High watchmaker and jeweller Chopard unveiled three exclusive L.U.C timepieces on the occasion of the Salón Internacional Alta Relojería (SIAR), which took place in Mexico in October. They were the L.U.C Full Strike ‘Día de los Muertos’ – a one-of-a-kind model in entirely hand-engraved and blackened ethical 18-carat white gold; the L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 TimeForArt Edition – another unique creation in ethical 18-carat rose gold; and the L.U.C Skull One Calavera Pop Art – a 25-piece limited edition in bead-blasted DLC-coated steel
L.U.C Full Strike ‘Día de los Muertos’
For several years, the Chopard Manufacture has been faithfully honouring Mexican culture through an annual timepiece edition specially dedicated to the Day of the Dead festivities. Crafted as a one-off, the new L.U.C Full Strike ‘Día de los Muertos’ model in ethical 18-carat white gold is entirely hand-engraved with blackened details over its entire case and bezel, framing a black dial adorned with the iconic calavera skull symbol.
It is also equipped with L.U.C Calibre 08.01-L, through which Chopard Manufacture has been demonstrating its perfect mastery of the minute repeater mechanism since 2016. The purity and clarity of its sapphire gongs with their sound that is unique in the world were hailed in 2017 by the “Aiguille d’Or” best-in-show prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. The hammers have now been blackened to complement the dark, elegant aesthetic of this special edition. The successful combination of the queen of horological complication with such an original design is acknowledged by the prestigious ‘Poinçon de Genève’ quality hallmark. The L.U.C Full Strike ‘Día de los Muertos’ model thus reveals another facet of the L.U.C collection: a capacity for springing surprises and for pushing Haute Horlogerie to new limits.
The L.U.C Full Strike timepiece in an artful blend of form and substance. The all-Mexican personality of the L.U.C Full Strike ‘Día de los Muertos’ model is immediately visible on its exceptional dial, which ingeniously transforms the movement’s visible elements into graphic elements. The blackened minute repeater hammers delineate the left eye; the inertia regulator defining the cadence of the strike adds to the symmetry of the skull by tracing its outlines, while the concentric power-reserve indicator forms the right eye. Finally, the hand-engraving on the ethical 18-carat white gold case and bezel, offset by the contrasting black rhodium coating, puts the finishing touch to this creation dedicated to the Day of the Dead, which above all celebrates life and eternity.
L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 TimeForArt Edition
In this one-of-a-kind creation in ethical 18-carat rose gold, Chopard’s jumping-hour mechanism welcomes a dial inspired by the vanitas theme and beautifully enhanced by artistic crafts. On the occasion of the TimeForArt auction, Chopard Manufacture is presenting an exclusive edition of its exceptional jumping-hour timepiece: the L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 TimeForArt Edition features pure lines and a dial with a hand-engraved stylised skull motif inspired by the ‘vanitas’ theme.
Housed in a 40-millimetre case crafted from ethical 18-carat rose gold, its innovative and sophisticated L.U.C 98.06-L movement is equipped with four barrels based on the exclusive Chopard Quattro technology enabling up to eight days of power reserve – making the Chopard Manufacture jumping-hour watch one of the rare models in this category endowed with such a degree of autonomy. From the movement to the dial on which the hours aperture appears at 6 o’clock, the entire watchmaking creation is produced in-house in keeping with the tradition of artistic crafts, thus ensuring a high level of finishing duly rewarded by the prestigious Poinçon de Genève.
The L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 TimeForArt Edition displays the time on an entirely hand-engraved dial. The richly detailed dial took four weeks to complete. The hours appear through an aperture positioned at 6 o’clock in the mouth of the calavera, so as to ensure that the minutes hand does not obscure the sight of the hours change, which takes place instantaneously. The white gold aperture frame accentuates the sobriety of the large black Arabic numerals showing the hours against a white background.
This one-of-a-kind art watch will be part of the TimeForArt event, an auction of exceptional timepieces by the world’s greatest master-watchmakers, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to support the world’s most visionary contemporary artists through Swiss Institute’s exhibitions, public education programmes and free community engagement workshops. TimeForArt provides a year-round platform for exchanges between the world of watchmaking and the visual arts.
L.U.C Skull One Calavera Pop Art
This 25-piece limited edition in bead-blasted DLC-coated steel is a bold and colourful expression of the highly collectible watch inspired by Día de los Muertos. Chopard is now presenting the third watch in the L.U.C Skull One series, an exclusive timepiece collection inspired by Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. At its centre is a vivid, a pop art-inspired Mexican calavera, the skull symbol associated to the annual festival, presented in bright flashes of colour, and surrounded by a 40mm black bead-blasted, DLC-coated stainless-steel case.
At base, the L.U.C Skull One Calavera Pop Art is a blackened stainless steel watch powered by an exquisite, hand-finished mechanical watch movement. It’s also slimline, with a thickness of just 7.2 mm. But it will be remembered for its striking, colourful interpretation of the Day of the Dead tradition, elegantly visualised by Chopard artisans. Its dial features a transferred skull motif in punchy hues of blue, red, orange, green and yellow, giving the watch its non-conformist, pop-art feel. At the same time, the watch’s black DLC-coated case and black Dauphine hour and minute hands lend it stark, shadowy contrasts. Even the mischievous moustachioed L.U.Chopard logo, which recalls the Maison’s founder Louis-Ulysse, has been given a kitsch look reminiscent of Day of the Dead motifs. The watch is set on a black calfskin leather strap with green and red leather lining and stitching, representing the colours of the Mexican national flag. The strap’s stainless steel buckle is also finished with a black DLC coating.
Behind the L.U.C Skull One Calavera Pop Art’s lively dial is Chopard L.U.C 96.53-L, a high-end, ultra-thin automatic calibre conceived and assembled in Chopard Manufacture workshops in Fleurier. Thanks to Chopard’s Twin Technology, whereby two co-axial barrels work in sequence, the movement delivers a 58-hour power reserve. It also features a balance spring with a flat terminal curve, mounted on a balance wheel oscillating at 28,800vph (4hz). The movement’s bridges are beautifully hand-finished with Côtes de Genève stripes. These components, alongside the movement’s tungsten alloy micro-rotor, are visible through a gently tinted sapphire crystal case back chosen to heighten the sense that on the Day of the Dead, the wearer will be taking a glimpse into a mysterious, endlessly captivating realm
