Chopard Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the L.U.C Collection at Watches & Wonders 2022

Chopard looks back on its award-winning L.U.C collection and introduces new, complicated Alpine Eagle and Happy Sport timepieces.

By Kristen Shirley
Contributor

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the L.U.C collection from Chopard. And the Swiss maison is celebrating at Watches & Wonders with not one but three remarkable timepieces that highlight the manufacture’s in-house capabilities, including two chiming watches alongside a rather unique officer-style model.

Plus, in addition to the new L.U.C model, we have the new Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon and Happy Sport Chronograph to ogle.

So let’s get to it!

L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire & L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon

The L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire and L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon embody Chopard’s manufacturing prowess.

For those who may not already be aware, “sonnerie,” or chiming, watches are quite difficult to craft; therefore, they can only be produced by the top watchmaking maisons. And yet, the Full Strike Sapphire isn’t just any chiming watch. It has a completely transparent case that displays the movement from all sides while maintaining crystal-clear, rich sound.
 

Meanwhile, the L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon adds a hypnotic tourbillon to an already-complicated movement. The acoustics of both timepieces have even been endorsed by Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, brothers and noted virtuosos.

The revolutionary L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire gives you a 360-degree view of the Poinçon de Genève-certified movement – the first time a non-metallic timepiece has been awarded the honor – and lets you watch the movement in action as it chimes. It features Chopard’s signature monobloc minute repeater, which uses solid sapphire gongs fused to the sapphire crystal so that it can serve as a resonator. As a result, this configuration gives the timepiece a rich, intense sound as it chimes.
 

Furthermore, as its name suggests, the entire case and dial of the L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire are crafted from sapphire glass, but there’s an engraved railway minutes-track around the outside of the timepiece so you can more easily tell the time. There’s also a seconds counter at 6 o’clock and a power-reserve indicator at 2 o’clock with two hands: one for the movement and one for the minute repeater. Not surprisingly, just five pieces of this incredibly complex time-keeping machinery will be made.
 

The L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon, on the other hand, also features Chopard’s monobloc sapphire minute repeater but adds a tourbillon with a sapphire bridge, giving it a similar appearance to a flying tourbillon.

The gray dial features a fine hand-guilloché motif and displays the chiming hammers from 9 to 11 o’clock. To add a tourbillon, Chopard had to redevelop the caliber and add 35 components while making space for the tourbillon and preserving the rich acoustics. This fine timepiece is limited to 20 pieces.
 

L.U.C XPS 1860 Officer

The L.U.C XPS 1860 Officer has a rich green dial that contrasts a sunburst satin-brushed outer ring with a hand-guillochéd honeycomb motif in the center.
 

This design references two parts of Chopard’s history. The first reference is to the original L.U.C 1896 timepiece released in 1997, which also had a guilloché center. The second reference is the honeycomb pattern, which dates back to the 1920s and the first timepieces crafted by the founder and namesake of the L.U.C collection, Louis-Ulysse Chopard. These, too, featured a beehive surrounded by bees.
 

In addition to honoring the brand’s history, the L.U.C XPS 1860 Officer’s polished gold case is crafted from ethically sourced 18K yellow gold. And on its back, there is a hinged officer-style cover that is also guillochéd in a honeycomb pattern with a hand engraved beehive and bees on the inside.

By pushing the crown, the back cover opens to reveal the automatic L.U.C 96.01-L calibre, which offers 65 hours of power reserve. Even with the hinged back cover, the watch measures just 7.7mm thick. This is limited to 50 pieces.
 

Alpine Eagle and Happy Sport

In addition to the stunning L.U.C pieces, Chopard showcased an impressive Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon and added a chronograph to its iconic Happy Sport collection.

The Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon raises the bar for Chopard’s well-received steel sports watch. In addition to its being the first model from the Alpine Eagle collection to earn the Poinçon de Genève hallmark for its fine finishings, it is also a certified chronometer for its excellent accuracy – one of the few flying tourbillons models to hold this double distinction.
 

The L.U.C 96.24-L movement measures a mere 3.30mm thick, and the case itself is just 8mm thick, quite the feat for a flying tourbillon timepiece. Yet, despite its slim size, it features a healthy 65 hours of power reserve.

Finally, the non-limited Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon comes in the maison’s signature Lucent Steel A223 material (which is both brilliant and sturdy) and has a bold Aletsch blue dial.
 

Alongside its magnificent high jewelry timepieces, Chopard has several notable women’s mechanical watches, including the new Happy Sport Chronograph.

The watch has a rich golden-hued dial, which matches the 18K rose gold case. It has a central display for hours, minutes, and chronograph seconds, plus three counters: 12 hours, 30 minutes, and small seconds. And for easy legibility, each is neatly labeled.
 

In addition, there’s a date aperture at 4:30, and atop the gilded dial, there are seven bezel-set diamonds that dance across the face as you move. Lastly, Happy Sport Chronograph has an exhibition caseback that showcases the COSC-certified chronometer movement.

Pricing & Availability

Pricing for the L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon (limited to 20 pieces) and the L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire (limited to 5 pieces) is available upon request. Meanwhile, the L.U.C XPS 1860 Officer (limited to 50 pieces) is listed for $33,500.

Finally, although both pieces are non-limited, the price of the Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon is only provided upon request, and the Happy Sport Chrono is priced at $31,200. For more information, please visit Chopard’s website.

(Photography by Pierre Vogel. Images © Chopard)

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