Introducing: Chopard Reveals Its Most Complicated Chiming Watch To Date With The L.U.C Grand Strike

What We Know

Chopard is no stranger to the chiming watch — in fact, the brand is one of the few I most closely associate with the complication, under its L.U.C line of watches. It looks like Chopard has had one big thing up its sleeve for the end of the year, with today’s release of the L.U.C Grand Strike, the brand’s most complicated chiming watch to date. From a high level, the new L.U.C Grand Strike features the following: a grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie, minute repeater, and a 60-second tourbillon with stop seconds.

First, we have to start with the exterior. The 18-carat ethical white gold case silhouette will seem familiar to anyone who’s seen a Full Strike, this time in a diameter of 43mm and a thickness of 14.08mm. While Chopard’s repeaters are known for the push-button activation through the integrated crown pusher, this time, there’s also a sliding switch sitting right above it on the caseband, for choosing the desired passive chiming mode — grande sonnerie, which will chime every quarter and on the hour, the less invasive petite sonnerie, which only chimes on the hour, and of course a fully-silenced mode. With any of these three modes, the minute repeater can still be activated through the crown pusher.

Yes, there is an exhibition caseback on this watch, but one look at the dial (or lack thereof) and you’ll understand the complexity of the new manually-wound 686-component caliber L.U.C 08.03-L. The depth of the front is something to behold, with the warmth of bridges and plates in German silver showing through. While it might seem overwhelming at times — admittedly, legibility doesn’t seem to be a priority with this endeavour — the architecture of the movement still ensures that all the necessary information is displayed. Below twelve o’clock, the aperture of a small disc reveals the current sonnerie mode (via “P” for petite, “G” for grande,  and “S” for silent), while to its right sit the power reserve indicators. There are two, for each of the caliber’s mainspring barrels — one for the timekeeping functions and one for the chiming complications. The movement is rated to 70 hours of runtime, while the grande sonnerie mode is rated to a minimum of 12 hours. On the indicators, a handstack with two polished and faceted hands shows the level of each barrel and if it’s time for you to wind the watch.

Above six o’clock is the small seconds hand, attached to the 60-second tourbillon. Impressively, it is a hacking tourbillon, meaning that the tourbillon cage itself is halted when the crown is pulled out, a feat accomplished by very few tourbillons out there. It’s a great touch for flexing chronometric precision even though there are no seconds markers on the dial.

Last but certainly not least, the standout feature of the caliber is its chiming mechanism. The hammers sit prominently at 10 o’clock, but Chopard’s mastery in this area comes from using sapphire rather than steel for the gongs, producing an impressively loud and clear chime if you ever hear one in person. Their quality is further enhanced by the monobloc construction: the sapphire gongs are integrated directly into the dial crystal, allowing the sound to radiate outward without passing through any other material. The sapphire crystal itself also carries an engraved railway minute track.

The team over at Chopard has five new patents to show for in the L.U.C Grand Strike, and draws on five other patents taken from previous discoveries. Many of these focus on user experience, involving security features that allow the owner to activate the chiming mechanism or switch modes without any damage to the movement or its timekeeping. Others involve performance, reducing the torque needed to activate the passive chimes and preventing incomplete or partial chimes.

On top of all of this, the watch is certified with the Poinçon de Genève, and is chronometer certified by COSC. Interestingly, the chronometer certification was done in petite sonnerie mode, which Chopard emphasizes is actually the more power-hungry of the two passive chimes, as the quarters must actually be actively suppressed.

The Chopard L.U.C Grand Strike Ref. 161994-1001 is priced at CHF 780,000.

What We Think

This watch is an absolute show of force from Chopard, and should be celebrated as such. While there are already grande sonnerie tourbillon designs out there, the L.U.C Grand Strike feels distinctly Chopard thanks to its clever sapphire gong design and integrated crown-pusher. I particularly appreciate the stop-seconds function for the hand connected to the tourbillon in the new caliber, which is just that little bit of extra mechanical flair that shows off the manufacturer’s watchmaking prowess. And yes, though I make fun of this feature a bit, given that there are no seconds markings anywhere, I have to imagine that it’ll actually make sense once we see a L.U.C Grand Strike with a solid dial and markings.

The choice to remove the dial is not a new design decision from the brand, as they always love to show off the hammer and gongs at a minimum, but surely it makes the most sense here to showcase the new caliber’s complexity. It feels quite like an acknowledgement of how far Chopard’s chiming watch lineage has come, from its early hourly chiming Strike One days to the many editions of the Full Strike minute repeater and even its tourbillon variant. The Grand Strike is all of the above, and for the one lucky enough to be cross-shopping at this level, the Grand Strike would probably be my pick of some very compelling options. I just can’t wait to hear this thing live.

The Basics

Brand: Chopard
Model: L.U.C Grand Strike
Reference Number: 161994-1001

Diameter: 43mm
Thickness: 14.08mm
Case Material: 18k Ethical White Gold
Dial Color: No dial
Indexes: Engraved
Lume: No
Strap/Bracelet: Quick-change straps in grey alligator or dark blue alligator

The Movement

Caliber: L.U.C 08.03-L
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, tourbillon, grande and petite sonnerie, minute repeater, strikework mode indicator, dual power reserves, stop-seconds
Diameter: 37.2mm
Thickness: 10.14mm
Power Reserve: 70 hours (timekeeping), 12 hours (grande sonnerie mode)
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 4 Hz
Jewels: 67
Chronometer Certified: Yes, COSC-certified (in petite sonnerie mode)

Pricing & Availability

Price: CHF 780,000
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: No.

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