SimplyAbuDhabi XLI

T he lotus is a symbolic and cherished flower – particularly in Egypt and India – and it has been associated with the sun since the dawn of time. According to an Egyptian legend, the sun rises from a lotus corolla every morning before returning to its petals at nightfall. In the spirit of the legend, Chopard observed Nature and drew inspiration from it in designing this 25-piece numbered limited edition in the IMPERIALE collection. “Lotus flowers open and close at sunrise and sunset”, explains Chopard’s Co-President and Artistic Director Caroline Scheufele. “It seemed natural to us to enrich this watch with a day/night indication which is a watchmaking complication that is both romantic and attractive.” This link is all the more obvious in that design of this flower is one of the signatures of the IMPERIALE collection launched in 1994. Its shape appears on the crown of the models and on certain dials. It also adorns the flying tourbillon and moon phase models. In 2017, Chopard won the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in the Jewellery category with the ‘Lotus Blanc’: an exceptional secret watch crafted in its Haute Joaillerie workshops and graced with diamond-set petals opening and closing at will on the dial. Excellent skills Celebrating the union of glamour and poetry, Chopard has designed an extremely feminine watch that instantly reveals its radiance through a case in ethical 18-carat rose gold entirely set with diamonds. The dial of the IMPERIALE expresses the quintessence of the Maison’s jewellery and watchmaking expertise. To depict the lotus at the centre of this creation, the jewellery artisans have exercised their art by playing with voids and solids by means of petals arranged in a polished rose gold lacework delicately resting on other curved petals in engraved and satin-brushed gold. This sacred flower is rimmed by sparkling diamonds. A changing landscape as the hours go by The rotating disc of the day/night indication is a masterpiece of miniature sophistication revealing a sky that changes according to the time of day. Chopard has applied several artisanal techniques to creating this infinitely nuanced diurnal and nocturnal scene. The delicately crafted mother-of-pearl mobile dial of this IMPERIALE model is lacquered in an exquisite cerulean gradient enlivened by seven gold-powder stars. Snow-set diamonds and sapphires in six different shades of blue wonderfully expresses the transition from day to night. This steady motion is made possible by the L.U.C 96.30-L calibre developed entirely in the Manufacture’s workshops. Endowed with a 65-hour power reserve, this self-winding mechanism driving a day-night disc with a 24-hour rotation is an ingenious variation on the first calibre to emerge from Chopard Manufacture. This IMPERIALE model gradually changes face in passing from darkness to light. After midnight, the star-studded sapphire dome gives way to morning lights, represented by a white diamond sky behind which the night stars fade away until the following day... A fascinating show, starring Time itself. Simply Abu Dhabi | 141