L.U.C QF Jubilee

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Released on the cusp of Chopard Manufacture’s 25^th anniversary, the L.U.C QF Jubilee timepiece ideally sums up the three core values of the L.U.C collection, namely technical performance, aesthetic refinement and an enduring attachment to certified watchmaking. This anniversary creation, issued in an exclusive 25-piece limited series, embodies this triptych synonymous with excellence. Powered by its L.U.C 96.09-L movement endowed with the 65-hour power reserve linked to Chopard Twin technology and featuring a 39 millimetre-diameter steel case, a perfectly legible sector dial and a strap made of responsible calfskin leather – along with certification from both the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute and the demanding Fleurier Quality Foundation, the L.U.C QF Jubilee lays a new milestone in the history of Fine Watchmaking.

The first L.U.C stainless steel timepiece with Fleurier Quality Foundation certification

An emblematic creation in the L.U.C collection, the Qualité Fleurier timepiece series is reinvented in a stainless steel 25-piece limited edition specially designed in tribute to the founding of Chopard Manufacture in 1996 and initiated by the Maison’s Co-President, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. This new 39 mm-diameter timepiece features ideal proportions and curved lines inspired by a L.U.Chopard model dating from the 1950s. The robustness of stainless steel – used for the first time in the history of the L.U.C collection for a watch certified by the Fleurier Quality Foundation – thereby offers a sporty and casual interpretation of the L.U.C collection, resulting in a look and feel entirely suited to the lifestyle of younger gentlemen.

An aesthetically pleasing sector-type dial

With its intriguing look hovering between modernity and vintage touches, the L.U.C QF Jubilee is adorned with a sector dial. Inspired by the Art Deco and Bauhaus movements this type of dial is built around several concentric circles enabling easy reading of the hours and minutes and has remained an undeniable success since its invention in the 1930s. Once favoured by naval officers who appreciated its clear legibility, the sector-type dial of the L.U.C QF Jubilee watch revives this trend around a silvered sunburst centre, followed by a chapter ring in Chopard blue punctuated by chevron hour-markers, and finally, a silver-toned railway-track minutes circle with transferred black markings. The small seconds hand sets a lively place at 6 o’clock. When night falls, the dial comes alive thanks to a Super-LumiNova^® coating on the four main hour-markers, the round base of the chevron-style hour-markers as well as the spear-shaped hours and minutes hands.

To complete the ambivalence between noble distinction and a sporty look, this timepiece is fitted with a brown calfskin strap featuring two blue bridle stitches echoing the dial. Time will coat this exceptional leather – sourced from a supplier guaranteeing responsible practices – with an elegant patina.

L.U.C 96.09-L movement: doubly certified precision

A variant of Chopard Manufacture’s first calibre, the L.U.C 96.09-L movement that powers this L.U.C QF Jubilee timepiece is equipped with Chopard Twin technology featuring two superposed barrels wound by a 22-carat gold micro-rotor, endowing the watch with a comfortable 65-hour power reserve.

The precision of this movement with automatic winding, finely crafted and adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif by the artisans of the Maison, is examined by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), as evidenced by the Chronometer inscription appearing on the dial under the Chopard logo. In response to another criterion required by the Fleurier Quality Foundation, the reliability of the watch is also verified by the Chronofiable protocol: three weeks of ageing tests involving heat, cold and humidity, traction and pressure on the winding stem, magnetic fields, as well as recurrent impacts. Once the watch has been completed in the workshops, it is tested one last time on the Fleuritest simulator. Specially developed with a view to obtaining the “FQF Haute Horlogerie quality certification” label, this machine faithfully reproduces the conditions under which the watch is worn on the wrist for 24 hours.

Fine Watchmaking according to Chopard: 25 years of excellence

Since 1996, Chopard Manufacture has been cultivating watchmaking expertise and reflecting the inspired vision of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, committed to the quest for innovation and to defending the heritage passed on through generations of watchmakers – true artisans of watchmaking emotions –since the time of Louis-Ulysse Chopard, founder of the Maison.

Movement development, finished product design, case stamping and machining, calibre components, traditional hand-crafted finishes, surface treatments, polishing, assembly, adjustments and quality controls: its Swiss workshops in Geneva and Fleurier enable Chopard to master the full range of production operations for each creation in the L.U.C collection.

The work of talented artisans, these timepieces endowed with a simple, clean-cut design expressing a high degree of mechanical sophistication beat to the rhythm of the emotions experienced by the contemporary gentlemen for whom they are intended: men distinguished by their attachment to art and expertise, watchmaking enthusiasts who lead their lives with boldness and passion.

L.U.C QF Jubilee Technical Specifications and Price

Ref. 168613-3001 – in stainless steel, Numbered 25-piece limited edition

Movement

Mechanical movement with automatic winding L.U.C 96.09-L
Micro-rotor in 22-carat gold
Number of components: 172
Total diameter: 27.40 mm
Thickness: 3.30 mm
Number of jewels: 29
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 65 hours
Two stacked barrels – Chopard Twin technology
Bridges adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif
Balance-spring with flat terminal curve
Chronometer certification (COSC)
Fleurier Quality Foundation certification (QF)

Case

Stainless steel
Total diameter: 39.00 mm
Thickness: 8.92 mm
Water resistance: 30 metres
Steel crown with L.U.C logo: 6.00 mm
Polished case middle, bezel, inter-horn space and case-back
Exhibition case-back with glare-proofed sapphire crystal

Dial and hands

Dial with sectors in a silver-toned colour achieved by galvanic treatment – sunburst satin-brushed finishing
Chapter ring in a blue colour achieved by galvanic treatment
Chevron-type rhodium-plated hour-markers at 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11 o’clock
Rhodium-plated hour-markers painted with Super-LumiNova^®at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock
Spear-shaped rhodium-plated hours and minutes hands painted with Super-LumiNova^®
Spear-shaped rhodium-plated small seconds hand
Black transferred railway-track minutes scale

Functions and displays