A STEP ASIDE
Beneath its dress-watch demeanor, this descendant of a 1970s creation cultivates a delightfully unruly sense of glamour: all it takes is a gesture for its highly codified elegance to start improvising.
It has the velvety warmth of a crooner’s voice, the hushed elegance of an era when people changed for dinner, and the flair of those who occasionally know how to step outside convention. With Happy Diamonds Heritage, Chopard does not reproduce its 1976 creation exactly, but recaptures its spirit. The cushion-shaped case, yellow gold, black onyx and moving diamonds still convey the same graphic, precious and unmistakably seventies allure. The codes provide the framework. Movement brings freedom.
All it takes is a flick of the wrist for this apparent restraint to burst into life. Between two sapphire crystals, the Happy Diamonds glide, gather and scatter around the mineral dial, improvising a new composition with every gesture. Like a spontaneous smile on a serious face. The 34x34mm version welcomes 21 stones and displays the hours and minutes with two gold-toned hands, while a crown set with an onyx cabochon and a black alligator strap extend its after-dark elegance. The 24x24mm version plays the same tune with nine gems. On the back of the larger model, the present reasserts itself. Visible through the sapphire crystal, the hand-wound Chopard 10.01-C caliber measures just 15.70mm in diameter and 2.90mm thick. Assembled from 101 components, it delivers a 45-hour power reserve. This return to the origins extends into jewelry with a signet ring, cufflinks, a tie clip that doubles as a brooch, and a pendant, all echoing the contrast between yellow gold, onyx and free-moving diamonds.
