At the end of 2016, as the crowning point of the celebrations marking its 20th anniversary, Chopard Manufacture launched the L.U.C Full Strike. It was the Maison’s first minute repeater watch and featured several world firsts. It strikes the hours, quarters and minutes on sapphire gongs. Its extremely original construction, the excellence of its Poinçon de Genève-certified finishing, and above all its extraordinary sound quality, make it a watch that stands out from the rest, in a league of its own. Esthetically refined and pleasing to wear, it houses the very best of the expertise, inventiveness and quality characterizing the L.U.C collection.

The L.U.C Full Strike has a unique sound signature, beautifully resonant and crystal-clear. The gongs are tuned to two notes: C and F. The richness of tone is unprecedented, since this is the first time that sapphire has been used as an acoustic generator and amplifier."

The true strength of the L.U.C Full Strike resides in the fact that this impressive array of technical prowess goes discreetly unnoticed on the wrist, thanks to a thoroughly refined watch bearing the Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark. Pressing the crown-integrated pusher causes it to chime the hours, quarters and minutes, to the delight of its owner and those around him.

Another proof of the sapphire’s versatility is its perfect robustness. Even after tests in which it undergoes one and half million impacts with steel hammers, it does not break. The corollary of this hardness is the extreme difficulty involved in working with it. Machining such a tiny set of parts out of such a resistant material, without breaking the connection between the gongs and the watch glass, called for tools that are both powerful and accurate. Machining the gongs/glass set alone required more than three years of development, representing a major technical and human feat.

Caliber 08.01-L is based on an exceptional construction. A traditional minute repeater is all about levels, with one layer measuring the time and another transforming this time into notes. The extremely thin new L.U.C caliber means the L.U.C Full Strike measures just 11.5 mm thick in all, a modest figure for a watch with a movement of over 500 parts. On one side of the caliber, the barrel, going train and regulating organ form a timekeeping ensemble with a 60-hour power reserve certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). In this respect, the L.U.C Full Strike meets the demands imposed by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, who wanted the L.U.C collection to comprise Haute Horlogerie watches with certified precision. Contrary to tradition, the minute repeater mechanism is placed on the dial side and is thus entirely visible. The L.U.C Full Strike steel hammers feature an individually modifiable striking force, thus making it possible for the watchmaker to perform fine adjustment of the acoustic intensity.

This close attention devoted to details applies to the entire L.U.C Full Strike, since both its movement and case bear the Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark. This particularly demanding certification implies technical and esthetic choices that further increase the complexity of the construction and production of the components that make up Caliber 08.01-L. For example, it stipulates that springs must not be wires and must have a heel, as well as being decorated. This must be achieved even on those holding the regulator inertia-blocks and measuring just 7/100ths of a millimeter thick. All the components of Caliber 08.01-L are meticulously finished, be it with circular graining, straight graining or a Côtes de Genève motif. They are all meticulously hand-chamfered. The mainplate and bridges are made from nickel silver, a noble metal that can tolerate no scratches or workmanship errors. This material is non-treated and appears in all its natural, subtly golden-grey beauty through the sapphire case-back of the L.U.C Full Strike. By combining beautiful details and extremely meticulous finishing with a full-bodied, crystal-clear sound, the L.U.C Full Strike single-handedly embodies the full scope of Chopard’s watchmaking competencies. Twenty years after its creation, Chopard Manufacture offers an outstanding interpretation of the minute repeater watch that is ideally suited to daily wear and only reveals the full extent of its refinement to an attentive and expert ear – that of a modern gentleman with a penchant for exceptional objects.