Tom Austin Chopard pays homage to the passage of time in the most appropriate way possible. The charming Imperial seasons feature a gorgeously painted mother-of-pearl marquetone inner dial that rotates once every 365 days, slowly moving through the colours of each season. With only 25 runs, this ultra-specialist piece is 18 carats of white gold, decorated with diamonds and features a central lotus flower motif in white gold. This is an ongoing theme of the Imperial Collection.
The world will move rapidly in 2025. Trends go back and forth faster than we can keep up, fashion changes so fast, and I don’t even know what’s trending at once… maybe it’s my age, but would you like it to be all a bit slower and start to appreciate things a little more? Chopard must have been aware of this too. Because the latest works feature complex things that you’re asking to retreat a bit and slowly enjoy the things around you. It’s not complicated to help you organize your busy lifestyle or see how fast something is. It takes things that affect everything, nature, weather, and general life, and portrays it in a beautiful and unique way. Ice-out clocks can often be hits or misses, but Chopard introduces the level of creativity in something like this new Imperial Four Season, and it exudes elegance and sophistication that has deeper meaning than most meanings.
A recurring theme throughout the collection, Imperial Lotus Flower makes another appearance at the top of the dial instead of the lower half, like the day and night of Imperial in 2023. Attractively engraved in 18 carat white gold, covers more than half the dial and features a detailed, layered effect. It helps you assemble the most impressive parts of the watch. The bottom of the dial looks at first glance like an intricately painted Marquetry dial. However, if you give it in a few weeks, you will notice that the dial has been changed. This is because the dial is a rotating disk that completes one full rotation every 365 days.
The beautifully painted Mother of Pearl Marketory Dial Disc uses colour and depth to showcase ice cool blues in winter, depicting four seasons, drawing rich browns and oranges in autumn and vibrant greens and yellows in spring and summer. And, in addition to using flat painted discs, Chopard created even more depth by adding each color to the individual petal-shaped layers surrounded by diamond rings. It is a rare complexity that the dial is surprisingly running following seasonal changes, and wearers can always enjoy new things, especially as different seasons pass through, leading to changing fashion trends.
With a diameter of 36mm and thickness of 12.1mm, this feminine-focused watch is more versatile than you think as women’s watches are heading towards bigger sizes these days. The case is finished in 18 carat white gold and is decorated next to the rug around the sides of the diamonds and rug covers, crowns and bezel. The result is a clean and elegant look, and as you would expect from Chopard, it’s not actually too flashy, especially with leather straps. It also works with a 50-meter water resistance assessment and a sapphire display case with a reflective reflective sapphire crystal backwards.
The Microtol’s movements look spectacular, so they’re back in the display case for good reason. The LUC 96.31-C is Chopard’s in-house automatic caliber, beautifully hand-washed with Geneva Stripes and Perlage, and equipped with a module that displays 365 days of spinning discs in front. Heartbeats at 4Hz, its twin barrel offers a generous 65-hour power reserve. This is impressive for a watch of such a conservative size. This is thanks to the super cool tungsten alloy micro rotors featuring the affectionately engraved Chopard “C”. As a package, it’s great to see such a watch paying so much attention to the details paid for the movement.
Each of the 25 watches comes with four different crocodile leather straps finished with an 18-carat white gold buckle, each matching the four seasonal colors on the dial. The quick change system makes it easier to easily replace the straps as the seasons (and the dial on this lovely watch) change.
Chopard Imperial Four Seasons Pricing and Availability
Chopard Imperial Four Seasons is available only from Chopard Boutique and is a limited edition of 25 units. Price: $166,500
Brand Chopard Model Imperial Four Seasons Reference 385394-1001 Case Dimensions 36mm(d) x 12.1mm
