Chopard marks 30 years of the Chopard Manufacture with the L.U.C Grand Strike – its most ambitious complication to date, a minute repeating clock watch with grande et petite sonnerie striking on a pair of sapphire gongs. This comes on the heels of Chopard’s sister brand, Ferdinand Berthoud’s Naissance d’une Montre 3, making 2025 arguably the most significant year for Chopard, product wise, since the 1997 launch of L.U.C.

Initial Thoughts

For hundreds of years the sound of clocks coordinated human society. In fact, the very word “clock” comes from the Latin word clocca, meaning bell. Before the noise pollution of the modern day, the bells of clock towers could disseminate accurate time over several miles. It is only that many first complicated the first watches, which were made by clock makers during the 16th century, were equipped with strikes.

In 2016 Chopard launched its first self-developed chiming watch, the L.U.C Full Strike, a two-train trip repeater with sapphire gongs. It is not much of a surprise, I’ve multiple people speculate that a grande sonnerie was the next step given the design depictions Chopard made with the Full Strike. Even the name, “Full Strike” sounds like the name of a grande sonnerie, not just a repeater.

The Grand Strike is class leading technically, it’s only weakness, the middling strike work power reserve is easily forgiven when considering its size. Aesthetically, however, the watch struggles, at least for me, though the simple addition of a dial would go a long way. Anyway, if a grande et petite sonnerie is doing it job, you won’t need to look at it anyway.

The Next Step

Besides the full strike, the Grand Strike owes much to Chopard’s general technical excellence. For example, the brand’s latest perpetual calendars have the unusual refinement of an instantaneous change on all but the last day of the month – according to Chopard that experience contributed to the strike release system. The manufacture‘s experience juggling the Quattro’s four barrels was useful here as well, though the full strike uses only two barrels.

Look familiar?

Like the Full Strike, the Grand Strike’s gongs and sapphire crystal are one and the same. The carefully designed geometry of the gongs results in a C-sharp to F-natural note. It is a remarkably clear sound that, from personal experience, can be made out from several meters away in a bustling convention hall.

Most repeaters are wound and activated simultaneously, usually by way of a slide. A trip repeater, on the other hand, separates the two, using a much larger strike barrel – which can power multiple repetitions – wound from the crown, can be effortlessly “tripped” by a button or switch. This is also the first step to creating a grande sonnerie, the modern implementation of which is essentially a repeater that trips itself on the quarters.

The strike release lever resembles the grande lever of Chopard’s perpetual calendars.

In grande sonnerie mode, the watch strikes out the full hours and quarters each quarter, while in petite sonnerie mode the watch strikes out just the quarters on the quarters, and only strikes the hours on the new hour. Despite its name, the petite sonnerie is more complicated to implement, requiring a means to surpass the hour strikes on the quarters. As a result, it is sometimes omitted or simplified, a shortcut that Chopard didn’t take.

The cannon pinion with release star.

The switch and two o’clock cycles though the two strike modes, and silence, while the nearby stacked up/down indicators track the reserve of both the strikes and movement, and pressing the crown trips the on-demand minute repeater. The indicator at twelve displays the selected strike mode.

Power Management

The Grand Strike packs a minimum of 12 hours of power reserve for the strikes in grande sonnerie mode, and 70 hours of going for the movement. Only twelve hours of striking, futher reduced by use of the minute repeater, is far from class leading. Patek Philippe’s ref. 6301P boasts at least a full day’s worth of striking in grande sonnerie more, even more in petite sonnerie mode. However, the Grand Strike is more compact.

Oddly, while the petite sonnerie mode normally extends the power reserve of clock watches by reducing the travel of the hour rack, Chopard says its system “acts as a brake on the chiming system and effectively shortens the power reserve.”

Like most modern grande sonnerie movements, it the strikes will automatically cease once the power reserve is exhausted. Without this feature the exhaustion of the strike barrel would stand the racks against the cams, causing the watch to unexpectedly stop.

Stress Testing

As expected of an L.U.C model, the Grand Strike’s cal. 98.03-L carries the Poinçon de Genève, meaning it adheres to certain stylistic standards for construction and decoration assisted with Genevan fine watchmaking. While L.U.C movements are manufactured in Fleurier, they are assembled in Geneva and thus eligible for the Geneva Seal.

The movement is framed with maillechort or German silver bridges, a material with a long history in Genevan fine watchmaking. Decoration is comprehensive and attractive. Interior angles have become something of a litmus test for finishing quality, requiring either hand work, or difficult machining – often a little of both, and the Grand Strike has plenty, over 60 by my count.

To test the strike works’ resolve, Chopard tested the 31,200 activations in grande sonnerie mode, another 31,200 in petite sonnerie mode, and 3,000 of the trip minute repeater on a single prototype to simulate five years of operation.

In the past watches with tourbillons were expected to be precise and/or accurate, which is less the case today. However, each Grand Strike is Chronometer certified by the COSC. On its own that is not particular impressive, but movements are tested while in petite sonnerie mode – which is. The tourbillon also “hacks” when the crown is pulled for synchronizing to a reference time.

Key Facts and Price

L.U.C Grand Strike

Diameter: 43.00 mm
Height: 14.08 mm
Material: White gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: Dust resistant only

Movement: L.U.C 96.01-L
Functions: Hours, minutes, tourbillon, power reserve indicators for both strikework and timekeeping barrels, grande and petite sonnerie, trip minute repeater.
Winding: Manual wind
Frequency:  25,200 beats per hour (3.5 Hz)
Power reserve: 72 hours for time, 24 hours for strikework

Strap: Alligator leather with folding clasp

Availability: From Chopard
Price: CHF 780,000 (before taxes)

For more information, visit Chopard.com.