Chopard L.U.C. 2017 Novelties From BaselWorld

March 29, 2017

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Chopard L.U.C. 2017

It’s always a treat to visit Chopard when we are visiting BaselWorld. Despite their success and status in the industry they managed to stay humble and friendly. This year Chopard showed us six new watches and all of them were amazing. Honestly, I could imagine myself wearing each and every one of them for a different reason. And so I did if only for a few minutes before the watches found their ways to the next table to mesmerize the other journalists sitting there.

Big Shot

I think we went backwards this year during the presentations. I saw the most expensive and complicated watch first. The L.U.C. Perpetual Chrono for example, a 45mm hand-wound platinum grand complication created for the aficionados. The movement ticking inside is the in-house developed L.U.C. 03.10-L with COSC certification and 60 hours of power reserve. It is a flyback chronograph with moon phase and perpetual calendar complications. The watch is magical, especially the orbital moon phase display at 6 o’clock. The Chopard L.U.C. Perpetual Chrono watch is limited to only 20 pieces with a price tag of over 100,000 CHF.

Beautiful arena back with a breathtaking movement

Flagship

If one super nice platinum watch wasn’t enough for you, here is the second. The flagship of the L.U.C. collection is the Lunar One, so they released a platinum version of that, limited to 100 pieces. The Lunar One is powered by the in-house Chopard calibre L.U.C. 96.13-L movement. It has a micro-rotor, a power reserve of 65 hours and chronometer certification. Furthermore, the watch also has the ‘Poinçon-de-Genève’ certification, for outstanding craftsmanship. The Chopard L.U.C. Lunar One is a work of art indeed. Côte-de-Genève adorned bridges, galvanic blue sunburst satin-brushed dial with a display case back to see the micro-rotor. Price tag is approximately 66.000 CHF.

Officer

Stepping away from platinum super complications we saw a few time only watches. The one that stood out for me the most was the Chopard L.U.C. XPS 1860 Officer (28.000 CHF). To give you the basic details; white gold, 40mm, hand-made guilloché dial and an ultra-thin movement. The watch is marvelous, sits beautifully on the wrist. The beehive guilloché motif from the dial is also decorating the case back. But press the crown and the officer-type back pops open revealing the magic; the L.U.C. 86.01-L automatic movement with 65 hours of power reserve. Just like the watches above, the Chopard L.U.C. XPS 1860 Officer also bears both chronometer and ‘Poinçon-de-Genève’ certifications and it is limited to 100 pieces.

Officer case back

Style

Last but not least, the L.U.C. XP. A 40mm watch in a stainless steel case with a completely in-house automatic movement, the L.U.C. 96.53-L. The watch is such a clean looking timepiece, with its blue Arabic numerals at 3-6-9 and 12 on a silver dial with Dacron finishing. The L.U.C. XP, like the other L.U.C. watches, comes with the chronometer certification and with a blue cashmere (yes, you read it right) fabric strap with alligator lining. A watch that is a perfect fit for the young audience or rookie aficionados. Retail price will be approximately 8000 CHF.

Others

We saw the new Mille Miglia Classic XL 90^th Anniversary Limited Edition, a beautiful 18K gold watch with white dial. Chopard released the model to celebrate the anniversary of the legendary race with which they have been partners for a long time now. They also came out with the latest Mille Miglia 2017 Race Edition (6,700 CHF). The watch also commemorates the birthday of the Mille Miglia. Last but not least, we had the chance to try on the L.U.C. XPS Twist QF Fairmined (approx. 18,000 EUR). An updated playful version of the classic XPS, here the crown is at 4 o’clock and the sub second dial is at 7 o’clock. The case is Fairmined gold and the watch also has QF (Qualité Fleurier) certification. Lovely piece and if the regular XPS is too simple for you the XPS Twist QF Fairmined is your watch.