Chopard LUC 16/1864/2 White Gold Baguette Diamonds Custom Order, 2000s

Dealer description — S.Song Watches

The Chopard L.U.C 1860 has quietly become one of the most respected watches of the 1990s. Introduced in 1996, it represented the beginning of Chopard's modern manufacture and was the result of almost four years of development under Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, with input from Michel Parmigiani. At a time when much of the Swiss watch industry still relied heavily on movements from outside suppliers, Chopard set out to create something entirely its own. The result was the Calibre 1.96, an exceptional automatic movement measuring just 3.3mm thick. It featured a 22-carat gold micro-rotor, twin stacked barrels providing approximately 70 hours of power reserve, a Breguet overcoil and swan-neck regulator. It was also both COSC-certified and awarded the Geneva Seal. Beautifully constructed and finished throughout, the Cal. 1.96 remains one of the finest automatic movements of its generation and is a major reason why the earliest L.U.C watches have become increasingly appreciated by collectors. The watch itself was equally well considered. Measuring 36.5mm, the L.U.C 1860 was classically proportioned and paired with solid-gold dials produced by Metalem using traditional hand engine-turning. Metalem would later become particularly well known among collectors for producing the dials of Philippe Dufour's Simplicity, though the L.U.C 1860 actually came first. Chopard's former Director of Patrimony, Juan Garcia, rather amusingly suggested that instead of calling the 1860 a "baby Dufour", it should perhaps be called the "uncle Dufour". The present watch, however, is something considerably more unusual. While based upon the white-gold L.U.C 1860, it was produced as a custom order and carries the distinct reference 16/1864/2. Chopard is known to have produced a small number of custom L.U.C 1860s during this period, including a documented black guilloché example with baguette diamond indexes. Here, the solid-gold dial is finished in a rich blue with a hand-turned guilloché centre, but instead of the conventional applied indexes, each hour is marked by a baguette-cut diamond. Surrounding the dial is a full baguette diamond-set bezel, creating a configuration that combines two sides of Chopard particularly well - serious watchmaking and exceptional gem-setting. Despite the amount of diamonds involved, it remains surprisingly restrained, with the geometry of the baguette stones working particularly well against the blue dial and white-gold case. More interesting still is the reference itself. Rather than the familiar 16/1860/2, the case is engraved 16/1864/2, with the "1864" designation differentiating this custom-order configuration from the standard production watch. Information surrounding the reference is virtually non-existent, and I have yet to find another documented 16/1864/2 with this combination of blue guilloché dial, baguette diamond indexes and full baguette diamond-set bezel. While its exact production is unknown, it is entirely possible that the present watch was produced as a unique piece. Turn the watch over and the Cal. 1.96 is visible through the sapphire caseback, complete with its beautifully finished 22-carat gold micro-rotor bearing the L.U.C signature. The movement is arguably the most important part of the L.U.C 1860 story and remains genuinely impressive nearly thirty years after it was introduced. Even the standard L.U.C 1860 is far rarer than initially intended. Although Chopard planned to produce 1,860 examples in each metal, actual production fell well short of this, with approximately 400 examples believed to have been made in white gold. Against that already small production, custom-order pieces such as this sit in an entirely different category. For me, this is the most important early L.U.C watch I have come across. The 1860 already represents a defining moment in Chopard's modern watchmaking history, combining one of the finest automatic movements of its generation with exceptional traditional craftsmanship. This example takes that foundation to its absolute extreme. A custom-order 16/1864/2, with a blue Metalem guilloché dial, baguette diamond indexes and a full baguette diamond-set bezel, it is a configuration that I have yet to find documented anywhere else. With its separate reference designation, extraordinary specification and potentially unique production, I struggle to think of an early L.U.C that could be more important or desirable. This isn't simply a rare variation of the L.U.C 1860. For me, it is the holy grail of the entire early L.U.C generation.