2016 is a milestone year for Chopard. The watchmaker hit Baselworld with its newest L.U.C model, the L.U.C Perpetual Chrono, and in doing so, Chopard marked its 20th anniversary as a builder of movements. Ralph Simons, Chopard’s North American CEO joined iW Magazine to discuss two U.S-only limited editions that honor the brand’s 40 years in the U.S market, 40 years of the Happy Diamonds collections, and two decades as a manufacture.
Happy Diamonds and 40 Years in America
40 years ago, a designer employed by Chopard set out to explore the German Südöstliche Schwarzwald, aka the Southeastern Black Forest, on the border with Switzerland. Upon encountering a small spring, he was captivated how light reflected on the water droplets. Although that sounds like rather abstract muse, the result was the Happy Diamonds collection.
To celebrate this anniversary, Chopard has released a limited edition Happy Sport model that highlights the watchmaker’s emphasis on jewelry in addition to horology. The model comes on a stainless steel bracelet or rose gold with a diamond-adorned bezel with a light blue mother-of-pearl dial. This watch also celebrates the 40 years that Chopard has been producing watches replica for the American market.
For men, the Chopard is offering a U.S.-market limited edition in stainless steel or rose gold like the women’s model. The men’s watch comes on a NATO strap or a leather strap. While sharing conceptual renderings, Simons reveals that each watch in the special series employs American flag colors as a tribute to this market, but each example retains the elegance Chopard always offers. Both the men and women’s models are available exclusively in the United States.
L.U.C.
Chopard debuted the L.U.C. Perpetual Chrono for Baselworld 2016. The new watch combines a hand-wound chronograph and a perpetual calendar with limited edition exclusivity and Geneva hallmark finishing standards. At first glance, the 20-piece commemorative model resembles the firm’s 2005 Lunar One, a perpetual calendar with moonphase or the L.U.C Perpetual T (with tourbillon) from 2015. However, with the addition of a premium column-wheel chronograph featuring a flyback function, this year’s evolution decidedly is more complex.
Chopard’s manufacture-movement L.U.C collection is a nod to the watchmaker’s founder, Louis-Ulysse Chopard, a watchmaker from the Swiss village of Sonvilier who founded Chopard in 1860.
Issued in ethically sourced Fairmined 18-karat white gold, the Perpetual Chrono was developed and produced entirely in the Chopard workshops and features the L.U.C Calibre 03.10-L. Chopard is the only watchmaker that can claim the Fairmined certification. The 18-karat white gold used in this series is sourced from certified mining cooperatives in Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia. All Fairmined gold is responsibly extracted by artisanal and small-scale mining organizations. The unique certificate demonstrates Chopard’s dedication to supporting mining communities, combating labor exploitation, and to promoting sustainable practices in the name of environmental protection. As a client, Chopard pays a premium in addition to the fixed gold price to be reinvested in community projects.
Stellar ethics aside, the new L.U.C chronograph is a beauty. It features a zero-reset system for the counters and a central sweep seconds hand. The reset system is handled by progressive-contact hammers; this is a more precise method than is typically utilized by chronograph makers. The perpetual calendar chronograph combines many elements that watch lovers enjoy: long-term timekeeping via perpetual calendar and short-term time recording via a chronograph.
The Chopard L.U.C Perpetual Chrono watches replica feature a 45-millimeter case that holds the dial, which is coated with grey ruthenium. It is adorned with a hand-guided rose lathe guilloché motif that creates dramatic light effects which radiate from the twin-aperture date display. The large separations between the chronograph, moonphase, and perpetual calendar allow the complications to avoid clutter, and the watch remains legible and beautiful. It’s a fitting way to help celebrate the twenty years since Chopard debuted its L.U.C collection and joined the ranks of true movement manufactures.