The Chopard Manufacture of Fleurier is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, the company is presenting its most complicated chiming timepiece ever.
Chopard presents the new L.U.C Grand Strike, a new chime watch developed entirely in-house by the Swiss manufacture. This timepiece with grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie and minute repeater, It employs sapphire gongs patented by the Maison and represents the culmination of a long journey into the world of chimes, which began at the behest of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard.
The L.U.C Grand Strike, the result of over 11,000 hours of research and development, boasts no fewer than ten technical patents, five of which were developed from scratch, and is the most complex watch ever made by Chopard. Its performance is guaranteed by rigorous in-house tests and those of certifying bodies such as the Geneva Hallmark and the Cosc. The design is a mix of traditional forms and modern aesthetics, sober curves and the absence of a dial, leaving centre stage to the L.U.C 08.03-L calibre with its 686 components.
"It has always been our intention to realise a grand sonnerie internally. The L.U.C Grand Strike timepiece represents the fruit of thirty years of creation and innovation in the field of Haute Horlogerie. When you hear its chime, you hear the heart of the Haute Horlogerie by Chopard Manufacture. Sound moves when it is in tune with the way we make watches", explained Karl-Friedrich Scheufele.
The L.U.C. Grand Strike thus represents the culmination of almost twenty years of mastery in the field of ringtones and ten years of perfecting one-piece sapphire technology. The 43-mm-diameter 18-carat white gold case exhibits a sober design and curves that immediately lead the eye to the aforementioned L.U.C 08.03-L calibre (28,800 vibrations per hour, 70-hour power reserve), which is fully visible from both the dial side and the back. At 10 o'clock, there are the two polished steel hammers, while the ergonomic slide next to the crown allows a choice between Grande Sonnerie, Petite Sonnerie and silent mode. In the lower half of the dial, on the other hand, is the tourbillon device, with its small seconds display.
Chopard L.U.C Grand Strike: the most complicated chiming timepiece in the company's history
This timepiece celebrating 30 years of the Chopard Manufacture in Fleurier employs a 43 mm case in 18-carat ethical white gold.
The patented one-piece sapphire gongs form a whole with the glass protecting the dial. This innovative architecture and the use of a material that had never before been used in watchmaking give the L.U.C Grand Strike an unmistakable acoustic identity. In addition to the sapphire gongs, nine patents have been used by Chopard Manufacture to make the L.U.C Grand Strike timepiece, testifying to its spirit of innovation. These patents cover every functional aspect of the timepiece, from the safety mechanisms that protect the movement from accidental operation to improvements in the rhythm of the chime. Five of these are new patents developed specifically for this model.
Every component of the L.U.C 08.03-L calibre used on the L.U.C Grand Strike is the result of an in-depth knowledge of every aspect of mechanical watchmaking. The multi-barrel architecture, characteristic of the chimes, has been perfected through the experience gained with models equipped with advanced power distribution systems, such as the L.U.C Quattro with four barrels, to name but one. The 60-second tourbillon device of the L.U.C Grand Strike owes its performance to the high standards developed with the L.U.C 02 tourbillon movement family. Even seemingly conventional elements, such as the instantaneous activation of the ringer, have been optimised thanks to the knowledge gained in the realisation of complex calendars, such as the L.U.C Lunar One with its jumping displays.
In 2016, the L.U.C Full Strike minute repeater watch once again demonstrated all the Manufacture's commitment to the quest for the perfect sound. Not only did it highlight the evolution of Chopard's savoir-faire in the field of chimes, but it also represented a 'first' in the world of watchmaking. For the first time in the history of watchmaking, a watch with a striking mechanism echoed the hours, quarters and minutes on sapphire gongs instead of steel.
The acoustic properties of sapphire, technically referred to as monocrystalline aluminium oxide, had long been known. However, the delicate nature of this material had convinced the watchmaking community that, in practical application, sapphire stamps would prove too fragile. Until Chopard Manufacture decided to take up the challenge, succeeding where no one else had dared before.
L.U.C Grand Strike: manufacture calibre
The watch is driven by the L.U.C 08.03-L manufacture calibre, an automatic mechanical movement awarded the Geneva Hallmark.
Today, Chopard unveils a new chapter in its journey into the world of chimes with the L.U.C Grand Strike. This timepiece is equipped with the noblest of sound complications, the grand sonnerie, which makes the hours and quarters echo as it passes. The watch can also be set in petite sonnerie mode, which chimes the hours on the hour and only the quarters every fifteen minutes. If desired, it is possible to deactivate the automatic alarm and the timepiece can only strike the time on demand, through manual activation of the minute repeater, which is done by means of the button coaxial to the crown.
At each manual (minute repeater) or automatic (grand or petite sonnerie) activation, 34 components spring into action simultaneously, ready to offer a clear and precise sound indication of the time. Driven or held by 22 hand-adjusted leaf springs, these 34 elements take just 0.03 seconds to switch from standby to operational mode. In the mechanical 'ballet' that follows, levers lower, cams extend and rakes advance, until the culminating moment when the hammer strikes the timbre, releasing the sound in all its beauty.
Despite the large number of components and the wide range of complications, not to mention the tourbillon and the underlying time functions, the L.U.C Grand Strike retains very balanced dimensions: only 43 mm in diameter by 14.08 mm in thickness. In order to meet energy requirements as well, the hand-wound L.U.C 08.03-L calibre is equipped with two barrels: the first dedicated to the hour functions and the second to the sound complications. When fully wound, the striking barrel offers 12 hours of uninterrupted operation in grand sonnerie mode.
Finally, the sapphire's atomic nature gives all Chopard ringtones in current production an unmistakable sound quality, ethereal and powerful, brilliant and resonant. The sound generated by the monocrystalline structure of these gongs cannot be compared to that obtained with steel components. The exceptional hardness of sapphire (second only to that of diamond) prevents, unlike metal, any physical deformation. The notes emitted by the L.U.C Grand Strike are tuned to C sharp - F natural (C# - F♮), a musical interval that the human mind associates with stability.à and all'harmony. A final touch of refinement is provided by the solid gold hands and indices. The L.U.C Grand Strike by Chopard, finally, is equipped with two interchangeable straps, one in grey and the other in dark blue alligator, both hand-stitched, and with a personalised 18-carat ethical white gold folding clasp.
Price881,000 euro.
