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Chopard Happy Sport Purple Ladies Watch
Ref. 278608-6012
Sits in Chopard’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Chopard watches we list, which start at £4,740.
Price range £4,740 to £18,500 across 28 Chopard watches in stock.Happy Sport began in 1993 as something genuinely unusual: a fine jewellery watch designed to be worn without ceremony, its defining feature being five diamonds floating freely between the crystals, moving with the wrist rather than sitting fixed in a setting. That idea has anchored the collection for three decades, and this version carries it in purple — a textured mother-of-pearl dial whose depth shifts from mauve to violet depending on where the light falls, with those diamonds drifting across it as they always have. The case pairs Chopard's own Lucent Steel with 18-carat ethical rose gold, a sourcing commitment the manufacture has held since 2013. At 33mm the proportions are unhurried rather than dainty, and the diamond-set bezel — 1.24 carats in rose gold — frames the dial without competing with it. The exhibition caseback is worth a look: the 09.01-C runs in-house, built to a 42-hour reserve, and it is finished to a standard that repays the attention.
- Reference
- 278608-6012
- Brand
- Chopard
- Case size
- 33mm
- Case thickness
- 10.84mm
- Case material
- Rose gold
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Purple
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- 09.01-C
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Purple
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Power reserve
- 42 hours
- Gem set
- Yes
Learn more about Chopard
Louis-Ulysse Chopard founded a workshop in Sonvilier in the Jura in 1860, building pocket watches that sold well in Eastern Europe and Russia. The family ran it for three generations before the line ran out of successors, and in 1963 the company was sold to Karl Scheufele III, a Pforzheim jeweller.
The Scheufele family still owns it, and their dual background explains the house's character: Chopard is unusual in being both a serious watchmaker and a serious jeweller, with in-house capability in gem-setting and gold-working alongside movement production.
The Happy Diamonds concept of 1976 — loose stones rotating freely between two sapphire crystals — became the commercial engine of the jewellery side and remains instantly identifiable.
On the watch side, the L.U.C collection launched in 1996 with the calibre 1.96, a micro-rotor automatic that announced Chopard as a genuine manufacture rather than a fashion house buying movements. L.U.C watches have since collected Geneva Seal and COSC certifications and produced tourbillons, perpetual calendars, and minute repeaters made in Fleurier.
Chopard has timed the Mille Miglia since 1988, giving it a motorsport line with real provenance, and in 2018 moved its entire gold supply to ethically certified sources — the first major house to do so across all production.
- 1860
- Louis-Ulysse Chopard founds the workshop in Sonvilier.
- 1963
- Karl Scheufele III acquires the company.
- 1976
- Happy Diamonds introduces free-moving stones.
- 1988
- Chopard begins timing the Mille Miglia.
- 1996
- The L.U.C 1.96 establishes in-house movement production.
Also in 6 collections
This watch appears in Back in Stock (4,868), Automatic Watches (1,750), Watches Under 37mm (1,713), Women's Watches (1,635), Leather Strap Watches (1,037) and Sports Watches (800).
What the specifications mean
A slim watch on leather, made for wearing with a shirt.
Strengths
- 33mm wears small and slips under any cuff
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- One of Chopard's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 30m means keeping it away from water
Also seen with this model (1)
Other versions of this model, not necessarily this exact watch.
- Julia Roberts · Chopard Happy Sport · Ambassador · Happy Sport campaigns since 2021 · Source
Chopard Happy Sport Purple alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 278608-6012 | 1-35-14-05-15-04 | G0A51011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £18,500 | £22,000 | £19,300 |
| Case size | 33mm | 32.5mm | 36mm |
| Water resistance | 30m | 30m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Rubber strap |
| Power reserve | 42 hours | 60 hours | 40 hours |
| This watch |
|
|
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
No. At 30m it will survive rain and handwashing, but not submersion of any kind.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 42 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as women's.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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