Chopard Sculpted Tiger Eye

The 1970s were very good to Chopard.

For much of the preceding decades, the brand had lived in the shadow of bigger names. Then Karl Scheufele III took over, expanded the Geneva manufacture, and gave Chopard a completely different identity. Chopard leaned into jewellery, coloured stone dials, and wonderfully unconventional forms inspired by nature. Belle Époque, Cascade, Happy Diamonds and others all came from this remarkable creative period.

This watch belongs right in the middle of that renaissance.

Calling it a case almost feels unfair because the gold surrounds the dial more like a flowing sculpture than a traditional round case. From straight on, the two sweeping arms appear to cradle the tiger eye. Tilt it slightly and those curves become thick, rounded ribbons before diving underneath the case in looping arcs.

From the side, the entire profile changes again, becoming almost impossible to describe without turning it over in your hands. Every angle feels like you're discovering a new object.

The tiger eye dial couldn't be a better choice.

Its deep caramel bands and earthy warmth anchor all of that movement without competing for attention. Rather than filling the dial with decoration, Chopard let the stone speak for itself, allowing the gold sculpture surrounding it to remain the star of the show.

This approach became one of the signatures of vintage Chopard. Piaget often celebrated the colour and rarity of hardstone dials. Chopard treated the entire watch as the canvas, allowing the case to become just as expressive as the dial it framed.

The dimensions tell only half the story.

At 30mm across, the watch sounds modest. On the wrist, it occupies far more space than the number suggests. The elongated 44mm profile stretches elegantly across the wrist, while the sculpted case adds something photographs only hint at: volume. The flowing gold rises proudly above the strap, giving the entire piece real depth. It feels less like a flat watch sitting on the wrist and more like a small piece of art suspended above it.

We've never handled another example quite like it. It represents Chopard at its most adventurous, when the brand was creating some of the most imaginative shaped watches of the 1970s. For collectors drawn to sculptural case design, this sits at the very summit of what the era had to offer.