BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
You may remember in my previous article on an Only Watch piece I said that most brands used the colour(s) of the auction in their watches somehow. Well, I also said that some watchmakers don’t, Chopard’s contribution to the auction definitely doesn’t do that.
If you’re looking at this watch and wondering what Chopard has changed from their dashing L.U.C 1860 Lucent Steel, which we got hands-on with earlier this year, you aren’t to blame. I had to read the press blurb twice to see it, but that may be partly because my colour vision isn’t amazing.
The dial of the watch from March was covered with delicious guilloché which occurs here too, radiating outwards from the Chopard logo reminiscent of the original L.U.C watch from the 90s. The dial of the new piece for Only Watch comes with an ice green dial, which does tap into the green dial trend of watches which is happening right now.
That’s wrapped up in a 36.5mm case made of Lucent Steel A223, which is Chopard’s unique blend of recycled stainless steel that is both harder than regular steel and has a better lustre, like that of gold. Take it from me, these things really sparkle.
Inside this watch is the same movement as the ones you can buy from the Chopard dealers and boutiques, the calibre L.U.C 96.40-L. An in-house movement designed by Chopard, it comes with a 4Hz beat rate and a long power reserve of 65 hours. It also has a Geneva Seal award, guaranteeing the quality of the movement’s construction and finishing.
The estimate for this watch to sell at at the auction in November is between 25,000 and 30,000 CHF, Chopard’s last Only Watch submission went for double its expected price, so this could manage that as well.
