Chopard’s 2017 happy offerings
Haute Joaillerie and Haute Horlogerie marque Chopard is back this year with delightful additions to its Happy Hearts, Happy Sports, and Mille Miglia collections. New collections include the dainty For You collection, while the L.U.C Lunar One is positioned as the flagship model of the L.U.C collection, and the L.U.C XPS Twist QF Fairmined watch mingles the brand’s ethical, aesthetic and technical qualities
For You
With their For You collection of fine jewellery, the Swiss-based Maison flirts with demystified luxury, in dainty ready-to-wear pieces. The models are distinguished by the creativity, the attentive care and the extreme sensitivity devoted to crafting them. Ancestral skills and cutting-edge technologies meet and mingle resulting in exceptional models epitomising impeccable technical mastery and ranging from artfully crafted treasures to fine jewellery models.
The For You collection is a perfect embodiment of this fine jewellery expertise and brings a light and airy touch to the High Jewellery world. Cherry blossoms are at the centre of this line inspired by springtime and featuring white gold jewellery sets featuring rings and earrings studded with diamonds or emeralds.
The collection comprises of stud or cluster earrings, single rings or “You and Me” versions composed of two flowers facing each other. For You jewellery is graced with delicate pear-shaped diamonds or emeralds blossoming in a sparkling corolla around a brilliant-cut pistil.
The collection is complemented by a jewellery watch set with pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds or emeralds, fitted with a satin strap. The maison has let out that other gems will soon be making their appearance, offering colourful new interpretations of the collection.
Happy Hearts
When two signature elements – moving diamonds and hearts – of the house of Chopard meet, the result is a delightfully harmonious addition to the Happy Hearts collection. A motif deeply cherished by Caroline Scheufele, the heart is a key symbol of the Geneva-based Maison. It has naturally found its place within the Happy Diamonds collection to become a full-fledged line of its own: Happy Hearts. This year, it is enriched with a version in diamonds and malachite, the ‘positive energy’ stone.
Happy Hearts, the dainty jewellery models in white or rose gold, are adorned with wide hearts, either cut-out or set with brightly coloured stones mingled with tiny hearts enclosed with moving diamonds. The suppleness of these creations combined with the mobility of the diamonds result in a singularly chic and exquisitely feminine line.
An even more sophisticated and precious version now enlivens the Happy Hearts collections. The cut-out hearts make way for gold hearts set with diamonds, which engage in a bright and lively dialogue with malachite hearts. Thus, for the very first time, the jewellery creations are not only built around hearts set with a coloured stone and fitted with moving diamonds, but delicately alternate between moving diamonds, diamond hearts, and hearts set with malachite, creating an even more appealing combination rich with diamonds. With a vibrantly glowing shade of green streaked with softer or darker green veins, malachite is a fine gemstone believed to have numerous protective virtues and regarded as a source of positive energy.
The collection, in 18ct rose gold, features a bangle bracelet; a spherical ring alternating between malachite, diamonds, and moving diamonds; a pair of earrings; and an elegant sautoir necklace.
Happy Ocean
Ever since it was launched, the Happy Sport collection, an undeniable success, has been enriched with original creations, occasionally offbeat but consistently delightful. This year, Chopard is once again reinvigorating this iconic collection with the new Happy Ocean. Both sporty and elegant, the Happy Ocean is the ideal watch for exploring the ocean floor, relaxing on a yacht or strolling on the sand. As technical as it is fun, it is water-resistant to 300 metres and beats to the rhythm of a self-winding Chopard movement.
For more than 20 years, the Happy Sport line has delighted fans of chic, sporty watches. The first of its kind when it was launched in 1993, the concept combines the nobility of diamonds with steel. Free of any setting, diamonds frolic between two sapphire crystals, illuminating the entire dial. Each model breathes new life to the collection. In the case of Happy Ocean, it’s a sea breeze that is energising the Happy Sport universe!
Happy Ocean focuses on a nautical adventure. Combined with a large 40 MM steel case, the unidirectional rotating bezel with its two-tone blue-turquoise or blue-raspberry colouring is inspired by azure blue shades and brightly coloured corals, while featuring a wave-shaped design for easier handling under water. The screw-down crown is marked with a C and the case-back is engraved with a wave motif.
The intense blue dial brings to mind the ocean depths and is enhanced with a white minutes hand hemmed with blue or raspberry that glows at night or in dark, deep waters. The hour-markers and hours hands also illuminate with a blue hue, with all other indications required for diving in green. Five moving diamonds, like oxygen bubbles or tiny sparkling fish, swim around this beautiful aquarium.
Water-resistant to 300 metres, the Happy Ocean watch is powered by a self-winding Chopard movement (01.01-C) entirely developed and produced in the workshops of the Maison in Fleurier. And finally, a first for Chopard’s ladies’ watches in the form of a NATO strap – a sporty, light, fun material suited to all weather conditions and occasions. Inspiring daydreams of a sunny, warm day on the beach, this timepiece conjures up images of that perfect summer dip in the shimmering blue sea.
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph – His and Hers
The sporty and sophisticated new Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph model with a vintage touch appears in His and Hers versions. Like Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and his wife Christine, who compete together in the “Corsa più belle del mondo” every two years, the new Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph models are intended for passionate devotees sharing their finest epic motoring adventures as a ‘mixed double’. A number of such teams have indeed taken part over the years in the legendary Mille Miglia race from Brescia to Rome and back, covering 1,000 miles of thrills and unforgettable moments experienced amid stunning Italian scenery.
The new “His and Hers” chronographs are inspired by cars having taken part in the Mille Miglia between 1927 and 1940. Enhanced by two traditional pushers and a fluted crown echoing those of vintage chronographs, the steel cases of the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph models feature pleasingly balanced dimensions – 42 MM for gentleman racers and 39 MM with a gem-set bezel for lady drivers – matched by classic lines. The dials ensure perfect readability with wide Arabic numerals that are luminescent in the dark, as are the hands. The slim cursive fonts and the counters, which stand out clearly, are inspired by 1920s car dashboards.
The arrow-shaped “Rossa Corsa” red Mille Miglia logo appears at the heart of the dial at 12 o’clock, as well as around the rim of the exhibition case-back. The two models are teamed with the famous rubber strap reprising the 1960s Dunlop Racing tyre-tread profile, in immaculate white for the ladies’ version and a deep shade of black for the men’s interpretation.
The Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph for women has the collection’s key characteristics, albeit significantly feminised, by the mother-of-pearl dial, the white rubber strap, the sparkle of the diamond-set bezel, as well as the slenderness of the case, and its more modest 39 mm diameter. The masculine version of the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph comes with a tachymetric scale, a useful indication for calculating average speed, a decisive factor in endurance racing.
The new Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph models are equipped with a high-precision horological ‘engine’, chronometer-certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). Beating at the frequency of 28,800 vibrations/hour and visible through the sapphire crystal case-back adorned with the Mille Miglia logo, this mechanical self-winding chronograph movement drives the hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, and date functions, while delivering a 42-hour power reserve.
L.U.C Lunar One
The L.U.C Lunar One flagship model of the L.U.C collection is now available in a new limited edition. Chopard’s perpetual calendar model with astronomical moon-phase display appears attired in 950 platinum framing a deep blue sunray-patterned dial and is a watch designed for daily wear. The timepiece is a 100-piece limited series with a case entirely made of 950 platinum, featuring a dark, neutral-grey colour. The 43 MM-diameter case is adorned with vertical satin-brushed sides along with a polished bezel and lugs, thereby creating pleasing textured effects that further enhance its visual depth and interest.
The perpetual calendar indications appear on a lower level, surrounded by bevelled rims that effectively highlight them. While the white fonts ensure perfect readability, the large applied Roman numerals with their own distinctive font are mirror-polished. A deep blue sky, studded with the actual stars of the Northern Hemisphere, also features a moon that infuses this watch with a poetic touch.
The perpetual calendar of the Calibre 96.13-L always gives the correct date, whatever the length of the month, and includes February with its exceptions. It is distinguished by its unique moon-phase display, which indicates the exact appearance of the moon. This orbital moon imitates the path of the evening star. The movement boasts astronomical precision, as it will require adjustment only after 122 years.
The L.U.C Lunar One is one of the very rare perpetual self-winding calendars, as well as part of an even smaller number to be equipped with a micro-rotor. The watch bears the prestigious Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark and is also certified by the COSC, the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute.
L.U.C XPS Twist QF Fairmined
Chopard is now launching a new limited-series L.U.C watch crafted in ethical rose gold. The L.U.C XPS Twist QF Fairmined is distinguished by a dial with a stamped sunburst texture featuring a slate-grey colour that stands out against the rose gold case. The dial effect is inspired by the raw composition of gold nuggets extracted from mines.
The crown and the small seconds subdial contribute to the uniqueness of this timepiece: respectively off-centred at 4 and 7 o’clock, they endow the dial with a subtle asymmetric appeal and exceptional personality. The 7.20 MM case makes this a delightfully slim watch featuring satin-brushed finishes on the sides, complemented by a polished case-back and bezel. Its slender, elongated profile ensures a remarkably comfortable fit on the wrist. The alligator leather strap is hand-sewn and dyed with plant-based pigments – in matt black for the main part and cognac-coloured for the lining.
The Fairmined label ensures that gold is extracted in a responsible manner by small-scale mining communities, in which both miners and the environment are properly treated and that the buyers pay a premium, which is duly reinvested in community projects, in addition to the fixed gold price. The case of the L.U.C XPS Twist QF Fairmined is of ethical, traceable, and certified 18-carat rose gold.
Produced in a 250-piece limited series, the watch has also successfully undergone the Fleurier Quality Foundation certification process – the most demanding in the watch industry. Awarded by the eponymous foundation, it relates to the precision of the calibre, its reliability, its durability, and the quality of its finishes.
The Fleurier Quality Foundation regulations stipulate that the entire watch – including movement and external components – must be produced in Switzerland. The timepiece is equipped with a self-winding movement: L.U.C Calibre 96.09-L equipped with two barrels, wound by a 22-carat gold micro-rotor in 22-carat gold ensuring a comfortable 65-hour power reserve. The watch is COSC-certified, and verified by the Chronofiable protocol – involving three weeks of “ageing tests” during which the watch is subjected to heat, cold and damp, repeated pull-and-push forces on the winding-stem, magnetic fields and repeated shocks, and subsequently tested on the Fleuritest machine, which faithfully reproduces the conditions of wear on the wrist during a 24-hour cycle.
