patrick_y[PuristSPro Moderator]
30614
The Best Steel Material? The Chopard Lucent Steel A223
Jan 12, 2025,21:32 PM
Moderator Patrick_y explores the advantages and disadvantages of the Chopard Lucent A223 steel in a frank mini-review.
Here's a question nobody has ever asked. Who makes the best steel case and bracelet material in a steel watch?
Chopard Lucent A223 steel. It's a double refined steel (it goes through the refinery process twice which enhances its purity). Made from 70-80% recycled steel, percentage to increase. Extra hard. Extra white, the steel looks like palladium or platinum! Made in the Voestalpine foundry in Austria. Typical steel is around 150 vickers, Chopard's Lucent steel is over 200 vickers in hardness; significantly harder and much more scratch resistant. The hardness also partially allows it to be polished to a higher albido.
Most watch brands use a 316L steel. Rolex uses a 904L steel that is whiter than most steels because of the higher nickel content. In a practical sense, the Lucent A223 steel will have less scratches than typical steel watches and will have greater tensile strength; the Chopard Lucent A223 steel will also be more chemically resistant, brighter, whiter, less likely to cause allergies, and be overall more appropriate for jewelry than 316L and 904L steel.
The A223 Lucent steel will also be significantly many times more expensive to buy (Chopard buys about 20 metric tons of steel a year, so not a huge deal at the end) and significantly more expensive to machine. Tools used to machine the steel will have significantly more wear. So there is a real added cost to employing the material.
With little doubt, this is likely the most expensive and most appropriate high end steel to be used in the watch industry today as a case and bracelet material. There are also real tangible benefits for the user.
Chopard uses a surprisingly high amount of steel per year - around 20 metric tons (they certainly don't make even half weight in products in all materials per year). In other words, one mostly full truck load of steel. It won't save the world, but it probably does reduce overall emissions from Chopard as a corporation by a reasonable percentage. Thus, I applaud Chopard's employment of this steel - from a practical standpoint and from an environmental one.
I'm a fan of steel watches. While I like gold and platinum watches (very much), I don't like the use of gold on watches, especially bracelets, since gold bracelets sometimes stretch and wear over time. Steel bracelets retain their shape. I applaud Chopard's use of this steel. Most features touted by watchmakers aren't a real benefit to the user. This Lucent A223 steel is a true feature that has true benefits to the user.

The PuristSPro ABR watch uses 316L stainless steel with a black PVD coating!

The Blancpain 50 Fathoms uses a 316L stainless steel!

Rolex uses a 904L stainless steel with a higher nickel content for a shinier and whiter steel.

This Chopard dress watch is made of steel! Not white gold or platinum! The Chopard Lucent A223 steel is so white that it is mistaken to be palladium or platinum sometimes.