The L.U.C XP demonstrates the breadth of Chopard‘s watchmaking capacity, and its ability to read the market. The L.U.C XP incorporates all of the brand’s in-house capacity, with a slim movement powering a watch that is modern and trendy. It has a couple of interesting design decisions – no date display, no seconds hand – and some youthful touches, such as the large blue numerals and a blue cashmere strap. A distinctive, refined timepiece, a sort of dress watch for jeans.

Case and dial

The case is 40 mm in diameter, and it’s slim at 7.2 mm, with a 5mm crown bearing the L.U.C initials. The caseband is vertically satin-brushed, in contrast with the polished bezel and caseback. Water resistance is 3 atm – I would have liked a 10 atm rating which would have been the crowning touch on this young and sporty timepiece, as that’s the direction in which many brands seem to be moving – towards 5 or 10 atm as standard. The silver-toned dial is vertically brushed, with what the brand describe as a Dacron finish. I think they mean that it has a fabric look to it. The designers have worked towards simplification, with just the slender applied hour markers, blue numerals, a minutes scale with four numerals 15, 30, 45, 60, the brand name, and “L.U.C Swiss” at the base of the dial. The four hour numerals are of an interesting and original design. The Dauphine fusée-type hands are also graphically distinctive.

Cashmere strap

The strap is in blue woven cashmere, lined with brown alligator leather. Alternatively the L.U.C XP is available with a blue alligator leather strap. Both have a stainless steel pin buckle.

Calibre 96.53-L

The L.U.C XP has a new movement, made by Chopard at its Fleurier manufacture, the Calibre 96.53-L. It is self-winding, with a tungsten micro-rotor. Its stacked twin barrels provide a 58-hour power reserve. It has 172 components and runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, 34 Hertz. The different metals create attractive contrasts, along with the black used for the engraved lettering and the rubies visible on the bridges.

Price and reference

The L.U.C XP by Chopard is reference 168592-3001, and it costs €8,100. Further information from the Chopard website.