As part of the models celebrating the 25th anniversary of the L.U.C collection (an acronym that stands for Louis-Ulysse Chopard, the Maison's founder), Chopard is renewing the L.U.C Strik One, an exclusive watch with a 40 mm case in ethical pink gold equipped with a striking mechanism and produced in only 25 numbered pieces. The first model with a passing chime launched by Chopard dates back to 2006, and in 2016 the House presented the L.U.C Full Strike, winner of the prestigious Auguille d'Or award at the 2017 GPHG.
The watch chimes each hour on a one-piece sapphire gong. The aperture at 1 o'clock on the ruthenium grey solid gold dial, guilloché engraved with a honeycomb motif, opens the mirror-polished steel hammer to view. At 12 o'clock, a circular window indicates whether or not the chime is engaged: it is activated by the pusher coaxial to the crown.
In order to optimise the acoustics of the gong/sapphire crystal system derived from the L.U.C Full Strike, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele (Co-President of Chopard) took a new approach, relying on Renaud Capuçon and his brother Gautier, virtuosos of the cello and violin, as well as Professor Romain Boulandet, head of the Applied Acoustics Laboratory at the HEPIA engineering school in Geneva. The latter demonstrated, in an anechoic chamber, that the sound of Chopard's minute repeater is clear, powerful, harmonious and crystalline.
The watch is powered by the IWC-manufactured L.U.C. 96.32-L calibre (33 mm diameter, 5.6 mm thick, 275 components, 33 jewels, 28,800 vibrations per hour, 65-hour power reserve), chronometer-certified by the COSC and awarded the Geneva Seal.
Price62,700 euro.
