L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 Straw Marquetry Edition
Power reserve: 192 h, 28800 vph
Poinçon de Genève
A technical feat first presented to mark Chopard Manufacture’s 25th anniversary, the L.U.C 98.06-L jumping-hour movement now equips an exclusive new limited edition of the L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25, enhanced by a straw marquetry dial. The four barrels of the exclusive Chopard Quattro technology, offering an up to eight-day power reserve, make this technically and aesthetically sophisticated model one of the rare jumping-hour watches with this level of autonomy. Featuring the L.U.C collection’s characteristically pared-down design, its 40 mm-diameter case in 18-carat ethical rose gold frames a honeycomb-patterned dial crafted in accordance with an artisanal tradition perfected within the workshops. From movement to dial, this exceptional eight-piece limited edition showcases the finest expertise and innovation cultivated by Chopard Manufacture and ensuring excellent finishing honoured with the prestigious Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark.
Exemplifying Chopard's commitment to preserving watchmaking artistic crafts, the dial of this new model is graced with straw marquetry made by a decorating artisan within the Manufacture, specially trained in this 17th-century technique. This is the first time that a L.U.C timepiece has been treated to a dial adorned in such a way.
It all begins with the selection of the material: rye straw grown in the French region of Burgundy and carefully dyed in a beautiful shade of green. Each strand is individually split with a fingernail, before being flattened with pliers. The straw is then cut into tiny hexagons using a scalpel, which are glued onto a base in ethical rose gold to form an interlocking pattern, that owes its beauty to the artisan’s dexterity. The composition combines strands whose thickness, stripe orientation and shade vary in such a way as to create a raised, textured reproduction of the honeycomb motif that Karl-Friedrich Scheufele has chosen to associate with the L.U.C. collection since 1996. The beehive is indeed a metaphor for the collective work of the Manufacture: industrious, honest and modest, the lynchpin of a cohesive whole held together by collaborative endeavours, the bee perfectly embodies the values with which the workshops identify.
After assembly, the dial reveals its full brilliance and lustre with the final application of a wood wax coating. The hours aperture is placed in a cut-out at 6 o'clock, thus ensuring that the minutes hand does not obstruct the view of the instantaneous hour changes.
For many years, Chopard has taken concrete action to help shape a more responsible luxury industry, fully aware of its environmental impact and its responsibility toward the thousands of individuals involved in its activities worldwide. As an early member of key industry organizations such as the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the Maison has distinguished itself through its pioneering commitment to ethical gold and the development of Lucent Steel™, consistently adopting a proactive stance within the sector.
Gold, a fundamental material in Chopard’s production, has naturally become a central focus in the Maison’s Journey to Sustainable Luxury. In July 2018, Chopard reached a major milestone by exclusively using ethical gold in its workshops, meeting the most stringent international environmental and social standards. Within this approach, gold has been sourced through two transparent and traceable channels: responsibly produced artisanal gold and recycled gold certified by the RJC. The RJC’s Chain of Custody (CoC) standard defines the requirements for identifying and tracking eligible materials, including certified recycled gold from legitimate sources.
In 2024, Chopard’s ethical gold was sourced solely from artisanal and small-scale mines accredited by the Swiss Better Gold initiative. Responsible sourcing of artisanal gold is essential to Chopard’s strategy, as it enables full traceability from mine to finished product while generating positive and tangible socio-economic and environmental impact. Artisanal and small-scale mining involves millions of men and women around the world—individuals working alone, with their families, or in cooperatives—using basic exploration and extraction methods. Since 2017, this program has supported lower-impact extraction methods and improved the living and working conditions of over 5,000 miners and gold panners in Peru and Colombia. The Maison does not source from large-scale industrial mines.
A key objective is to continue generating positive impact within artisanal and small-scale mining communities by helping address local challenges related to water access, education, and energy. To achieve this, the Maison works closely with international organizations such as Swiss Better Gold Association, which are committed to helping gold miners adopt more socially and environmentally responsible practices. The premium paid by Chopard provides additional support for energy transition, infrastructure development, and the creation of alternative economic opportunities alongside mining activities.
Since 1978, Chopard has been one of the few watch and jewellery manufacturers to operate its own foundry. This independent approach allows the Maison not only to guarantee the origin of the gold used in its workshops but also to remelt production scraps in-house. This direct reprocessing ensures traceability of alloys, avoids electrochemical refining, reduces energy consumption, and eliminates the use of chemicals. It also significantly cuts emissions linked to material transport.