Chopard Imperiale Automatic Silver and Mother of Pearl Dial Black Satin Men's Satin Strap Watch 388549-3001BKSAT

WORLDTEMPUS - 12 December 2012

"We are adding two new engines today," car enthusiast, movement aficionado and Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele claimed as the new 41-millimeter Automatic and the two 45-millimeter Power Control and Chronograph timepieces were presented at the privately owned Ascari racetrack in Marbella, Spain.
"All three new models are being introduced in 18-karat rose gold, but will also be launched in all-steel come Baselworld in April 2013," Scheufele explained as he showed off the handsome open-worked movement of the three new watches. Undoubtedly, superfast cars were the great inspirations for many details of the watches like the open-worked movement, the steering wheel at the tip of the winding crown, and the "slick tire" rubber strap with the in-house designed and produced double folding clasp that should leave many a competitor blushing with sheer envy. The stimulus provided by the four-wheeled wonders is obvious. Asked when car-inspired watches were introduced to the Chopard collection, Scheufele admits that he was the spearhead for it when he entered the family business in 1985. "I was the first to introduce masculine, sporty watches. My parents were more focused on women's and dress watches," he disclosed.

Superfast guests
"We also are proud to have six-time Le Mans winner and Formula 1 legend Jacky Ickx here today as well as Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte," Scheufele told the small but dedicated group of specialized journalists from around the world. Ickx and Lochte are two superfast sportsmen extraordinaire with time as their prime enemy. Despite that, they found enough time to be present at the event to promote the new timepieces by the Swiss manufacturer.
Ickx has been a "friend of the house," more than just ambassador, since he met Scheufele during the legendary vintage car race Mille Miglia in 1988. Since then, Ickx has been present at many Chopard events.

Ickx not only spread a little stardust on the event by doing superfast rounds in the actual Porsche 936 that allowed him to top the Le Mans podium in 1977. He also offered a superfast taxied drive with yours truly as the thrilled passenger in a superfast Porsche GT3 RS. On his wrist he wore one of the new watches, which represent a new era for Chopard: the first in-house chronograph movement produced at the Chopard Fleurier Ebauche workshops. "During my career as a professional race car driver I always did my utmost to be super fast. It didn't always work out that way and today it looks like Chopard beat me to it," Ickx joked as he talked to the audience. Scheufele followed up by explaining that 5,000 in-house movements were produced in 2012 and that he expects to produce 20,000 in-house movements from the Fleurier workshops come 2015, proving the position of the luxurious Swiss watch brand and its future in the upper segment of horology.
Lochte's career, however, does not challenge speed on the racetracks. Instead, the American's speed was proven at this year's Olympic Games when he won gold by outduelling Michael Phelps in the 400-meter individual medley. Lochte even brought the actual medal to the Chopard event for everyone attending to handle and hang around his or her neck to immerse oneself in the winning feeling a superfast sportsman feels when beating another great record in the Olympic pools. He too wore a Superfast Chronograph housed in 18-karat rose gold, which certainly suited the tall swimmer dressed in all black who wore it with pride. "I have always been fond of watches and jewelry and hopefully I will be able to design a watch one day," he told Worldtempus during lunch, convincing everybody around the table that he indeed is a great choice as ambassador for everything Chopard, who makes both luxurious timepieces and jewelry. "The first watch I remember seeing was my fathers stopwatch," Lochte smiled upon being asked if he remembers when his horological interest kicked in. "My father was my swimming coach," he explained, adding instant provenance to that particular stopwatch.

The Superfast watches
The 41 mm Superfast Automatic is outfitted with the in-house Chopard 01.01-M self-winding, COSC-certified caliber with 60 hours of power reserve. The 45 mm Power Control is outfitted with the in-house Chopard 01.02-M self-winding, COSC-certified caliber with 60 hours of power reserve. The 45 mm Chronograph is outfitted with the in-house Chopard 03.05-M self-winding, COSC-certified caliber with 60 hours of power reserve. All three beat at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz).