By Jovan Krstevski
Chopard once again delivers an exceptional timepiece that rightfully belongs to its prestige line. The amazing L.U.C Perpetual T is limited only to 25 pieces with a prestigious price point of USD190,000 (EUR175,000). This is high-end folks so don’t be shocked with that price tag, after all, you get what you pay for so follow me after the break.
The most exciting feature of the L.U.C Perpetual T other than its sheer prestige is the combination of the perpetual calendar and the tourbillon. Well, a tourbillon is definitely a big catch and so does the perpetual calendar so imagine having them together on your wrist, that definitely merits a sigh of relief if you are secretly hunted by the nostalgic feel of a tourbillon powered watch. We could be biased with the watch considering its legendary footprint in the industry but boy oh boy, just look at its dial, it definitely reminds me of the great strides in the watch industry many eons ago which is still very much alive today at the height of electronic watch proliferations. The L.U.C Perpetual T is indeed a classic that will certainly shoot through time and space in one piece.
The 43 mm x 14.90 mm case is made of high-grade platinum. Wait are you also expecting a stainless steel case, well join the club but for this price point it is quite normal to have this precious metall. Besides you will love how smooth the case design looks which pretty much highlights the prestige of the timepiece. Ok truth be told, a stainless steel version is definitely welcome, though. Everything on the case looks great such as the clean lugs and the smooth bezel. The crown looks neat too with an embossed logo on the side. As for me, I like the distance between the case and the leather strap which is one of the characters of a true classic.
Considering that this is a complicated watch, the solid white gold dial seems to look rather clean and easy on the eyes sporting impressive hand-engraved guilloché motif. Of course, you would not go very far from expecting a subtle dial here knowing that there is both the tourbillon and the perpetual calendar being presented. It is quite novel for Chopard to show the power-reserve indicator behind the transparent sapphire crystal caseback freeing up valuable realty space on the watch face where the tourbillon is displayed gracefully at the 6 o’clock and the perpetual calendar mechanisms at the upper side notably the 12, 9 and 3 o’clock positions. The twin-aperture date display looks crisp as well as the day of the week and the months with a leap year cycle. The design is definitely user-friendly with the legendary Chopard hands and applied Roman numerals shown with a lighter theme against the dark sub-dials at 9 and 3 and the skeletonized tourbillon display at 6.
Power is provided by the 4 Hz L.U.C Calibre 02.15-L beating at 28,800 vph. The four barrels of the innovative Quattro system boasts of a 9-day power reserve. Expect the highest Haute Horlogerie standards such as circular-grained plates, polished screws, bevelled bridges graced with vertical Côtes de Genève and jewels made of gold chatons. Plus you get to wear this on the skillfully hand-sewn alligator-lined black leather strap.
For more info, please visit chopard.com
JOVAN KRSTEVSKI – FOUNDER, PROPRIETOR & EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Watch collector, aficionado and an Event profile in the Swedish nightlife. He launched Watchgeek back in 2011, which is now known as WristReview and is one of the most widely read watch blogs on the Web. He quotes ’WristReview is a site to help people find, explore, discover and enjoy wristwatches.’ His passion jump started in his early teens when he was given his first mid-range wristwatch which was an Omega Seamaster. Since then he has always been in love with wristwatches! Besides WristReview, he also writes for a number of publications. Read his articles here
