Home » Baselworld - World Watch and Jewellery Show » Baselworld 2012 – Chopard Reveals IMPERIALE Tourbillon Full Set – Is It a Watch or a Piece of Jewelry?
In order to create an enchanting gem-setting piece of art, with an impressive inner work, Chopard used its exceptional skills in two fields, on which it has built the highest reputation. Its breathtaking blend of Haute Joaillerie and Haute Horlogerie has taken the making of complicated ladies timepieces to a totally new level. Chopard presents a new IMPERIALE Tourbillon Full Set, an incredible extra-luxury watch or a dazzling piece of jewelry with a technological masterpiece in its heart.
Bearing the prestigious Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark, L.U.C 02-14-L hand-winding movement is entirely designed, developed and crafted manually. This chronometer-certified mechanism features a one-minute tourbillon, the great complication that is not used so often for ladies’ timepieces. It is visible through the aperture at the 6 o’clock position, indicating small seconds, while its bridge, held in place by four screws with amethyst-set heads, reflects the distinctive motif of the Imperiale Collection. The high-end mechanism is also equipped with four stacked and series-coupled barrels (the patented Quattro® technology), allowing over 9 days of work autonomy, as well as a constant regularity of rate that reaches the highest quality standards.
Snow Gem-Setting Technique
Being equally amazing from the outside, Chopard IMPERIALE Tourbillon Full Set watch is crafted in 18 karat white gold, with a 42 mm case that is big enough to display almost the entire range of the brand’s gem-setting techniques. In order to adorn the entire dial with diamonds, Chopard used the snow setting technique that requires combining brilliant-cut diamonds of varying diameters, so that beautifully shaped, rhodiumed hour and minute hands can start their magical dance over the sparkling surface.
Besides, the crown is set with baguette-cut and briolette-cut diamonds, while the power-reserve indicator at the 12 o’clock position is surrounded by baguette-cut diamonds and amethysts. Finally, baguette-cut diamonds along with oval-cut cabochons beatify a bezel, lugs and a bracelet.
If you ever get bored with this fabulous view, you can turn the back-side of the IMPERIALE Tourbillon Full Set watch and enjoy the nicely decorated mechanism, through the glare-proofed sapphire crystal glass. The white gold part of the case-back is engraved with inscriptions “Imperiale”, “Tourbillon” and “Chopard”.
