Chopard presents an ultralight concept watch developed in collaboration with the famous Zagato coachbuilder, with a case, bridges and plate in ceramicised titanium.
This new collaboration between Karl-Friedrich Scheufele (Co-Chairman of Chopard), the Chopard design team, Andrea Michele Zagato (President of Zagato) and Norihiko Harada (Chief Designer of Zagato) merges the emblematic codes of the two Maisons to create a concept watch with a total weight of only 43.2 grams, including the strap.
Just as a concept car represents automotive innovation, Chopard introduced its first concept watch in 2020, the Mille Miglia Lab One, featuring a futuristic aesthetic inspired by racing cars. The new Zagato Lab One Concept, for its part, is a watchmaker's homage to automotive design and celebrates the tubular architecture typical of the car chassis developed by the celebrated Italian coachbuilder Zagato.
The movement rests on a network of tubes, a principle used in racing cars to optimise rigidity while reducing weight. This design distributes mechanical stresses in the event of an impact and improves structural safety. This is a first for Chopard, which transfers technologies borrowed from motor racing to the world of watchmaking.
The tubular-designed free loops replace the classic ones, guaranteeing an optimal fit on the wrist, and feature a swivel function whose amplitude is controlled by an adjustment system (about 45 degrees on each side). The winding and regulating crown draws its inspiration from the gears of automobile differentials and is personalised with an engraved steering wheel, which has become emblematic of Chopard's Classic Racing codes. The movement plate, which serves as the dial, displays the "Z" motif, the Zagato symbol, and the bevels are enhanced by rhodium-plated treatment. The Chopard and Zagato logos, also rhodium-plated, stand out in relief. The whole is topped by a box-type anti-reflective sapphire crystal. For the sake of symmetry, the glass on the case back adopts a similar principle, offering an integral view of the movement.
Chopard and Zagato: third collaboration
The two companies had already collaborated in 2013 and 2019.
The 42 mm-diameter case, as well as the bridges and the movement plate, are made of ceramicised titanium. This ultra-resistant metal is obtained by oxidising titanium using electro-plasma technology, a treatment that gives it a hardness of 1000 Vickers. and an impact and scratch resistance that is no less than that of ceramics. Ceramicised titanium is a material developed in the aerospace and automotive sectors and has an anthracite grey colour that does not alter over time.
Underlying the link between Chopard and motorsport is a passion for mechanics and performance, as demonstrated by the Mille Miglia collection. Since 1988, in fact, the Maison has been the main partner of the famous motor racing competition. It was along the route of this legendary race that Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, himself a vintage car enthusiast and collector, met Andrea Michele Zagato, President of the renowned Italian coachbuilder that bears his name, whose creations are widely represented among the competing cars.
Partly thanks to this shared passion, Chopard and Zagato have already signed two collaborations: the first in 2013 with the Mille Miglia Zagato Chronograph, the second in 2019 with the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Zagato 100th Anniversary Edition, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the well-known Italian coachbuilder. This third edition, limited to just 19 pieces, again refers to the history of the prestigious Italian signature and, more precisely, to its founding date: 19 April 1919. "This third chapter of our collaboration with Zagato embodies the common values of our family businesses: the audacity of design in the service of technical performance, the constant search for precision, the passion for motorsport", stresses Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard.
Chopard Zagato Lab One Concept: manufacture calibre
The L.U.C. Manufacture calibre 04.04-L is a lightweight, high-performance hand-wound movement.
If the aesthetics of the timepiece recall the contoured lines of Zagato concept cars, its movement embodies the same quest for performance, notably through the use of ceramicised titanium. Like the case, the bridges and plate of the calibre are also made of this avant-garde material.
It is an evolution of the Engine One Tourbillon calibre from Chopard Manufacture, which in 2010 had introduced a true aesthetic hybrid of automotive mechanics and haute horlogerie. This new calibre retains the power reserve indicator in the shape of the fuel tank level indicator at 12 o'clock. The L.U.C 04.04-L calibre (28,800 vibrations per hour, 60-hour power reserve, Cosc chronometer), however, is distinguished by its round shape, in a clear break with the vertical and horizontal configurations of its predecessors (including the 2010 L.U.C Engine One with L.U.C 04.01-L gauge).
Inspired by proven Chopard Manufacture solutions, the calibre incorporates a shock-absorption system based on silent blocks, redesigned for this model. As in a car engine, these elastomeric elements dampen vibrations and absorb impacts. Four lever arms, inserted into the case middle, guarantee optimal stability and enhanced mechanical protection. At the heart of the movement, the 60-second tourbillon (visible at 6 o'clock on the dial) is combined with the Variner balance and the Phillips balance spring with terminal curve, all housed in an aluminium cage that contributes to the exceptional lightness of the timepiece. Water-resistant to 5 atmospheres, the new Zagato Lab One Concept by Chopard can be combined with a strap in technical fabric with a hook-and-loop fastener, with an anthracite-coloured ceramised titanium loop; or one in calfskin with an engraved buckle.
Zagato, a family-run company founded in Milan, has embodied the art of exceptional coachbuilding from the very beginning. Founded by Ugo Zagato in 1919, the coachbuilder pioneered the application of aeronautical construction techniques to racing cars, combining lightweight aluminium bodies with tubular chassis. This approach made it possible to conceive essential shapes optimised for aerodynamics, resulting in timeless and today highly sought-after creations. Zagato's design philosophy stems from function: each curve serves both beauty and performance.
Price130,000 Swiss francs.
