Chopard L.U.C Full Strike “Día de los Muertos” Edition 13
Over the weekend at WatchTime New York, Chopard officially unveiled its newest tribute to Mexico’s Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration. The one-of-a-kind L.U.C Full Strike “Día de los Muertos” Edition 13 combines the brand’s exceptional minute repeater technology with an incredibly artistic dial crafted using eggshell marquetry, straw marquetry and hand engraving. The result is a colorful, somewhat irreverent watch that celebrates life and death while showcasing Chopard’s technical and artistic expertise. The price: $575,000.
This is the 13th edition in Chopard’s ongoing series honoring the Mexican holiday, traditionally celebrated in early November. During Día de los Muertos, families gather to remember loved ones who have passed away, often creating elaborate altars adorned with flowers, candles, photographs and decorative skulls known as calaveras. Rather than dwelling on sadness, the holiday is a colorful celebration of life and remembrance.
Chopard L.U.C Full Strike “Día de los Muertos” Edition 13 watch in the making.
Chopard captures that spirit with a bright blue skull that seems almost to smile from the dial. Complete with expressive eyes, prominent teeth and a jaunty gold moustache, the skull is anything but ordinary. Neither are the techniques used to bring it to life.
For the first time in its watchmaking history, Chopard turns to eggshell marquetry, an intricate decorative art that involves arranging tiny fragments of eggshell into patterns. Here, the eggshells form the teeth and the radiating motifs surrounding the skull’s eyes. Each fragment is individually cleaned, dried, broken and positioned by hand. Set against black lacquer, the pieces create a graduated effect that adds surprising depth to the eyes.
Chopard L.U.C Full Strike “Día de los Muertos” Edition 13 with eggshell and straw marquetry.
Equally fascinating is the use of straw marquetry to create the vivid blue face. More than 70 pieces of French-grown rye straw are individually selected, split, flattened and carefully arranged to follow the contours of the skull. Because each piece reflects light differently depending on its orientation, the dial takes on changing tones and textures as it catches the light.
Adding a bit of personality is the hand-engraved gold moustache bearing the L.U. Chopard logo. It is a small detail, but one that gives the skull a distinctive character. In total, a single artisan devoted 160 hours to creating the dial alone.
The artistry doesn’t stop there. The 42.5mm case, crafted in 18-karat ethical rose gold, features additional hand engraving on the bezel, caseband and crown.
The one-of-a-kind Chopard L.U.C Full Strike “Día de los Muertos” Edition 13 watch retails for $575,000.
Of course, this is an L.U.C Full Strike, which means there is much more to the watch than its elaborate exterior. Inside is the manually wound L.U.C Caliber 08.01-L, a complex movement comprising 533 components. Its patented sapphire gong technology sets it apart from traditional minute repeaters. Instead of using conventional metal gongs, Chopard creates the gongs from a single piece of sapphire, enabling the watch to sound the hours, quarters and minutes with exceptional clarity and resonance.
The Full Strike first made its debut in 2016 and went on to win the coveted Aiguille d’Or grand prize at the 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. For this Día de los Muertos edition, Chopard has given several components of the chiming mechanism a blue treatment to complement the dial. The watch also carries the prestigious Poinçon de Genève certification.
There is something particularly fitting about combining a minute repeater, a complication that literally gives voice to time, with a celebration devoted to remembering lives past. With this latest creation, Chopard demonstrates that even the most sophisticated haute horlogerie can have a sense of humor.
