This year, Chopard is celabrating the 20th anniversary of its Happy Sport series. For this occasion, Iconic Swiss jewelry house has created a unique creation that blends the brand’s expertise in high jewelry and fine watchmaking.
The Happy Sport Diamantissimo is the most refined incarnation of the Happy Sports model that features an 18-karat white gold case paved with 958 baguette-cut diamonds and 1,978 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 65 carats in all. The retail price of this exceptional creation is 1.5 million Swiss francs (approximately $1.58 million).
The Anniversary Happy Sport Diamantissimo with the referent number 274496-1001 is powered with the in-house manufactured L.U.C 96.17-L mechanical movement that is capable to store enough energy to keep the watch ticking for at least 65 hours. The self-winding movement features two barrels and bridges adorned with Côtes de Genève with diamond-set platinum micro-rotor. The impeccable mechanism is built on 29 jewels and beats at the frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz). It measures 27.4mm in diameter and it is only 3.3mm thick.
The case itself sizes 43mm in diameter and 14.2mm in thickness. It is crafted from 18-karat white gold and shielded with facetted glare-proofed sapphire crystals. The sapphire crystal above the dial guards the diamond-studded surface that looks like there is no gold that holds them together. The lugs are set with 4 cabochon-cut amethysts, while the 18-karat white gold crown is encrusted with brilliant-cut diamonds.
It took more than 4,500 hours of work to create this jewelry watch of which 1,700 hours were used for gem setting. The dial, bezel, case and bracelet links are covered using the “invisible” setting technique that involves each stone being perfectly cut and set to create a seamless diamond-studded surface showing no spaces and no setting prongs. This technique which is very hard to master gives the impression that the diamonds are simply set side by side without any gold to hold them together.
The diamond-set white dial comprises rhodium-plated 18-karat white gold hour-markers and Roman numerals 3 and 12. Hour and minute hands are also rhodium-plated. The Happy Sport Diamantissimo has an exhibition case back with a transferred anniversary inscription.
The very first Happy Sport watch was created in 1993 by Caroline Scheufele who is now the Artistic Director and Co-President of Chopard. For the past 20 years, the Happy Sport timepieces have been released under many different themes including the HappyBeach, La Vie en Rose, Mystery Pink, Happy Spirit…
Earlier this year, Chopard came out with a special offer that gives you a chance to personalize your own Happy Sport wristwatch on their official website (http://happysport.chopard.com/).
