The New Chopard L.U.C Strike One: A Visually & Acoustically Striking Watch

In 2022, to mark its L.U.C collection’s 25th anniversary, Chopard presented an alluring update to its hourly chiming watch, the L.U.C Strike One, to ensure its first-ever striking timepiece (which originally launched in 2006) could benefit from the latest innovations to come out of the Fleurier-based manufacture.

These included the integration of a monobloc sapphire crystal/gong system, initially developed for the L.U.C Full Strike; a thin 40mm case and honeycomb guilloche dial, both made from ethically sourced gold; and the slender new L.U.C 96.32-L automatic movement featuring an ethical gold micro-rotor, Twin Technology double barrel, and a crown-based pusher for activating the sonnerie au passage chiming function.
 

Chopard chose a visually warm combination of rose gold case and galvanic ruthenium gray dial for that technical and aesthetic reboot. However, for the most recent update to the L.U.C Strike One, the family-owned company has opted for a cooler, fresher, and ultimately classy look by fusing a 40mm 18K white gold case with a teal-toned, hand-guilloche-decorated gold dial.

The new L.U.C Strike One’s dial, displaying central hours and minutes and small seconds, is made of solid, responsibly sourced gold that has been tinted a gray-greenish-blue via a galvanic treatment. And while the dial’s color may be hard to pin down, whether you describe it as petrol green or dark teal, its tone is at once eye-catching yet classily understated.

Moreover, in keeping with the look of last year’s edition, the dial bears a concentrically grooved chapter ring and a hand-guilloched center medallion in the form of a honeycomb pattern. (Fun Fact: The beehive is said to be one of the symbols that Chopard founder Louis-Ulysse Chopard – whose initials inform the name of the L.U.C. collection – employed to depict his workshops.)
 

Meanwhile, the herringbone-inspired hour markers are rhodium-plated appliques. Though, you’ll notice there isn’t one at 1 o’clock. That’s because there’s a hammer-shaped cut-out revealing the mirror-polished steel hammer that helps to produce the chime on the hour.

Finally, along the periphery of the dial, the railroad-style minutes track is engraved directly into the sapphire crystal. And just underneath that is the pièce de resistance: the patented monobloc sapphire gong.
 

The engraved, ethically sourced 22K gold micro-rotor helps to keep the L.U.C 96.32-L movement in line with the characteristic architecture of other L.U.C calibers. Additionally, there are Chopard’s Twin technology double barrels, which guarantee a 65-hour power reserve, even when chiming mode is activated.

The movement also bears the Geneva Seal hallmark for its fine finishing, including bridges adorned with the Côtes de Genève. And the cherry on the cake is that the caliber has been chronometer-certified by COSC.
 

What’s more, the movement is just 5.6mm thin, allowing the 18K responsibly sourced white gold case to be only 9.86mm in height. The slim watch comes on a hand-sewn gray alligator leather strap with a polished and satin-brushed ethical 18k white gold pin buckle.

This 40mm L.U.C Strike One in white gold is a numbered 25-piece limited edition, priced at $66,600. To find out more, please visit the Chopard website.

(Photography by Pierre Vogel)