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 Full Strike Sapphire, L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon and L.U.C Strike One 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.
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.
In order to optimise and perpetuate the acoustic richness of the Full Strike’s single-piece gong/sapphire crystal system, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele initiated a new approach. 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.
Violinist Renaud Capuçon
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 Chopard-patented 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.
Cellist Gautier Capuçon
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 fine-tuning 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.
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.
