CHOPARD L.U.C FULL STRIKE

OMEGA has also included the Constellation Aventurine collection and these extraordinary 29 mm models have dials made from natural Aventurine stone, which means no two dials are ever alike. There are twelve new editions, in stainless steel and 18K Sedna™ Gold - or full Sedna™ Gold for purists - all with natural Aventurine stone dials in either green, red or blue. Fans can choose bezels paved with diamonds or engraved with Roman numerals .

Replacing the famous mono-rang bracelet are leather straps in colours to match the dial. The driving force behind the natural dials is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8700 or 8701 for the all-gold models.

The trio featured have diamond set bezels, skeletonised hour and minute hands and dial-matching leather straps in shimmering blue, red with glittered scale lines or green. Providing the power is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer calibre 8701, visible through the domed scratch-resistant sapphire crystal.

OMEGA’s beautiful new Constellation 28mm additions to the Constellation family reveal its softer side and feature pastel dials in a choice of four colours: Blush Rose, Patchouli Blossom, Celestial Blue and Green Matcha. The subtle new hues also make an appearance on the bezel.

To add an extra pop of pastel to the display, OMEGA has matched the engraved Roman numerals to the colours of the dial. All four watches have a case and bracelet in stainless steel and feature hands, indexes and applied elements in 18K white gold.

Providing the power is OMEGA’s Calibre 4061, a superb quartz movement that offers unwavering precision.

OMEGA’s famous Speedmaster ’57, first introduced in 2013, returns in 2022, with a Master Chronometer upgrade and slimmer profile.

The new collection consists of eight new stainless-steel models, all powered by OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 9906. The use of a manual-winding movement allows for a thinner case and finer bezel, giving the new ’57 watches a streamlined look.

There is a “sandwich” black dial edition with recessed hour markers filled with vintage Super-LumiNova - and three releases with PVD dials, in blue, green and a new varnished burgundy.

The entire collection is presented with stainless steel bracelets or matching-coloured leather straps. At just 12.99 mm, the new ’57 is considerably slimmer than its cousin the Speedmaster Moonwatch 3861 at 13.58 mm.

The bracelet on the steel version is inspired by the Apollo 11 tribute launched in 2019 and equipped with OMEGA’s patented comfort release adjustment system.

OMEGA’s legendary space watch takes on a lunar glow with the Speedmaster Moonwatch Moonshine™ Gold.

Created in 2019, OMEGA’s exclusive Moonshine™ Gold is an 18K yellow gold alloy, inspired by the shining moonlight in a dark blue sky.

OMEGA’s 18K Moonshine™ Gold offers a distinctive paler hue than traditional 18K yellow gold and high resistance to the fading of colour and lustre over time.

In 2022, OMEGA has also taken lunar inspiration to the next level with two new models in 18K Moonshine™ Gold. One with 18K Moonshine™ Gold dial, black ceramic bezel ring and blackened subdials and indexes.

Another with a PVD green coated dial and a green ceramic bezel ring. To offer aficionados even greater choice, OMEGA is offering two ways to fix their 18K Moonshine™ Gold Moonwatch to the wrist: a matching bracelet or strap.

Powering all new models is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 3861.

THE SOUND OF ETERNITY

The perfect acoustics of Chopard chiming watches

To mark the 25th anniversary of the L.U.C collection, Chopard is presenting a trio of new chiming watches. These timepieces have undergone a process of adjustment and analysis under the aegis of Chopard Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and led by virtuoso cellist and violinist Gautier and Renaud Capuçon. The two brothers are brilliant musicians who have instilled their sensitivity, nuance and emotion into the acoustic fine-tuning of the L.U.C Strike One, L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire and L.U.C Full

Strike Tourbillon models.

In 2016, Chopard presented the L.U.C Full Strike model, the Maison’s first minute repeater watch. The result of more than six years’ work totalling 17,000 hours of development, this watch set the crowning touch to the 20th anniversary of Chopard Manufacture and its commitment to the progress of Fine Watchmaking. Among the many innovations presented in the Full Strike, four of which have been patented, the most radical represented a complete paradigm shift for chiming watches. In all other existing minute repeaters, the sound is generated by a hammer striking metal gongs, which are part of the movement. L.U.C Calibre 08.01-L by Chopard Manufacture goes beyond this with sapphire gongs, separate from the movement and an integral part of the glass topping the dial.

Purity

The gongs and glass are machined in a single piece – without any discontinuity, glue, or welding – from a solid block of sapphire. The development of this part alone represents three years of work. The sound generated by the hammer and the gong is transmitted outwards through the largest surface of the watch – the glass – and in a homogeneous medium, thereby guaranteeing ideal conduction. Moreover, this sound is quite literally crystal-clear, since it emanates from pure corundum crystal, the scientific name for sapphire. It is also intense and endowed with unique tonal richness. In 2017, the exceptional innovation of the L.U.C Full Strike timepiece and its unparalleled sound were rewarded with the “Aiguille d’Or” best-in-show award at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

Perfectionism

While the L.U.C. Full Strike watch was a major accomplishment, it did not spell the end of efforts in this field, as Karl-Friedrich Scheufele is particularly attentive to the quality of his watches and their complications.

A music lover himself, this close friend of tenor José Carreras is also a perfectionist. However accomplished the L.U.C Full Strike model undoubtedly is, he did not intend to stop there. Chiming watches are the pinnacle of watchmaking, a subtle combination of technique, craftsmanship and emotion. The complexity of their operation is only the first issue at stake, whereas the second more intangible and even more complex one resides in their sound quality. In order to optimise and perpetuate the acoustic richness of the Full Strike’s singlepiece gong/sapphire crystal system, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele initiated a new approach.

Lutherie

In 2018, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele attended a concert by violinist Renaud Capuçon at the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad. The expressive manner in which Capuçon played helped Chopard’s Co-President realise that a minute repeater watch should be thought of as a musical instrument and deliver something more: emotion. Renaud Capuçon is not only one of the virtuosos of his time, but also a specialist in acoustics and sound, just like his brother, cellist Gautier Capuçon. The former plays on a period violin by Guarneri, dating from 1737, the latter on a cello by Matteo Goffriller, a luthier equally renowned in his field. These are instruments whose perfection and uniqueness have stood the test of time, combining technical skills, secret formulae, tricks of the trade and a good deal of mystery.

Orchestration

Karl-Friedrich Scheufele invited Renaud and Gautier Capuçon to participate in elaborating a new limited series of chiming watches. Aided and abetted by the engineers of Chopard Manufacture, the two virtuoso brothers drew on their artistic sensitivity to fine-tune the sound produced by the Chopardpatented sapphire gong/crystal technology.

This approach was approved by the Applied Acoustics Laboratory of the Geneva engineering school HEPIA, headed by Professor Romain Boulandet, who created an analytical programme that goes beyond the purely measurable criteria of acoustics (sound intensity, tonal richness, damping factor, etc.) to enter another dimension, that of the sound as perceived by the listener. Purer, longer and more harmonious than that of traditional metal repeater mechanism, the sound produced by Chopard’s sapphire gongs includes that other living vibration – namely of passion.

Eternity

For the L.U.C collection, this approach proves an essential tool in maintaining homogeneous sound quality over time. Steel, brass and gold are evolving and living materials, despite the slow internal deformations of these metals that are watch industry favourites. However, the watch is built for eternity, and chiming watches even more so in light of all the care lavished on assembling and adjusting them as well as finetuning their sound. Sapphire gongs are unalterable, as they are not deformed, do not age and do not expand with heat.

They always play the same F and C sharp, thus ensuring that the sound itself remains unchanging. Furthermore, the material from which the Full Strike cases are made, while playing a secondary role compared to the sapphire watch crystal, contribute to ‘colouring’ the sound.

After issuing several limited editions in rose or white gold, platinum and even steel, it appeared essential to have an analytical tool that will stand the test of time, individual subjectivity, future maintenance and restoration operations. The overarching aim being to usher Chopard chiming watches into a true state of permanence: one that exempts them from any adjustment.

Paragons

Thus, the L.U.C Full Strike watch is entering a new phase of its existence. As a highlight of the 25th anniversary celebrations for the L.U.C collection, Chopard is presenting a trio of new complication timepieces using the monobloc sapphire crystal and gong system.

The L.U.C Strike One is a 25-piece limited series in ethical rose gold with a guilloché gold dial, which lends a new dimension of elegance to the chime-in-passing function.

The L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire adds a case entirely in transparent sapphire to the striking components already cut from this crystalline material, along with a peerless minute repeater and a five-piece limited edition. Finally, the L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon accomplishes the feat of integrating a tourbillon within the limited space of a Chopard Manufacture minute repeater calibre. It is produced in a 20-piece rose gold limited edition framing a guilloché gold dial. A spectacular achievement born of an unwavering passion for watchmaking and an uncompromising love of beauty.

ALPINE EAGLE FLYING TOURBILLON IN LUCENT STEEL A223

The Alpine Eagle collection welcomes its first complication watch to bear the Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark thanks to an innovative flying tourbillon movement

With Alpine Eagle, Chopard has created a contemporary sporty-chic collection featuring a pure design and sophisticated mechanics. After a flyback chronograph movement and a high-frequency calibre, Alpine Eagle extends its range of complications with a model equipped with a flying tourbillon. At just 3.30 mm thick, the L.U.C 96.24-L movement stems from developments by Chopard Manufacture. Its advanced characteristics make the Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon one of the very few flying tourbillon watches to bear double Chronometer and Poinçon de Genève certification. Featuring a case measuring 41 mm in diameter and an integrated bracelet, it is made entirely in the Maison’s workshops from Lucent Steel A223, an exclusive, ultra-resistant and remarkably brilliant alloy. A 6 o’clock opening on its textured Aletsch Blue dial reveals a transparent and light tourbillon mechanism that endows the entire creation with its elegantly sophisticated character.

Inspired by a historical Chopard model reinterpreted by three generations of men from the Scheufele family, the Alpine Eagle collection has been constantly enriched since its launch by new innovations. The latest is a flying tourbillon movement developed thanks to the watchmaking expertise of Chopard Manufacture, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021.

The introduction of an innovative movement such as L.U.C Calibre 96.24-L within a watch from the Alpine Eagle collection now bears witness to the maturity attained by the Manufacture. The Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon model is the first complication watch in the Alpine Eagle collection acknowledged by the prestigious Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark.

An innovative, certified tourbillon in free flight

A flying tourbillon is characterised by the absence of an upper bridge. Since the tourbillon carriage is held only by the lower bridge, it appears to fly, creating an effect of transparency throughout the movement. L.U.C 96.24-L is based on the development of Chopard Manufacture’s first calibre (L.U.C 96.01-L presented in 1997) and is similarly slim, at only 3.30 mm.

This ultra-thin movement made it possible to optimise the size of the Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon watch: the case has been reduced to just 8 mm thick, and the flanks and bezel have been trimmed down compared to a classic Alpine Eagle Large model, offering a wider dial aperture. These well-balanced proportions, a signature feature of the collection, endow the timepiece with an elegant and graceful appearance entirely suited to the lightness of the complication. The L.U.C 96.24-L movement is equipped with a stop-seconds function enabling precise time setting. This precision is certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, evidenced by the “Chronometer” inscription on the dial below the logo.

Among the flying tourbillon watches on the market, those by Chopard are the only ones to receive both Chronometer certification and the prestigious Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark. The latter guarantees the fine craftsmanship and

mooth operation of the timepieces assembled within the Canton. Stamped on the case-back of the watch, it depicts the city of Geneva’s coat-of-arms composed of a golden key and above all of an eagle: a symbol reminiscent of the original inspiration behind the Alpine Eagle collection.

Thanks to its two stacked barrels based on Chopard Twin technology, the movement guarantees a 65-hour power reserve, and its automatic winding is driven by a 22-carat gold micro-rotor whose density contributes to the slenderness of the movement. Finely crafted by the artisans of the Maison, each of its components is adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif recalling the attention to detail cultivated by Chopard Manufacture.

Aesthetics with a twist

With its pure and assertive design, the Alpine Eagle collection reflects Chopard’s creative richness and visionary spirit as well as drawing inspiration from the power of Nature. The Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon model is faithful to this aesthetic: a round case with stylised sides, a crown engraved with the compass rose, a bezel with eight functional screws set at a tangent, a stamped dial featuring deep colours, luminescent indications, and finally a metal bracelet that is particularly comfortable on the wrist.

The Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon is made from Lucent Steel A223, an innovative steel alloy developed by Chopard for its anti-allergenic properties, its robustness and its incomparable brilliance obtained through a meticulous re-smelting process.

Its Aletsch Blue dial is finely textured on a solid gold base according to a pattern inspired by the eagle’s iris. Centred on the tourbillon at 6 o’clock, this radiant design highlights the mechanism by emphasising its perfect transparency.

The collection’s aesthetic codes are also picked up on the arms of the tourbillon carriage, specially redesigned in the same shape as the gold hands on the dial, while the tourbillon carriage bears the small seconds hand, which has been meticulously coated with SLN X1 by the artisans of the Manufacture.

Chopard’s entire production process is vertically integrated, thus enabling it to make and assemble all the components of its Alpine Eagle collection in-house, from movement through to case and bracelet.