Chopard

The other day I was at the Chopard boutique and something caught my eye. That does not happen often with Chopard. I respect the LUC range for its quality and construction but their designs leave me lukewarm. I once owned two LUC watches, one was the original LUC with the wonderfully finished 1.96 calibre while the other was the Sport 2000. Neither was a particularly exciting watch, though the quaity of movement finishing for the price was outstanding.

What caught my eye at the boutique is the latest LUC Fleurier. It is in white gold with the 9.96 automatic movement bearing the Qualite Fleurier seal. The case is the same size as the previous two LUC Fleurier watches, approximately 39 mm white. And like the previous two it is also a limited edition of 250 pieces.

While I loved the movement in the previous two LUC Fleurier watches, they did not look interesting. This third Fleurier edition looks different and I like it. The centre of the dial is open revealing the top plate of the movement while the applied indices sit on a brush grey ring. This watch enjoys a distinctive, modern (I can't emphasise modern enough) design without looking awkward until other LUC models.

As always the movement finish is of very, very high quality, probably the best I have seen for a mass produced automatic calibre out of Switzerland. The case work is good and so is the dial and hands, though neither is to the exceptionally high standard of the movement.

Chopard has a winner on their hands.

- SJX

This message has been edited by SJX on 2009-11-10 05:03:41

This message has been edited by SJX on 2009-11-10 05:02:24

many thanks SJX, it is just timely.

Arthur mentioned this watch to me last night in the Chopard forum. this watch even has not been displayed in the Chopard website.

he suggested me to go down to the shop to check out this beautiful watch. he said i should like it. indeed this is an outstanding piece.

after seeing your pictures taken for this watch, i keen to see the real metal now.

stefan

I mentioned it to him. :-) That's true word of mouth.

- SJX

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Afterall, only one watch next year.

- SJX:::0:b4c7aab8ae8e3cee1c921d4c3d2f46d0:7d0::::

yes... and not the Only Watch... grrrrrr

all I can say is I told you so. SJX's pics are great and this piece will look nicer in the metal.

all you told drives me crazy anyway, LOL.

must see the metal very soon.

stefan

hehehehe.  Buut seriously... its a very nice piece and to me, in the metal for this piece is not underwhelming.

by the way, this one is limited edition of 250 pieces. do you know how many piece is allocated to Singapore?

stefan

This message has been edited by SJX on 2009-11-10 20:35:35

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and for the nice pics. It does look inviting and I did make an effort to try to see one in the metal but no luck.I guess they aren't in HK yet.

Will have to wait for an account from our very discerning JLC moderator to see if it passes the test.

As we soon have a L.U.C Dinner, it will be the opportunity to have an eye on it.

From what I see on your pics, it seems that the finish is appealing, and that the layout of the dial ( my biggest problem with L.U.C watches ) looks nice.

Best, and thanks for these very nice pics.

Nicolas

This message has been edited by amanico on 2009-11-10 07:15:08

fresh look and feel about it and not gimicky.  The play on shades of silver is done is a very enduring tasteful manner I think.

I'm discovering L.U.C watches...

Will tell you once I see it in the flesh.

But right now, from the pics I see, the " à priori " is positive.

Best,

Nicolas

it looks better than several JLC watches in the same price range. ;-)

- SJX

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SJX,

Not our French JLC bear!

But I'm sure he will see stuff to like at the Chopard LUC Event in Paris soon.......

 

Regards,

MTF

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between the Tech Twist and the original Fleurier model.... I may need to start saving some money
A

Classic and different but not quirky.

1.96 is without QF certification.

Thanks for the post, SJX.

Regards

Ling

Beyond the swan neck regulator on the 1.96 which the 9.96 does not have.

There are some aesthetic differences, like the rotor decoration and style of
engraving, but those are visual rather than indicators of finishing quality.

- SJX

I know I cant hv the beehive and admire the nice sml rotor movement unless they do one with an officer case . I pray that they do one someday . This is a very tech twisty version of a QF , a smart play of design . Thanks SJX