Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Chopard · Happy Diamonds
Chopard Happy Diamonds 40 mm Skeletonised 18k
Reference 69689OR.50
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Chopard
- Collection
- Happy Diamonds
- Model
- Chopard Happy Diamonds 40 mm Skeletonised 18k
- Reference number
- 69689OR.50
- Year / era
- 1972 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Moon phase
- Movement
- In-house manual-winding
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Dial type
- Skeletonised
- Strap / bracelet
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Bezel
- Bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Skeletonised
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 88D — In-house manual-winding
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 27 jewels
- Complications
- Moon phase
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, small seconds
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1972 – 1984
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Chopard Happy Diamonds 40 mm Skeletonised 18k sits within Chopard's Happy Diamonds line, introduced in 1972. It carries the house codes established since 1860 — 18k rose gold case, skeletonised dial and in-house manual-winding — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Chopard
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1860
- Founder
- Louis-Ulysse Chopard
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Alpine Eagle, Happy Sport, L.U.C, Mille Miglia, Happy Diamonds, Imperiale
- Signature technologies
- Shock-absorbing movement mounting · Composite and ceramic case materials · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic, chronometer certified · In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Chopard Alpine Eagle 44 mm Mother-of-pearl Ceramic (1953) · Chopard Alpine Eagle 42 mm Slate Sapphire (1950) · Chopard Alpine Eagle 44 mm Black 18k (1952) · Chopard Alpine Eagle 38 mm Blue Sapphire (2000)
Brand history
Chopard has spent more than 166 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Alpine Eagle, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Louis-Ulysse Chopard established Chopard in 1860, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Chopard calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1860
Louis-Ulysse Chopard founds Chopard in Switzerland.
1899
Chopard earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Chopard to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Chopard enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Chopard continues to produce Alpine Eagle, Happy Sport, L.U.C and other icons in limited numbers.