As the new year of 2021 opens up with the promise of vaccines, a fragile bud of hope and optimism is blooming across the world. Haute horlogerie and haute joaillerie maison Chopard has gone all out imbued with the buoyant spirit of hope and confidence and introduced a plethora of offerings – both horological and bejewelled – for the Chinese New Year, for Valentine’s Day, and as the marque’s Precious Lace collection. We bring you a brief overview; be prepared to take notes as the Day of Love is around the corner and you need to get a gift for him or her…
CHINESE NEW YEAR COLLECTION
L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Ox
The 88 dials of the L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Ox timepiece were produced by the workshops of the century-old Yamada Heiando company and were made by Master lacquer artist Minori Koizumi. As the Maki-e technique requires, captured between the layers of lacquer drawn from the sap of the Toxicodendron vernicifluum tree, gold flakes illuminate a background that features a golden ox with straight horns and an abundant coat, harnessed to a wagon. Made of gold, mother-of-pearl and coloured lacquer, it conveys both agricultural symbolism and the more subtle imagery of the Emperor.
Entirely sculpted from ethical 18-carat rose gold, the watch measures 39.5 mm in diameter and its slim bezel enables a broad dial opening. The L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Ox is an ultra-thin timepiece measuring a mere 6.80 mm thick, and houses the 3.30 mm thick L.U.C 96.17-L in-house calibre. Despite this extremely diminutive size, this movement offers automatic winding via a micro-rotor. The L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Ox offers a total 65-hour power reserve. Once off the wrist, it will remain on time and accurate for more than two-and-a-half days, the duration of a long weekend.
L.U.C XP Urushi Spirit of Shí Chen
Carved from a block of ethical 18-carat rose gold, the L.U.C XP Urushi Spirit of Shí Chen represents the first time that an Haute Horlogerie watch displays Shí Chen, the traditional Chinese time system, as a complication. It consists of twelve two-hour units, each one represented by an animal from the zodiac cycle. The day thus begins at 11pm with the hour of the Rat and ends with the hour of the Pig, while noon is in the middle of the hour of the Horse. The procession of 12 animals slowly parades through a large aperture at 12 o’clock, enabling a dual time read-off: one traditional and the other based on the international system.
To equip the L.U.C XP Urushi Spirit of Shí Chen, Chopard has created the L.U.C 96.29-L calibre, an exclusive variation of the 96 family, featuring a disc that completes a full rotation in 24 hours. This mechanical movement with automatic winding is just 3.97 mm thick. Made of ethical 22-carat gold, it boasts high inertia enabling it to wind the two barrels efficiently. The watch offers a total 65-hour power reserve. Once off the wrist, it will remain on time and accurate for more than two-and-a-half days, the duration of a long weekend.
Happy Sport
Chopard’s iconic Happy Sport timepiece appears in festive attire for a majestic luck-themed dance. Clad in a splendid crimson figure-hugging gown, crafted in accordance with the golden ratio embodied in its 33mm-diameter ethical 18-carat rose gold case, this ultimate embodiment of the sport-chic trend carries eight dancing diamonds: a lucky number accentuating its talisman qualities. Paired with a red leather strap, the Happy Sport beats to the rhythm of the Chopard 09.01-C in-house movement, which boasts a 42-hour power reserve.
VALENTINE’S DAY COLLECTION
Alpine Eagle
The Alpine Eagle sports chic timepiece collection is a state-of-the-art reinterpretation of the St. Moritz, the first watch created in 1980 by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, now co-president of Chopard. Imagined and personally designed by him, Alpine Eagle is driven by his passion for the Alps and by the lofty power of the eagle that reigns supreme there.
Crafted from an exclusive, ultra-resistant and light-reflecting metal named Lucent Steel A223 – a rare and extraordinarily precious metal, stemming from a very complex development and manufacturing process. Thanks to its anti-allergenic composition, Lucent Steel A223 has properties comparable to surgical steel, making it highly dermo-compatible. In addition, this alloy with its 223 Vickers’ strength is 50% more resistant to abrasion than conventional steels and has a unique hardness. Finally, with its superior homogeneous crystal structure, its purity enables it to reflect light in a unique way.
The Chopard 01.01-C movement with automatic winding embedded in the heart of Alpine Eagle watches has been developed in the maison’s watchmaking workshops and chronometer-certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Control – a rare event for watches in this category. It also has a 60-hour power reserve and remains visible through the exhibition back of the Alpine Eagle timepiece.
IMPERIALE Moonphase
The moon phase holds a place of its own in women’s hearts and the IMPERIALE Moonphase with its cycle of the night star and the depiction of the constellations are an invitation to embark on a poetic journey through the shimmering nuances of white and pink mother-of-pearl, lit up by the fire of diamonds.
The IMPERIALE Moonphase model is intended for ladies who admire technical complexity as well as aesthetic elegance. The self-winding moon-phase Chopard 96.25-C movement driving this new creation and supplying it with an extremely comfortable 65-hour power reserve belongs to a proud lineage of ten calibres and their 70 variations, all entirely designed, developed and produced in-house, and is certified by the most prestigious quality labels.
The opulence of the dial is an open invitation to embark on a celestial journey in which the gaze is irresistibly drawn to gilded constellations standing out against a white and pink textured mother-of-pearl disc positioned at 12 o’clock and which reproduces the cycle of the night star – new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter. A ring of diamonds forms a radiant halo around this sky that harbours our destiny, framed by Roman numerals and diamond-set hour-markers against a white mother-of-pearl background.
L.U.C Lunar One
The flagship creation of the Chopard Fine Watchmaking collection, the L.U.C Lunar One timepiece with perpetual calendar and astronomical moon phases is the only timepiece in this category equipped with a high-precision orbital moon-phase display appearing in a rotating aperture. An extremely limited 25-piece new series in ethical 18-carat rose gold, the watch is graced with an elegant deep blue sunray-patterned dial and enjoys, in addition to its “chronometer” certifications, a high level of precision and finishing that is acknowledged by the prestigious Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark.
Its perpetual calendar always gives the correct date, whatever the length of the month – including February. It is distinguished by its unique moon-phase display. The latter is not merely a disc rotating beneath the dial, but instead a complex set of components indicating the exact appearance of the moon. This orbital moon, which moves around the small seconds axis, imitates the path of its celestial counterpart in the sky. Skilfully set by the finest Chopard watchmaking artisans, this display is a masterpiece of astronomical precision, with a discrepancy of only 57.2 seconds for the period between two new moons, meaning it will take 122 years to accumulate a one-day gap compared with the actual moon.
L’Heure du Diamant
With L’Heure du Diamant, Chopard captures the beauty of diamonds. Crafted in ethical 18-carat rose gold, this timepiece pairs a heart-shaped hand-guilloché pink mother-of-pearl dial with a bezel entirely paved with brilliant-cut diamonds enhanced by the sophisticated crown setting, as well as a burgundy leather strap. After round and oval interpretations, L’Heure du Diamant timepiece now honours the symbol of love to which Chopard – nicknamed the “Big-Hearted Maison” – remains firmly attached throughout its creative process.
Before watches came to adopt large sizes, timepieces housed the secret of time on women’s wrists with the utmost discretion. Above all, they were an element of adornment in their own right, a flamboyant jewel whose function was subordinate to form. And the Scheufele family currently at the head of Maison Chopard built its reputation on its perfectly crafted jewellery watches. L’Heure du Diamant collection revives this elegant hint of nostalgia, drawing style cues for its richly gem-set cases from those intensively creative past decades.
Happy Diamonds Icons
Enhanced by the play of legendary dancing diamonds, the heart enjoys pride of place in the Happy Diamonds Icons talisman jewellery collection. Between two sapphire crystals, diamonds, alone or in a trio, move freely within a series of hearts set or polished in ethical 18-carat rose, white or yellow gold. An eternal dance of diamonds to remember that you love and are loved.
The Happy Diamonds Icons collection consists of a pair of sleeper earrings as well as adorable chip earrings, each with a dancing diamond. Its repertoire also includes rings, pendants and supple bracelets: slender jewellery that can be daringly stacked, revealing the distinctive signature of the Chopard woman. Finally, the bangle stages a close encounter between two hearts, as the three dancing diamonds of the first heart engage in a mischievous pas de deux with the solitary dancing diamond of the second heart. An airy and mesmerising face to face.
Haute Joaillerie
Chopard’s “Big Heart” displays its romantic charm through three pairs of earrings picking up this shape that is an enduring symbol of life and love. Crafted in ethical 18-carat white gold or in coloured titanium, these new creations spread a tender glow on women’s faces and contribute to a stunning appearance. Crafted in ethical 18-carat white gold, the first of these variations expresses the passion for the queen of gemstones through a generously rounded heart entirely adorned with over 28 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds.
The two other pairs of earrings introduced by Chopard to complement this charming range feature slightly curved contours, like an undulating heart from which the emotions that make it beat so fast are attempting to escape. Set with tsavorites or amethysts, the titanium used in these two variations marries the stones in a perfect harmony of colours and instils an incomparably light touch and feel.
Happy Hearts
Chopard’s “Big Heart” beats in unison with Natalia Vodianova’s Naked Heart Foundation. Beating in unison with the causes dear to Caroline Scheufele, the heart – which has come to symbolise the Maison – breathes its vibrant energy into the Happy Hearts Collection. Joyful, infinitely chic and attired in soft pink mother-of-pearl, Natalia Vodianova’s new Happy Hearts creations in support of the Naked Heart Foundation flutter joyfully in the collection.
Beginning with the bangle, the flagship interpretation of the Happy Hearts collection, these ethical 18-carat rose or white gold creations dedicated to the Foundation and adorned with pink mother-of-pearl and diamonds are enriched by a necklace and a pair of extraordinarily charismatic earrings. Composed of two girandoles forming a luminous cascading presence on either side of the lobe, the chandelier earrings are echoed in the supple, dancing sautoir necklace magnificently keeping step with every move of the wearer’s body. Part of the profits of each piece sold in this special edition is donated to support the Naked Heart Foundation and its actions.
Accessories
Happy leather collection
Chopard is expanding its collection of leather goods inspired by its iconic dancing diamonds with two new nude or burgundy quilted leather shoulder bags. The distinction conferred by craftsmanship, an incredibly chic aura and an instinctively free-spirited attitude: such is the essence of the playful gems whirling at the heart of the clasp on these creations setting the signature touch to an inimitable look.
Love Chopard
Crafted by Master Perfumer Alberto Morillas around a swirl of the world’s most gorgeous roses intertwined with a superb parade of sustainably sourced natural ingredients, Love Chopard is a flamboyant and seductive scent. Within it, six different rose notes, among them some of perfumery’s most precious natural rose essences, including the finest Bulgarian rose oil, unfold to reinvent the Queen of Flowers and queens of beauty in a modern and utterly feminine luxury fragrance.
PRECIOUS LACE COLLECTION
With its intricate all-diamond jewels, the Precious Lace Collection is a contemporary classic of today’s jewellery world. Instantly recognisable as the Maison’s stylistic signature, this jewellery line is light, lyrical and supremely feminine, as well as unmistakably Chopard in its effortless design and mastery of craft skills.
The collection, inspired by the lightness and whiteness of lace, plays with light and space, weaving diamonds and gold together in fluid, intricate openwork. The result is a fascinating dialogue between strength and fragility, substance and delicacy; between the eternal brilliance of the diamond and the ethereal weightlessness of a lace-like jewel floating over the skin, hovering between Haute Couture and Haute Joaillerie. A jewel that moves in harmony with the body, a sensual and silky second skin fully reflecting the values of the Fédération de la Haute Couture of which Chopard is a “jeweller” member.
The designs echo the floral patterns, scrolls, swirls and scalloped edges of fine antique lace. The central design feature of the Precious Lace Collection – a rhythmic, undulating gold and diamond-set curl enclosing an unfurling line of pear-shaped diamonds – is now presented in miniaturised form through four designs. The first is a “Vague” (Wave) motif whose proportions evoke foaming sea billows and is interpreted as a pair of earrings, a pendant and a ring. The stylised flower pattern named “Mini-Froufrou”, with its scalloped borders and pear-shaped diamond petals on an airy openwork background, adorns a ring, earrings, pendant and bangle. A semi-circular floret in a similar style becomes a “Nuage” (Cloud) pendant, neckchain, earrings and ring. Lastly, Chopard gives its iconic “Cœur” (Heart) pendant the Precious Lace treatment, in a choice of two sizes.
