their patented monobloc sapphire crystal and gong, and all of the lessons learnt from the development of the L.U.C Full Strike, the maison is poised to bring their crystal-clear sound to all of their future striking watch endeavors.
For the 2022 L.U.C Strike One, Chopard L.U.C has opted for a 40mm case rendered in ethical 18-carat rose gold. Its design code draws from the L.U.C XPS 1860 model, starting with its solid gold dial in ruthenium grey, bearing a snailed rim and a hand-guillochéd center adorned with a honeycomb pattern. The beehive is one of the emblems that Louis-Ulysse Chopard chose to represent his workshops.
With the new monobloc sapphire crystal and gong element used, the movement within the watch is the brand new L.U.C 96.32-L, which features signature implementations of the maison including the engraved 22-carat ethical gold micro-rotor, the double barrel Chopard Twin technology that accounts for its 65-hour power reserve. Amazingly, the watch maintains this power reserve even when the chiming mechanism is left active to ring out the passing of every hour as the minutes hand reaches 12 o’clock.
Tech Specs
Chopard L.U.C Strike One, Ref. 161949-5001
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds and stop seconds function; chime-in-passing mechanism striking Chopard-patented monobloc sapphire crystal/gong system
Case: 40mm in ethical 18-carat rose gold, 9.86mm thick
Dial: 18-carat ethical rose gold
Strap: Hand-sewn grey alligator leather with grey alligator lining; pin buckle in polished and satin-brushed 18-carat ethical rose gold
Availability: Numbered 25-piece limited edition
L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon
This is the first iteration of the L.U.C Full Strike that features a dial that is mostly solid rather than the more revealing one of its 2016 predecessor. On the L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon only two openings are permitted. The first cut-out between 9 and 11 o’clock, highlights the two mirror-polished steel hammers whose striking generates the chime. The other, at 6 o’clock, reveals the tourbillon of the L.U.C 08.02-L caliber. The last detail that must be pointed out on the dial is the four notches on the tourbillon bridge, which just happens to be made from sapphire. These notches are possible thanks to multiple desirable physical properties of sapphire. This bit of detail is important for the maison as it is the L.U.C signature tourbillon bridge, derived from a design by the founder of the Maison, Louis-Ulysse Chopard.
Shifting our attention to the L.U.C 08.02-L, the movement that gives life to the L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon, we’ll first zoom in on the tourbillon implementation. The steel tourbillon carriage here picks up the distinctive spiral design, a signature of L.U.C tourbillons.
Now it can be argued that a regulation organ originally meant for a pocket watch has no real purpose when placed within a contemporary wristwatch. The idea that the tourbillon’s constant motion helps to correct chronometric discrepancies that can arise from a timepiece being in an upright position for most of its time when worn within a pocket — ala pocket watch — is a moot point when discussing wristwatches that are moving as much as the wrist it is worn upon. The only way that we can make some sense of having this fascinating mechanism placed within a wristwatch is if the watch can be measured against a chronometric benchmark. This is precisely why Chopard has all their tourbillon timepieces certified by COSC.
Tech Specs
Chopard L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon, Ref. 161987-5001
Functions: Minute repeater striking sapphire gongs (Chopard-patented system); tourbillon; hours, minutes, seconds; stop-seconds Case: 42.5mm in 18-carat ethical rose gold
Dial: Ruthenium grey hand-guilloché 18-carat ethical rose gold
Strap: Hand-sewn grey alligator leather with grey alligator lining; folding clasp in polished and satin-brushed ethical 18-carat rose goldAvailability: Numbered 20-piece limited edition
L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire
By combining the case and monobloc sapphire crystal and gongs, Chopard shares that they’ve managed to unify musical expression and transparency to create a veritable horological musical instrument. Thanks to the homogeneity of the material, which is used throughout the watch to ensure that the sound travels beautifully and uniformly, this five-piece limited series gets the very best from sapphire.
The L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire watch inherits several advances from its L.U.C 08.01-L movement. Its patented resonant sapphire structure is complemented by several innovative technical systems, four of which are patented as well. These include the earlier discussed Chopard-patented clutch-lever device serving to block the strikework so as to avoid losing power reserve during information capture. It also has a dedicated energy source for the chiming mechanism that allows for it to function every time in its defined rhythm, whatever the time that is chimed and however many times it chimes.
Tech Specs
Chopard L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire, Ref. 168604-9001
Functions: Minute repeater striking sapphire gongs (Chopard-patented system); hours, minutes, small seconds; stop-seconds function
Case: Transparent sapphire; total diameter 42.50mm and 11.55mm thick
Dial: Open-worked sapphire dial with applied rhodium-plated markers and hands
Strap: Hand-sewn grey alligator leather with grey alligator lining; folding clasp in polished and satin-brushed ethical 18-carat white gold
Availability: Numbered 5-piece limited edition
Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon
After the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono and the Cadence 8HF, the collection has now been endowed with a flying tourbillon, powered by the L.U.C Caliber 96.24-L. This marks the first time that the Alpine Eagle family has been endowed with an L.U.C movement and as well the Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark.
The L.U.C 96.24-L movement is equipped with a stop-seconds function enabling precise time setting. This allows for Chopard to send the watch to be COSC certified, which makes the watches equipped with the L.U.C 96.24-L movement, the only breed of tourbillons that are both COSC-certified and bear the Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark. A curious detail is that the seconds hand mounted to the tourbillon of the Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon is coated with SLN X1, as a clever way of differentiating it and keep to its sports chic lane.
Tech Specs
Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon, Ref. 29-00186163
Functions: Flying tourbillon, hours, minutes, small seconds; stop-seconds function
Case: 41mm Lucent Steel A223; water-resistant to 100m
Dial: Aletsch Blue color, crafted in gold stamped with a radiating pattern centred on the tourbillon; applied white gold hour-markers and numerals enhanced with Grade X1 Super-LumiNova
Bracelet: Lucent Steel A223 tapering bracelet with satin-brushed wide link and sides, polished central cap; Lucent Steel A223 triple folding clasp