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CHOPARD Imperiale Jade watch for Chinese New Year 2015

Imperiale 36mm Jade

For the 2015 Chinese New Year, Chopard introduces the Imperiale watch adorned with jade, an exceptional stone symbolising virtue and purity.

Originally introduced in the 1990s to echo the grandeur of the Roman Empire, the classic case and lugs were renovated in 2010 for the contemporary connoisseur. The Imperiale is known for its harmonious proportions and refined details. Let's explore those imperial motifs that combine to be the natural choice for women of a certain refined spirit.

Here is where a little poetic licence employs the characteristics that are associated with the imperial age, from the Roman numerals on the dial to the hands whose curves echo the tapered daggers. This new model sees the appearance of jade, the ultimate symbol of imperial dynasties. Notorious as extremely fragile and complex material to work with, a vividly coloured jade of exceptional quality enhances the dial with its gleaming radiance.

A crown delicately curved like a lotus flower and set with diamonds is fitted to the case of pure, sleek sides designed to give the model a lighter touch and a more luminous glow. The shape of the lugs echoes the tradition of ancient columns of balanced proportions.

I can vouch for this finesse in details that gleam with the splendour of imperial classicism as I saw it in person but did not take any photographs. Luckily, a nice professional photographer has done the job for me......

Case:
• 18ct rose gold
• Total diameter:     36.00 mm
• Thickness:            9.30 mm
• Water resistance: 50 m
• Bezel and lug-cover in diamond-set 18ct rose gold
• Crown and lugs in diamond-set 18ct rose gold
• Glareproofed sapphire crystal
• Solid back with Imperiale logo

Movement:
• Mechanical self-winding
• Diameter:                26.20 mm
• Thickness:              3.60 mm
• Number of jewels:  25
• Frequency:             28,800 vph (4Hz)
• Power reserve:       42 hours

Dial and hands:
• Jade dial
• Gilt sword-shaped hour and minute hands
• Gilt Roman numerals and diamond-set hour-markers
• Diamond-set central decorative ring

Functions and displays:
• Display of the hours and minutes

Strap and buckle:
• Green alligator leather strap
• Diamond-set 18ct rose gold pin buckle

Ref. 384242-5009 – Boutiques exclusive

Jade is a gemstone of unique symbolic energy with many myths that surround it. Jade has captivated mankind for thousands of years. The gem has a greasy lustre in many shades of green, but also in shades of white, grey, black, yellow, orange and violet tones. We have evidence that it has been known to Man for 7000 years.

In prehistoric times, it was desired for its toughness for weapons and tools. Around 3000 B.C. jade was known in China as 'yu', the 'royal gem'. To imperial Chinese culture, jade had very special significance, roughly comparable with that of gold and diamonds in the West. Jade was used for the finest objects and also in grave furnishings for high-ranking members of the imperial family.

We also know that in the pre-Columbian era, the Mayas, Aztecs and Olmecs of Central America also desired jade more than gold. New Zealand's Maoris began carving weapons and cult instruments from native jade. In ancient Egypt, jade was admired as the stone of love, inner peace, harmony and balance.

'Jade' is a generic term for two different gems, nephrite and jadeite. The name is derived from the Spanish 'piedra de ijada', loin-stone because jade was considered as a remedy for kidney ailments. Because of its beneficial effect on the kidneys, the stone was also known as 'lapis nephriticus', from which, we derive 'nephrite'.

Jadeite and nephrite are both regarded in China as 'zhen yu', 'genuine jade'. However, at the beginning of the 19th century, mineralogists and gemmologists started to differentiate between them, even if they share considerable resemblance to each other in their appearance, hardness and properties. Both are tough, since they consist of dense, close-grained, matted aggregates, but they differ from one another in their chemical composition and colours.

Nephrite ranges mainly from mid to dark green or grey-green, but it can also be white, yellowish or reddish.

Rarer, and somewhat tougher, jadeite displays hues which include green, but also white or pink, and reds, blacks, browns and violets. In both minerals, the way the colour is distributed varies a lot. Only in the very finest jade is the colour evenly distributed.

M. Teillol-Foo

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