Chopard L.U.C Grand Strike
Chopard has introduced the L.U.C Grand Strike at Dubai Watch Week 2025, a creation that now stands as the most mechanically complex wristwatch in the history of the manufacture. Combining grande and petite sonnerie, a minute repeater and a tourbillon, the model achieves chronometer certification, meets the requirements of the Geneva Seal and incorporates ten patented solutions, five of which were developed specifically for this project.
A Legacy of Chiming Watches
Chopard’s work on striking mechanisms began within the L.U.C collection in 2006 with the Strike One. A decade later the Full Strike Minute Repeater brought the brand the Aiguille d'Or at the 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. The award recognised the introduction of a pioneering monobloc sapphire system in which the crystal and gongs formed a single acoustic structure. The same architecture appeared in the Sound of Eternity trilogy presented that same year and now re-emerges in the Grand Strike.
A Fully Openworked Construction
The new model is presented as a skeletonised watch, offering a direct view of the calibre L.U.C 08.03 L and its 686 components. The movement is finished to the standards required for the Geneva Seal, including mirror polishing, wide bevels and Geneva stripes. The bridges and mainplate are made of German silver, while the tourbillon bridge is crafted from mirror polished stainless steel.
The 43 mm case is produced in white gold and reflects the updated aesthetic direction of the L.U.C collection introduced earlier in 2025. It features a curved bezel, soldered lugs, a fluted crown and a quick strap change system, although the prototype shown does not yet employ the latter.
The Striking Mechanism
The chiming system is visible on the dial side. At ten o’clock the polished steel hammers can be observed in action, while the strike governor is positioned near eight o’clock. A slider adjacent to the crown selects grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie or silent mode. The minute repeater is activated by a pusher integrated into the crown.
Two barrels drive the watch. One powers the timekeeping train and offers a power reserve of seventy hours. The second supplies the striking functions and allows up to twelve hours of chiming in grande sonnerie mode. Both barrels are wound by the crown but in opposite directions.
The sapphire gongs remain the defining feature. Their monobloc construction links the gongs to the crystal, causing both to vibrate in unison. This directs sound outward and avoids acoustic energy being absorbed by the movement or case. The gongs have a square cross section that produces a rich, layered tone. There is virtually no background noise and no phantom strikes. The strike governor has been engineered to eliminate the usual delay between the last quarter and the minute strikes.
Multiple protective systems ensure mechanical safety. Mode changes can be made while the watch is chiming without risk of damage. The repeater cannot be activated if the crown is pulled out, and the crown cannot be pulled out during chiming. When the strike barrel no longer has sufficient energy, activation is blocked to prevent incomplete chimes. The geometry of the hammers has been redesigned to avoid crystal damage in the event of shock.
Tourbillon and Timekeeping
The movement includes a one minute tourbillon carrying the seconds hand. A stop seconds mechanism halts the tourbillon carriage for precise setting. The balance oscillates at 28800 vibrations per hour and uses a Phillips terminal curve. Chronometer certification confirms the accuracy of the movement.
The quality control department subjected the mechanism to 62400 strike activations across all modes during development, simulating five years of use within three months.
Wearing the Grand Strike
The watch is supplied on a hand stitched alligator leather strap with a leather lining and a folding clasp. Although not a limited edition, production capacity is restricted to two pieces per year due to the complexity of assembly. The development of the Grand Strike required more than eleven thousand hours of work. The indicative retail price is 700000 Swiss francs.
