When it launched, this watch won the industry’s highest honour for good reason—and now it’s even better.
In 2017, Chopard’s L.U.C Full Strike won the watch industry’s highest honour: the Aiguille d’Or (“Golden Hand”) of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. Since then, the Full Strike has appeared in a variety of limited editions housed in 42.5 mm cases that are eminently wearable and visually interesting without being overbearing, leaving the incredible technology to practically speak for itself. A special tip of the hat to Chopard’s designers, who “sacrificed” the dial to show all the beautiful tech at work in this fascinating timepiece—until now. The bold styling of a brand-new and exclusive 20-piece edition is the first in the Full Strike family to have a dial.
But first, let’s explore what’s under the dial: the singular technology of the innovative minute repeater containing a sapphire crystal acting as a resonator interacting with solid sapphire crystal gongs. Both technically brilliant and sonically gorgeous, there is something poetic and magical about a chiming watch that generates sound by hammering steel against sapphire crystal.
To make a traditional minute repeater is an incredible achievement for any watch manufacture, but Chopard went further and developed this new sound propagation technology: the gongs are not just attached to the sapphire crystal covering the dial, they are an integral part of the crystal. The sound of this minute repeater is beautiful and—of course—crystal clear, but it also precisely spaces the gong sounds, which eliminates the usual gaps between the chiming of hours, quarters and minutes; it has what is perhaps the world’s longest repeater power reserve, which can chime 12:59 (the time with the most strikes) up to 12 times without winding again; and it boasts a separate power storage train that is charged by reverse-winding the crown in the style of a sonnerie; and it safeguards against damaging the mechanism.
Naturally, the movement is beautifully finished, the precision of the movement is chronometer-certified by the COSC (Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute) and the watch’s overall quality is attested to by the rare and prestigious Seal of Geneva.
Now let’s come back to the case and new dial of this latest version. The moderately sized case has been crafted in ceramised titanium, which is not only a progressive, lightweight material, but also does not alter or dampen the purity of the repeater’s sound (and since the sapphire crystal is directly connected to the gongs, it forms a type of loudspeaker). Ceramised titanium is obtained by oxidising the surface layers of titanium at extreme temperatures using electro-plasma technology, which results in an attractive anthracite colour and offers the combined advantages of titanium and ceramics: these materials are light, shock-resistant, and hard. And at a size of 42.5 x 11.55, it is incredibly balanced and wearable while remaining identical to the sizing of previous versions.
Unlike those, however, this model features an elegant dial in a verdigris shade for the first time, adding a splash of colour that resembles a turquoise that has gone a bit far into its green side or bronze that has been exposed to the elements too long. The centre of this dial is finely frosted, while the chapter ring and small seconds counter feature an opaline finish that creates a velvety appearance. Importantly, a cutout between 9 and 11 o’clock reveals the repeater’s bead-blasted steel hammers, whose surface has been PVD-treated to match the colour of the case, providing an incredibly harmonious overall look that is both technical and quite simply attractive.
