Chopard presents three new striking watches
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the LUC collection, Chopard has unveiled three new combat watches: the LUC Strike One, LUC Full Strike Sapphire and LUC Full Strike Tourbillon.
The LUC Full Strike Sapphire model, released in a limited edition of 5 pieces, is almost completely transparent: races, case, crown, case back and dial are completely carved from sapphire crystal. The transparent case allows you to observe the work of the caliber LUC 08.01-L, marked with a chronometer certificate. The hand-wound movement has a power reserve of 60 hours.
The idea of using solid sapphire gongs with sapphire glass as a resonator was pioneered by Chopard in the first LUC Full Strike model of 2016. In 2017, the Rose Gold LUC Full Strike was awarded the Golden Arrow at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix.
Now the body of the model is also made of sapphire, which captivated the jury with its sound. It has a diameter of 42,5 mm and a thickness of 11,44 mm. The watchmakers have thought about the fact that the watch does not lose the convenience of readability of indications, despite the transparency. The railroad-style minute track was engraved on the glass and painted. Three separate elements also stand out on the sapphire disc: an off-center seconds dial, a hole covered by a white gold plate with the LUCHOPARD logo, and a concentric power reserve indicator with two hands (they show how much energy is left for the main movement to work and how much to work minute repeater).
The production limit for the LUC Full Strike Tourbillon model was set at 20 copies. This watch from the musical triad is presented in an ethical rose gold case with a diameter of 42,5 mm and a thickness of 12,58 mm. Thanks to this model, a tourbillon with a sapphire bridge was introduced to the LUC Full Strike series.
This is the first model in the Full Strike line to have an almost completely closed dial. It is made of rose gold with gray ruthenium plating and decorated with a handmade guilloche pattern. However, it was not without windows that allow you to peep behind the mechanism. Through the first, between 9 and 11 o'clock, you can see two hammers made of mirror-polished steel, which beat the time with their blows. The second hole, located at 6 o'clock, reveals the tourbillon caliber LUC 08.02-L.
At the 6 o'clock position is a tourbillon caliber LUC 08.02-L. Its stainless steel cage has the spiral shape typical of LUC tourbillons. The tourbillon's sapphire bridge, with four semicircular recesses, is based on a design made by Chopard founder Louis-Ulysse Chopard.
The third member of the trio is LUC Strike One, released in a series of 25 copies. This is a 40 mm hourly chime model, crafted in 18K ethical rose gold and powered by the new caliber LUC 96.32-L.
Inspired by the aesthetics of the LUC XPS 1860, the watch draws inspiration from the aesthetics of the LUC XPS 1. The outer circumference of the gray ruthenium-plated gold dial is adorned with a pattern of concentric circles, while the central part features a hand-crafted guilloché honeycomb pattern, one of Chopard's symbols. At the XNUMX o'clock position, the dial has a cutout through which you can see a mirror-polished steel hammer that strikes the time. The dial opening is also hammer-shaped.
The body height of the novelty does not exceed 9,86 mm. Inside is a new caliber 96.32-L, equipped with a micro-rotor made of 22-carat "ethical" gold, decorated with an engraving. Thanks to the Chopard Twin technology, which uses two barrels, the caliber has a 65-hour power reserve, even when the battle mode is activated. A special feature of the watch is the fight start button, previously located at 10 o'clock, is now integrated into the crown. It allows you to switch from silent mode to the hourly battle mode, the indicator of which is made in the form of a window with a gold border at the 12 o'clock position.
Karl-Friedrich Scheufele attracted professionals not only from the watch world to work on musical watches: the violinist Renaud Capuçon and his cellist brother Gauthier took part in improving the sound produced by gongs and sapphire glass using the technology patented by Chopard.
