Chopard

When Chopard Manufacture produced their first minute repeater wristwatch and revealed the L.U.C Full Strike in 2016, some commentators questioned if the House of Chopard ever produced legitimate 'striking' watches before.

Renaud Capuçon and Karl-Friedrich Scheufele

L.U.C Full Strike

L.U.C Strike One 96 SHT movement

Indeed, the same question was asked in 2006, when Chopard launched their first striking wristwatch - the L.U.C Strike One.

Then, there were no examples of L.U.C 'striking' pocket watch yet found.

L.U.Ceum

Chopard Museum

I first "hinted" at a L.U.C striking pocket watch that we spotted at the Chopard Geneva Museum in 2015.

We did not expand on the discovery because Chopard had to conduct a deep investigation as to the provenance and authenticity.

This was especially poignant because of the planned launch of their first minute repeated wristwatch for the 20th Anniversary of the Chopard Manufacture in 2016.

Chopard Museum

Read a previous report: L.U.Chopard Journey Through Time in 2016 Continues

THE OLD

L.U.C Pocket Watch Répétition Minutes

I am now allowed to confirm that it was an authentic Chopard Minute Repeater Pocket Watch.
It has now been "sympathetically restored" and may be displayed at one of the Chopard museums. There are Chopard museums located in Geneva and Fleurier as well as travelling exhibitions.

L.U.C Pocket Watch Répétition Minutes

L.U.C Pocket Watch Répétition Minutes

It is a manual winding mechanical movement with a bi-metallic (brass and steel) balance, blue steel hairspring with Phillips terminal curve, black polished regulator and Swiss anchor escapement.

Rhodium-plated brass chamfered bridges with Geneva stripes give an appearance of restrained elegance.

The traditional steel hammers and gongs are perfectly adjusted to give a melodious sound "on request".

This means that the striking function works after activation of the slide lever at 6 o’clock.

The sliding action is sufficient to wind the striking mainspring before the strike sequence is set in motion.

L.U.C Pocket Watch Répétition Minutes

THE NEW

L.U.C Full Strike

Contrast this with the advanced technology developed for the modern L.U.C Full Strike: the first minute repeater wristwatch created by Chopard Manufacture.

The modern gongs are made of sapphire crystal and integrated with the watch glass to act as a resonator.

Chopard retains the traditional steel hammers that still work best as strikers.

The modern L.U.C Strike One has a striking mainspring wound by turning the crown to store a huge potential energy for 12 full sets of the "longest" strikes i.e. when the time is 12:59.

When you hear the new L.U.C Full Strike wristwatch that was invented and developed by Chopard Manufacture before they re-discovered a vintage minute repeater produced by their forebears, you have to admit that the modern watch stands alone for it's striking excellence. It is the best minute repeater produced today.

On the other hand, when you know of the revival of the House of Chopard since 1963, when so much history had been lost through two World Wars and the 'Swiss quartz crisis', it is good to know that L.U.Chopard unwittingly paid homage to their horological history with the two L.U.C striking wristwatches: Strike One and Full Strike.

L.U.C Pocket Watch Répétition Minutes

What do you think?
Do you need a history of striking products to excel at making a minute repeater?

I think not; as L.U.C Full Strike was developed before they even knew of the vintage pocket watch.

They just applied the best people and processes they had to the final objective: Make the Best.

"Yes we can !"

YES ...We Can !

Regards,
MTF

...when I first saw the pocket watch, it needed some tender loving care.

I like that it brings some history to life at Chopard because they did not have any archive records to even hint that the brand ever produced any minute repeater watches since 1860.

On the other hand, even though I'm not a minute repeater aficionado, the L.U.C Full Strike of pure tones of C and F are so clean that it is scary to some collectors.

It makes their other watches sound "fuzzy".

MTF

Actually, Chopard Manufacture has NEVER claimed to have the best contemporary minute repeater; it's NOT their style to boast.

They only listed all the technical "improvements' incorporated or patent pending....and let us make our own conclusions.

Fellow collectors and journalists made those positive comments during the launch and afterwards in private conversations.

I have not heard any modern Audemars Piguet striking watches since a factory visit...

Audemars Piguet Resonance Box




Audemars Piguet Minute Repeater




Audemars Piguet Minute Repeater




Audemars Piguet Minute Repeater




Audemars Piguet Minute Repeater

Our "mutual friend" wore two Audemars Piguet Grande Complication watches to a PuristS GTG and I heard a $1 Million watch "ding-dong".

I think the 'reference' watches for collectors (no particular ranking) were:

• Girard Perregaux Opera II
• Patek Philippe 3939H
• Patek Philippe 5016
• Patek Philippe 5029
• Vacheron Constantin Simple Minute Repeater

More people preferred the sound of the PP 5029 in a blind listening from that list although it did not come first to everyone's taste.

Those classic striking watches were made before modern materials and technology like crystal gongs and fancy magnesium-titanium-steel alloy cases.

Sound Generation

For the L.U.C Full Strike, they did not go crazy with fancy case alloys because they identified key factors as the sound generator and amplifier.

They even combined both in a monocoque construction for maximal transmission.

Musicality

Chopard worked with musicologists at Lyon University (France) to refine the chimes.

The L.U.C FULL STRIKE has a unique sound signature.

By definition, the sound is not metallic, cold nor abrupt.  It is full-bodied and truly crystal-clear with two pure notes: C and F. (+/- 12Hz)

Their chime lingers pleasingly, with a very low sound-deadening factor. The tonal richness enjoys amazing amplitude because this is the first time that sapphire is used as a tone generator. Sapphire is also the acoustic amplifier.  The intensity of chime is the lasting impression. Although the goal was primarily sound quality, the bonus intensity was a gift of the sonic gods. It takes 16 seconds for the watch to strike 12:59. It chimes in a uniform manner, the perfect horological accomplishment and you are never left guessing if the sequence has faltered or stopped.

Silence is Golden

The musical boffins determined that in music, silence is as important as the notes themselves.

For a minute repeater, silence is equally important and Chopard developed the L.U.C Full Strike with this in mind.

The rotations of the strike governor determine the rhythm of the strikes. This vital component is ideally silent but visible at 8 o'clock position on the dial.

Noting that in some minute repeaters, the governor may sometimes emit a humming sound, Chopard ensured that the inertia wheel drum of calibre L.U.C 08.01-L is entirely inaudible. While the striking mechanism sometimes make a clicking sound at the end of the tune, the L.U.C Full Strike does not. Finally, it eliminates one of the most disturbing problems faced by a minute repeater: the silence between the last hours stroke and the first quarters stroke, which may vary in duration according to the specific quarter-hour to be struck.

In the past, minute repeater sequence comprises one time-window for the hours, another for the quarter-hours and a third for the minutes. Traditional chime sequences were punctuated by long silences, during which the user was left wondering if the watch was still working. They were tempted to activate the request slider or button again that resulted in damage.

The structure of calibre L.U.C 08.01-L enables it to skip these silences automatically. Its hours, quarters and minutes gear trains are superimposed and mutually drive each other. When one has completed its task, it automatically triggers the next, maintaining a constant cadence however many strokes are needed.

Read the previous article: LIVE REPORT: New L.U.C FULL STRIKE minute repeater watch

Regards,

MTF