Chopard L.U.C

5 Reasons to Buy a L.U.C

• COSC-certified in-house movement with the Geneva seal
• Complications: minute repeater, world time function, or tourbillon
• Top model: L.U.C All-in-One with 14 complications
• Only 7.2 mm thick: the L.U.C XPS
• High-quality gold, platinum, or stainless steel cases

From Very Flat to Extremely Complicated

The luxury watch manufacturer Chopard has over 160 years of history to look back on. The L.U.C collection puts that experience and watchmaking know-how on full display. In-house calibers form the beating heart of each timepiece. Chopard develops and produces these highly precise movements in their own facilities in the Swiss town of Fleurier. Many have even received chronometer certification from COSC.

The L.U.C collection offers a wide variety of first-class models, from two-hand dress watches to Chopard's masterpiece: an extraordinarily complex watch with 14 complications. Chopard also has high standards for the quality of their dials. Each dial is a work of art, whether it's silver-plated, has a fine satin-brushed or sunburst finish, features intricate guilloché engraving, or is coated with traditional Japanese urushi lacquer. Clearly, it's no coincidence that many watches in the L.U.C collection bear the Geneva seal – a seal of quality reserved only for the best watches made in the Swiss canton of Geneva.

In addition to rose and white gold, Chopard also uses stainless steel and platinum to produce L.U.C cases. As of July 2018, the company gets all their gold from responsible, ethical sources that meet certain environmental and social standards. Band options include alligator leather straps, leather-lined cashmere straps, and stainless steel bracelets.

How much does an L.U.C cost?

Flat and Elegant: The L.U.C XP

If you're on the market for a simple, classically elegant dress watch, look no further than the L.U.C XP and L.U.C XPS series. These watches live up to Chopard's high quality standards and set themselves apart with their extremely flat construction. At 7.2 mm thick, they are among this Swiss luxury watch manufacturer's thinnest models. The only difference between XP and XPS timepieces is the number of hands: While the XP only features two hands, XPS watches have an additional small seconds dial at 6 o'clock.

Both series contain a wide array of models. For example, you can purchase a stainless steel L.U.C XP with a galvanized silver dial and tempered blue hands and indices for around 5,600 USD. The rose gold L.U.C XP Skeletec comes with an openwork dial that offers a stunning view of the finely finished, skeletonized in-house L.U.C caliber 96.17-S underneath. This timepiece costs about 16,000 USD. There's also a white gold model with a diamond-encrusted dial, which sells for almost 40,000 USD. Models designed by Japanese artist Kiichiro Masumura are true works of art. Their dials are decorated with scenes from Chinese mythology and are crafted using traditional Urushi and Maki-e lacquering techniques. These watches require an investment of some 19,000 USD.

The L.U.C 1937 takes its inspiration from vintage pocket watches. The automatic chronometer-certified L.U.C caliber 01.01-L ticks away inside this timepiece, which is why it is slightly thicker at 10.64 mm. This leaves enough room for a date display at 6 o'clock and a central second hand. You can choose from a silver-plated or white porcelain dial. Both have classic features like a railroad minute scale and Roman numerals. The stainless steel version costs around 7,400 USD, while the rose gold edition demands about 13,500 USD.

The L.U.C XPS and Quattro: Small Seconds, Big Power Reserve

The XPS series also contains a variety of options. You can choose from the stainless steel model for roughly 6,400 USD, the rose gold version for about 11,000 USD, or the platinum edition with a blue sunburst dial for almost 18,500 USD. Prices for the XPS 1860 range from 7,000 to 23,500 USD. This model comes in stainless steel, rose gold, or white gold and has a two-part dial: The center features either guilloché engraving or a sunburst pattern, while the outer edge has a matte silver-plated finish.

The L.U.C Quattro is a special version of the XPS. Its 8.9-mm thick case is thicker than that of its sister models. This extra space makes room for the manual L.U.C caliber 98.01-L and its four barrels, which provide the Quattro with its impressive 216-hourpower reserve. What's more, it also has a combined pointer date and small seconds dial at 6 o'clock and a power reserve indicator at 12 o'clock. The gold edition sells for around 19,000 USD. Expect to pay some 23,500 USD for a platinum timepiece. The addition of diamonds increases that price to over 28,500 USD.

GMT and World Time Functions: An L.U.C for Frequent Flyers

Fans of complicated watches also have plenty to choose from in the L.U.C collection. For example, frequent travelers may enjoy the L.U.C Time Traveler One and the L.U.C GMT One. The former is a world time watch that can display the time in 24 time zones simultaneously. This is made possible by a 24-hour ring that rotates around the outside of the main time display. The name of the current time zone sits at 12 o'clock. You can change the time zone using the crown at 4 o'clock, while the time and date are set using the crown at 2 o'clock. The COSC-certified manual in-house L.U.C caliber 01.05-L ticks away inside this timepiece and lends it its 60-hour power reserve. Prices for this world time watch largely depend on the material used – stainless steel, gold, or platinum – and range from 10,000 to 28,500 USD.

The L.U.C GMT One can display a second time zone in addition to the current local time thanks to an extra central hand and a 24-hour scale around the dial's edge. As seen in the Time Traveler, the 24-hour ring is operated using a crown at 4 o'clock. You can set the time and date display at 6 o'clock via the crown at 2 o'clock. The automatic L.U.C caliber 01.10-L is also chronometer-certified and produced in Chopard's factory in Fleurier, Switzerland. Be sure to have around 7,500 USD on hand for the stainless steel model. On the other hand, the rose or white gold editions cost about 15,000 USD each.

A Moon Phase, Chronograph, and Perpetual Calendar

Chopard's L.U.C Lunar One boasts an outsize date, perpetual calendar, and moon phase display. The in-house L.U.C caliber 96.13-L is a certified chronometer and features the Geneva seal. Its month and leap year displays share a subdial at 3 o'clock, and the dual day and day/night display sits at 9. The moon phase indicator and small seconds occupy a subdial at 6 o'clock, while the outsize date is located at 12. Prices for the rose or white gold model come in at around 43,000 USD. The platinum version demands an additional 22,500 USD.

The L.U.C Perpetual Chrono takes it one step further by adding a chronograph function to its perpetual calendar, moon phase indicator, and outsize date. The manual COSC-certified L.U.C caliber 3.10-L provides this timepiece with its extraordinary functionality. To accommodate the chronograph function, small displays for the minute and hour counters were added to the subdials at 3 and 9 o'clock, respectively. This watch is limited to a run of 20 pieces. Each is made of ethically sourced, fairmined 18-karat gold and has a list price of 95,630 USD.

If you can do without the stopwatch and perpetual calendar functions, the L.U.C Lunar Big Date is a suitable alternative. Its automatic chronometer L.U.C caliber 96.20-L has its outsize date at 12 o'clock, a small seconds at 4:30, and a moon phase indicator at 7:30. The moon phase function is especially interesting, as it shows the Moon's current phase in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This timepiece comes in white or rose gold and sells for around 23,500 USD.

There's also the L.U.C Chrono One – a chronograph with a flyback function. The automatic, chronometer-certified L.U.C caliber 03.03-L can measure periods of time up to 12 hours. It has an hour counter at 9 o'clock, a 30-minute counter at 3, a date display at 4:30, and a small seconds dial at 6. You can call this rose or white gold chronograph your own for about 29,000 USD.

Grand Complications: Minute Repeaters to Equations of Time

The Grand Complications collection puts Chopard's watchmaking prowess on full display. It contains the company's masterpiece: the L.U.C All-in-One with a staggering 14 complications. These include a perpetual calendar, a tourbillon, an outsize date, a small seconds, an orbital moon phase display, an equation of time, a sunrise and sunset display, a day/night display, and a power reserve indicator. Of those complications, the last six are all located on the back of the watch. The manual L.U.C caliber 05.01-L bears the Geneva seal, is chronometer certified, and has a power reserve of 216 hours. The All-in-One is available in platinum or rose gold, each limited to a run of 10 pieces. Prices for this timepiece range from 403,000 to 471,000 USD.

The L.U.C Full Strike is Chopard's first watch to feature a minute repeater. It uses sapphire crystal gongs to relay the hours, quarter hours, and minutes. The skeletonized dial offers a breathtaking view of the refined manual L.U.C caliber 08.01-L and its system of chimes. Chopard crafts the case out of fairmined gold. Only 40 copies exist of this timepiece, which costs around 275,000 USD.

The L.U.C Perpetual T houses a perpetual calendar, outsize date, and tourbillon in its rose gold or platinum case. You'll find the small seconds hand on the tourbillon, which is visible through a cutout the dial at 6 o'clock. The date display is located at 12 o'clock. There's also a combined month and leap year display at 3 o'clock and a dual day and day/night display at 9. A sapphire glass case back allows you to watch the intricate manual L.U.C caliber 02.15-L at work. It's also where you'll find the power reserve indicator that lets you know how much of the movement's 216-hour power reserve remains in its four barrels. The Perpetual T is limited to a run of 50 pieces and demands about 112,000 USD in gold and 168,000 USD in platinum.