IMPERIALE welcomes a limited and numbered edition of eight precious jumping-hour watches combining watchmaking mastery and ancestral skills – Chopard IMPERIALE Jumping-Hour Ref. 384651-0001. Crafted in ethical 18-carat yellow gold entirely set with diamonds, this model is adorned with an Urushi lacquer dial graced with a central rotating flower subtly indicating the minutes. The L.U.C 98.06-L1 movement powering it – an innovative jumping-hour calibre equipped with exclusive Chopard Quattro technology – is also entirely decorated by hand with engravings painted by the Maison’s decoration Artisan. A true collector’s item.
Artistic crafts: the art of Urushi lacquer
Celebrating the union between glamour and poetry, Chopard has designed this precious watch which immediately reveals its full brilliance through a case in ethical 18-carat yellow gold entirely set with diamonds totalling over 8 carats.
Framed by a diamond bezel, the dial expresses the quintessence of the ancestral expertise of a Japanese master lacquer artist specialised in the Urushi technique: between the layers of lacquer extracted from the sap of the Toxicodendron vernicifluum tree according to a clever formula, gold flakes illuminate the background, mingling with golden buds and sparrows and inlaid mother-of-pearl cherry blossoms.
The L.U.C. movement beating behind the scenes brings this splendid tableau to life: while the 12 o’clock aperture displays the hours, the minutes tick gracefully past in the centre with the rotation of a fully engraved gold flower.
Horological prowess embodied in Calibre L.U.C 98.06-L1
In 2021, Chopard presented its first jumping-hour watch featuring an innovative movement developed entirely within its workshops. The L.U.C 98.06-L1 movement is one of the few jumping-hour watches – which are generally very energy-hungry – to offer up to eight days of power reserve. Chopard Quattro technology’s four stacked and coupled barrels endow this IMPERIALE watch with an over 190-hour power reserve despite the amount of energy consumed by the rotation of the hours disc.
Visible through a transparent case-back, this mechanical hand-wound movement is composed of 240 parts, with bridges and a mainplate in ethical gold entirely engraved with motifs matching the dial, hand-crafted and painted by the Manufacture‘s movement-decorating Artisan.
Above and beyond this aesthetic feat, the movement is highly complex, guaranteeing reliability and precision within a mere 5 mm thickness. The end of its balance-spring is endowed with a Phillips curve that precisely regulates the oscillations of the regulating organ – a feat of which only genuine Haute Horlogerie Manufactures are capable. Finally, the movement is also fitted with a swan’s neck regulator enabling fine adjustment.
Poinçon de Genève: a guarantee of fine craftsmanship
The high-quality workmanship of this IMPERIALE timepiece has earned it the Poinçon de Genève. Governed by strict criteria of excellence, this highly coveted hallmark is awarded to only a few watchmaking creations whose beauty serves as a showcase for an impeccably functioning mechanism. It not only guarantees the quality, precision and reliability of the movement and the watch as a whole, but also ensures that the assembly has been carried out in the canton of Geneva, the historical cradle of Haute Horlogerie. Characteristics such as accurate adjustments, legibility and comfort on the wrist, fully decorated movement bridges along with finely bevelled components all contribute to making the IMPERIALE a refined timepiece from both aesthetic and technical standpoints.
Characteristics such as accurate adjustments, legibility and comfort on the wrist, fully decorated movement bridges along with finely bevelled components all contribute to making the Chopard IMPERIALE a refined timepiece from both aesthetic and technical standpoints.
Chopard IMPERIALE Jumping-Hour Technical Specifications
Ref. 384651-0001 – 8-piece limited edition in ethical 18-carat yellow gold. Exclusively available from Chopard boutiques.
Functions and displays
- Instantaneous display of the hour through a 12 o’clock aperture
- Central display of the minutes
- Power-reserve indicator on the back of the watch
- Balance-stop function enabling accurate adjustments
Movement
- Mechanical hand-wound movement L.U.C 98.06-L1
- Number of components: 240
- Total diameter: 31.80 mm
- Thickness: 5 mm
- Number of jewels: 42
- Frequency: 28, 800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve: 192 hours (8 days)
- Jumping hours
- Four barrels – exclusive Chopard Quattro technology
- Bridges in ethical 18-carat yellow gold with hand-engraved and painted motif
- Swan’s neck fine adjustment
- Balance-spring with Phillips terminal curve
- Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark
Case
- Ethical 18-carat yellow gold
- Total diameter: 38.00 mm
- Thickness: 10.48 mm
- Water resistance: 50 metres
- Diamond-set case, bezel, crown and lugs in 18-carat yellow gold
- Glare-proofed sapphire
- Exhibition back
Dial and hands
- Dial adorned with cherry blossoms in mother-of-pearl and a motif composed of buds and sparrows hand-crafted in Japan using the Urushi lacquer technique
- Rotating flower on engraved ethical 22-carat yellow gold, with blackened gold petal for the minutes indication
