For 20 years, Chopard Manufacture has been creating the watches in the L.U.C collection shaking up the classic codes of complicated Haute Horlogerie. Originally introduced in 2016 and one of our favorite watches back then, the new Chopard L.U.C Perpetual Chrono ref. 161973-9001 is now available in platinum and in a highly exclusive limited edition of only 20 pieces. A very well executed complication, the Chopard L.U.C Perpetual Chrono combines a manual wound chronograph with a finely crafted perpetual calendar in a remarkable in-house movement.
Things to Know About the Watch
The L.U.C Perpetual Chrono in platinum is endowed with a massive 45 mm case just like its 18K rose gold or white gold siblings. Sourced from "Fairmined" certified mining cooperatives, the case features a mirror polished bezel and mirror polished top on its lugs and a nice vertical satin-brushed finished caseband. The watch features rectangular box top pushers with satin brushed and highly polished areas. To highlight its platinum case, the watch is fitted with a gorgeous dark blue sunburst satin-brushed and hand-guilloché gold dial, with beams radiating from the date, snailed silver-toned inner bezel ring with red and blue transfers, rhodiumed plated applied Roman numerals and hour markers and rhodiumed plated dauphine hands.
Some of the signature features on this new Chopard perpetual calendar chronograph, include the signature large twin-aperture date display at 12, complemented by indications of the day of the week, day/night indication and 12-hour chronograph register at 9 o'clock, a month, leap year and 30-minute chrono register at 3 o'clock and a gorgeous orbital moon-phase display at 6 o'clock. The latter guarantees graphic and accurate readings of the age of the moon, with a mere one-day deviation in 122 years.
Since the original configuration of this calendar uses the same areas as the chronograph —both involving indications at 3 and 9 o’clock— the design and development of the perpetual calendar had to be adjusted. This arrangement determined the specific layout of the dial and its counters. The hands for the chronograph feature red tips that not only provide greater level of contrast against the blue dial, but also to maximize proper readability. The dial layout is quite legible despite the large amount of information displayed on it.
With its incomparable style and its hand-sewn dark blue alligator leather strap with pin buckle, the L.U.C Perpetual Chronograph in platinum asserts itself at first glance through a strong aesthetic picking up the key characteristics of the L.U.C collection.
The Movement
The beating heart inside the new L.U.Chopard Perpetual Chrono is the manual wound L.U.C calibre 03.10-L entirely developed and produced by Chopard. The movement is built around a column wheel that controls all chronograph operations including the flyback function. The movement featuring 42 jewels, beats at a frequency of 28,800 vph to provide a power reserve of 60 hours. Additionally, to make things even more interesting, the movement main plate and bridges are made of nickel silver resembling the color and hue of those German silver movements from A. Lange & Söhne.
Additionally, the L.U.C Perpetual Chronograph has earned double certification. The rating precision of its L.U.C Calibre 03.10-L has been certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute —COSC— and in parallel, each of these 20 watches in “Fairmined” platinum have successfully met the evaluation criteria of the Poinçon de Genève, which now encompass the watch in its entirety, providing an excellent guarantee of superlative craftsmanship and expertise. Formerly attributed to the movement only, the Poinçon de Genève currently puts the watch as a whole to the test.
On the Wrist & Pricing
On the wrist, the watch wears true to its size and top heavy due to its platinum construction. A watch that brings all sorts of unexpected elements to the table, especially coming from such a young manufacture. For the price, the craftsmanship, quality and design are there in this watch that could very well have been made by a brand like A. Lange & Söhne. This watch is available in a limited edition of only 20 pieces.
Sticker Price $116,000 USD. For more info on Chopard click here.
