2 more days and Valentine 2008  will arrive.
This is NOT the main reason I make this post, it is something more captivating I've discovered!

I arrived an hour early during that GTG day (31 Jan 2008) at the Chopard Boutique (Singapore).  Was looking around at the L.U.C and MMs while waiting for the Purists. 

Within that hour 17:30 to 18:30, there were at least 5 enquiries about the new 'Happy Valentine' piece.  However the stock has not arrived on that day.

I was getting more curious, and asked to see a similar piece.  Though I've posted the Happy Valentine Press Release (please click  click here    to see previous press release) and read MTF's Happy Diamond Post (please   click here  to read MTF's post) , I've not seen it!

One of the nice Chopard staff passed me a piece of  the  'Happy Sports Ceramic'. According to them it is equally sought after. For those who could not wait for the 'Happy Valentine',  they purchased this series which is limited to 3,000 pcs. A very nice piece of All Black with 3 diamonds, ceramic caseband and aluminium bezel.

The fun and mesmerizing part is the "Dancing Diamonds"!

I'm thrilled by the way they swirl so graciously and the engineering behind it!

Will let the short video do the talking.... you ( or your the other half) decide .



Please wait for about 7 seconds for the video to be fully loaded. Thanks.






Some pictures of the "Happy Valentine" ..... arrived the next day evening after GTG...

The nice silk satin box.... different from the MM and the L.U.C !  Very nice to touch....a sense of gentleness.

Open sesame! Wow....another surprise, the watch was seated at an angle.

A pretty stealth piece.  At last a  Black watch for the Ladies with fiery diamonds ! 

This Happy Sport Ceramics (to my knowledge) has 4 series :

1) "Cannes 2007" limited to 1,000 pcs.
2)  Celebration of the 80th birthday of the King of Thailand, limited to 9 pcs.
3)  Happy Diamonds (with 3 diamonds), limited to 3,000 pcs &
4) "Happy Valentine", limited to 500 pcs with 2 diamonds and a heart!

This is an interesting piece with a fusion of various materials.  A 35mm diameter black ceramic (extreme hard, pretty good scratch-resistance) case,  an aluminium (light weight)  bezel and a titanium caseback.  Very thoughtful for the ladies!  Titanium is hypoallergenic beside lightweight too.


"Hypoallergenic"- adjective. Definition: non-allergy producing. A term applied to a preparation in which every possible care has been taken in formulation and production to ensure minimum instance of allergic reactions.
(Blakiston's Medical Dictionary)

The diamonds are floating  freely between 2 pieces of sapphire crystals!  This is a very marvellous technical feats!

Black dial with a radial chapter ring (does not show up on the picture above) and Arabic numerals for the hour-markers "12", "3", "6" & "9" with a set of "feuille" style hands.

The 2 pieces of mobile diamonds are total  0.20 carat and the paved moving heart (with 13 diamonds) is of total 0.19 carat.
The clarity is from IF to VVS and the colour is D-E-F.

The diameter including the crown is about 43.5mm . The Happy Valentine is of the Happy Sport styling, where the 5 cabochons ( 4 on the lugs and 1 on the crown) are substituted with the polished metal parts.

The Quartz movement is ETA 955.112 with quick date adjustment, hour-minute adjustment and second hacking.
A small note: for those who have it, please do not adjust the date between 10pm to 2am. 

Expected battery life is about 18 to 24 months.  However to conserve power, you could pull out the crown, which will 'open-circuit" the movement, saving the battery.
Anyway, when low in battery, the Second-hand will jump once every 4 seconds... that's the "LOW Batt" indicator.

Oh yes.... water-resistance to 30metres.






The Dancing Diamonds

From the technical aspect, I feel many have ignored or perhaps not know the difficulties of having the diamonds gliding between the sapphire crystals.

So what's the big deal ?

As many know, that diamond is harder than sapphire and it will scratch the sapphire crystal.
How to have the diamond moves freely without scratching the sapphire?

Secondly, how to make the diamonds dance or swirl gracefully instead of just gliding across uninterestingly?

The above questions drove me to dig further.... into old materials.

How does the concept of this uniquely playful Happy Diamond come about?

Extracted from Chopard's materials :

" During a walk in the Black Forest in the 1970s, a designer working for Chopard, Ronald Kurowski, was thrilled by the sight of a waterfall and the thousands of drops of waters escaping from it, reflecting the daylight and sparkling with all the colours of the rainbow.

This vision sparked a brilliant idea: for diamonds to shine their brightest, they had to be freed from the claws that held them and allowed to spin freely.
It was thus that the Happy Diamonds concept was born.

"Diamonds are happiest when they are free". " It was in these words that Karin Scheufele welcomed the first creation with mobile diamonds. This expression caught on and the watch was named 'Happy Diamonds' ."

Now back to the 2  challenging questions I asked above.

1) How to have the diamond moves freely without scratching the sapphire?


Extracted from Chopard's materials :

"It took all the patience and skill of the Meyrin craftsmen to overcome this difficulty.

They achieved it by surrounding each diamond with a barely visible gold sheath, so that only gold would actually be in contact with the crystal."

Referring to the picture below (with the best capability of my P&S camera ).... the diamonds are set below the white-gold sheaths, so it will not contact with the sapphire crystal thus scratching it.  Smart work!

2) How to make the diamonds dance or swirl gracefully instead of just gliding across uninterestingly?

"The experience also revealed that if one rounded the initially flat base of the small gold cartridge, diamonds gained a great deal of mobility. Stones could thus spin around the dial as well as on their own axis. Even a click of the fingers in the vicinity of the case is enough to make them move!

Their unpredictable movements exercise an irresistible fascination, making it hard to drag one's gaze away... White, black or pink diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds vie with each other to display their beauty and radiance in their gold jewel-case. The variations are infinite."


Well said....indeed, the dancing diamonds are fascinating!!




Some Out Of The Box Pictures

Nicely contoured body (Case)

 

The vanilla scent rubber straps, slight curved to conform the caseband.

What does the pattern looks like?

Any similarity?

I think those patterns look like  reel of film! 
Very well-make, the patterns are consistently of sharp definition.

The other side of the straps.

The signed Chopard buckle.  The straps also seem to have a tinge of shimmer. Interesting!

 
A clear indication - lug size of 19mm.  Well balance for a diameter of 35 mm case.






A caseback shot - titanium material with the Limited Edition of 500 pcs clearly marked.

Take a look at the curved relief around the crown .... easy access for the thumbnail to slide in (without damaging the manicure ) to pull the crown out.  Good thought!

The crown is also well-made.  I've yet to know if there is any significance of this crown design.
It is easy to turn though for adjusting the time or/and date.

Another closer shot of the crown and the nicely contoured relief area to pull the crown out.

This is a good shot to illustrate the mobile diamonds are sandwiched between double sapphires.






A Few Lume Shots

The hour-indices and hands are coated with the green Superluminova. 
This baby is really bright!!

You can tell the time clearly in darkness!

Look at the that...even in a bright area... it is still obvious!

Wrist-Shots

The size fits any wrist snugly.

I'm delighted with this fun piece of Happy Valentine. The floating diamonds are really mesmerizing when they spin like a top!
The construction has enable this piece to be versatile....should go well for most occasions.

If any of you are still looking for a Valentine gift for your Ladies, take a look at this one.....yes, please shut the thought "It is a quartz"! 
There are technical merits to the Happy Diamonds and it is still thriving after 30 years.

The most important, it should guarantee a smile to your Lady or Ladies !

Happy Valentine's Day!!


Kong

PS : Not sure if Chopard has considered applying anti-reflective coating on the underside of the second sapphire and the top-side of the first sapphire, which has no contact with the mobile diamonds to reduce glare and improve the clarity....thus accentuate further the sparkle of the diamonds.






Variations of the Happy Diamond Ceramic Series, FYI....



Happy Valentine (Limited to 500 pcs)

The Cannes 2007 Series



The Cannes 2007 Series,  Limited to 1,000 pcs

Celebration of the 80th birthday of the King of Thailand, limited to 9 pcs



Happy Sports Ceramic ( Limited to 3,000 pcs)



A Joint Project with The Hour Glass.




Ref : 288507-9007, limited edition of 20 with red apple for the Madison Ave Boutique's opening







Ref : 288507-9006, limited edition of 20 with white apple





added to Editor's Pick This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2008-02-12 15:35:34



Added pictures of variations and PS.

 

 

This message has been edited by Kong on 2008-02-18 10:05:50 This message has been edited by Kong on 2008-02-22 11:26:26
Repair video link.

This message has been edited by Kong on 2010-05-07 03:44:11