As a way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its dominance in the world of jewelery and watchmaking, Chopard launched the L’Heure du Diamant jewel watch collection, comprised of eight exquisite pieces. Craftsmen of emotions since 1860, Chopard has always been characterized by taking courageous first steps, as when they were introduced to the world of jewelry. The great leap occurred in 1969, in a context of social, cultural and artistic revolution, and it was when the House presented the collection of contemporary jewel watches. The features that marked that time were the spheres formed by hard stones such as lapis lazuli, malachite, jade or tiger’s eye; that were surrounded by diamonds and set on white gold bracelets. Between the 60s and 70s, a young clientele emerged, traveling luxuriously, respecting fashion, and working in the creative world. This audience was the one looking for opulent jewelery, but at the same time informal, cheerful and daring. Pieces that reflected the break with the past and the stiff 1950s. That style emerged in London and consisted of the appreciation of free forms. Unexpected, neglected materials predominated there, unpolished glass, hard stones, and organic materials such as coral and ivory. These elements were combined with coarse-textured gold, engraved and worked to give it the organic appearance of a tree bark, or the lunar surface.
Today, 50 years after the creation of the jewel watch, L’Heure du Diamant intends to honor that time with eight new watches inspired by the 1969 models. To capture the style of the time, the dials of these watches are carved in minerals most beautiful on the planet: dark blue lapis lazuli with gold flecks; velvety forest green striated malachite; the turquoise of brilliant sky blue; and black opal, extremely dark and with brilliant flashes of green and red. These striking colors of nature on the dials are surrounded by diamonds totaling more than 4 carats, and with the typical Chopard setting. The combination produces the perfect contrast between the opacity of the dial and the brilliance and delicacy of diamonds. In order to respect individuality and to provide a greater variety of options, Chopard offers for these jewelery watches a matching brightly colored alligator strap, or a highly textured white gold strap inspired by the tree bark style of the 60.
Despite its finish, the delicacy of Chopard’s jewelery work ensures that gold is smooth to the touch and won’t tear skin or fabrics. This 1960 technique involves hand-engraving the gold that is then attached to the structure of the watch strap. The leather straps are in green, turquoise, royal blue or navy blue and have an 18-karat white gold buckle set with diamonds. The caliber of the pieces is an automatic 09.01-C movement, with a 42-hour power reserve, entirely manufactured in the House of Chopard. All are submersible to 30 meters.
