Watches & Wonders 2026: The Perfectly Simple, Simply Perfect Chopard L.U.C. 1860 Chronometer

Chopard was for many years before the launch of the caliber 1.96, often thought of as jewelry brand as much as a watchmaking brand, with its Happy Diamonds watches (originally launched as a men’s dress watch, interestingly enough) dominating the image most folks had of the brand. However, all that changed, and changed dramatically, in 1996, with the launch of the micro-rotor caliber 1.96. The new movement, named after Chopard’s founder, Louis-Ulysse Chopard, founded the brand in 1860 and it was acquired by the Scheufele family in 1963, and remains family owned (one of the few remaining Swiss watch brands that can still make that claim).

The caliber 1.96 was launched in the L.U.C. 16/1860, and it is a master class in Swiss fine watchmaking, with comprehensive and beautiful finishing throughout, and with a micro-rotor winding system powering two stacked mainspring barrels, and certified as a chronometer by the COSC, no less. Since then, Chopard has gone on to produce a whole slew of sophisticated complications and technical innovations, but the L.U.C. watches remain a cornerstone of the company’s watch collections and remain, also, a very pure expression of the company’s philosophy. When cal. 1.96 was launched, no less an authority than Walt Odets, the founder of the whole genre of the online technical watch review, wrote:

“In an age when horology seems often more about marketing than about authentic product, and many Swiss manufacturers would have the horologically knowledgeable remain ignorant of the innards of their timepieces, there is an occasional significant surprise. One such surprise is the recent production of a Michel Parmigiani design, by Chopard, of an entirely new automatic caliber, the L.U.C. 1.96. This is an extraordinary development … from the standpoint of both execution and design, the caliber 1.96 is probably the finest automatic movement being produced in Switzerland today.”

This is the tradition that Chopard’s new L.U.C. 1860 represents. The last time Chopard had the L.U.C. 1860 in its catalog was in 2022, with a salmon guilloché dial, and while that model’s no longer available, this new version brings back all of its irresistible charm, with a new blue-grey “Areuse Blue” dial.

The new L.U.C. 1860 Chronometer is essentially identical to the original model first introduced in 1996. The case is Chopard’s Lucent steel, which is a proprietary alloy which, at 200 Vickers, is significantly harder than conventional stainless steels, and which is formulated to have a luster reminiscent of white gold. The dial is produced at Metalem, a dial producer which is part of the Chopard Group (which also includes Ferdinand Berthoud) and the complex but restrained guilloché pattern is produced by hand (an increasing rarity, when stamped and CNC simulations of guilloché are becoming almost ubiquitous).

At 36.50mm x 8.20mm, it’s the same size as the original from 1996, and the caliber L.U.C. 96.40-L is as beautiful and horologically refined as ever.

The caliber has a gold micro-rotor and the twin stacked mainspring barrels are visible under a single bridge on the right. To the left, the train wheels (center, third, fourth, and escape wheels) are under their own bridge. The automatic winding train is under a bridge to the far right, just right of the micro-rotor, and the balance spring has a beautifully polished Geneva style stud, with a swan’s neck fine regulator; the balance spring is an overcoil type, with a Phillips terminal curve. Back in ’96, Odets wrote, “Finishing of the escapement, and indeed throughout the watch, is immaculate … by any technical or aesthetic standard, the 1.96 is a triumph,”  and what was true then is still true today.

Finally, a word on the price. In the US, this watch costs $29,700, which may seem costly – it is costly, as a matter of fact; nearly thirty thousand dollars is, we ought to agree, a lot of money any way you slice it. However, in a world where some independents are asking over fifty thousand dollars for watches with much less history, much lower intrinsic watchmaking value, and much less craft overall, it is also a bargain. A critic once wrote of the play, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand, that, “… it is not a great play, merely a perfect one.” In this case we have, and may it not slide under your radar if you really care for real watchmaking value, in a watch which redefined our expectations of fine watchmaking – not “luxury” watchmaking, actual fine watchmaking – a watch that is in its own way perfect, and in its history and execution, rises to greatness as well – if you ask me.

The Chopard L.U.C. 1860 Chronometer: case, Chopard Lucent Steel, 36.50mm x 8.20mm; water resistance 30 meters, vertical satin brushed flanks and inter-horn spaces; polished steel bezel and case back. Movement, Chopard caliber L.U.C. 96.40-L, in direct lineage from the caliber 1.96; automatic, micro-rotor, 27.40mm x 3.30mm, running in 29 jewels at 28,800 vph; twin mainspring barrels running in series; 65 hour power reserve; Geneva Seal/Poinçon de Genève; certified as a chronometer by the COSC. US price, $29,700.

The 1916 Company is very proud to be an authorized retailer for Chopard; for current pricing and availability for this piece of modern horological history celebrating its 30th anniversary, contact us.