Chopard L.U.C. Quattro Facelifted (Ref. 161926-5001)
The legendary Chopard L.U.C. Quattro hand-wound wrist watch has recently been restyled and offered in a bigger, bolder case.
Beating inside the case is the well-known Caliber 1.98 hand-wound movement.
First presented more than 10 years ago, the movement is made solely in-house and is protected by two international patents and features a sophisticated energy storage system with four co-axially placed spring barrels, hence the name of the series: Quattro (swallow that, Audi!)
The set of barrels allows for a pretty much impressive power reserve of 216 hours or whole 9 days. Of course, recently there appeared a number of new, even more capacious movements capable to count time for as long as 10 days, but the Caliber 1.98 was the first of its kind.
During its long lifetime the cal. 1.98 spawned a number of other movements, including the regulator type Caliber 1.98-37089 that was first revealed in 2004 and the caliber 1.02 with a tourbillon escapement.
Elegantly decorated with Cotes de Geneve stripes and proudly bearing the Poincon de Geneve Hallmark, the hand-wound movement is perfectly visible through a sapphire display back.
Besides a power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock, the movement also features a somewhat awkward-looking small seconds sub-dial that also doubles as a simple date display.
Although looking clearly overloaded, the double-duty design frees some dial real estate and also counterbalances the art deco-styled power reserve display.
Speaking of size, I must note that the second generation of the watch has grown significantly bigger.
While the original Chopard L.U.C. Quattro was introduced in a modest case only 38 millimeters in diameter, the Quattro Mark 2 is presented in a somewhat cheeky 43 mm body.
However, since the height of the watch remained virtually the same, the new version looks even thinner than the original totaling only 7.22 millimeters in its thickest point.
The dial has also changed.
Besides the fact that the Arabic numerals were replaced with even bolder Roman numerals, the watch also features new Dauphine fusee-type hour and minute hands, as well as blued date and power reserve hands.
The recommended street price is still unknown, but I expect the watch to retail at around $30,000 or even more.
Photos: Chopard
Chopard L.U.C Quattro Mk. 2 (Ref. 161926-5001) hand-wound wrist watch specification
Price: TBD
Movement: Manual, caliber 1.98, 28,800 vph, 39 jewels, four spring barrels, in-house, Swiss Made
Movement decoration: Cotes de Geneva stripes, Poincon de Geneve Hallmark
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, power reserve
Power reserve: 216 hours / 9 days
Case material: 18-carat rose gold
Bezel material: 18-carat rose gold
Crown material: Matching case
Case shape: Round
Bezel shape: Round
Case size: 43.00 mm
Lug width: N/A
Case height: 7.22 mm
Dial: Silvered
Numerals: Roman
Hands: Gold-toned
Water resistance: 50 meters
Strap: Hand-sewn brown alligator leather strap lined with brown alligator leather; Pin buckle in 18-carat rose gold
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective
Case back: Sapphire, antireflective
Evgueni Matoussevitch in Swiss WatchesTags: 43 mm, 50 m, Caliber 1.98, Chopard, date, L.U.C, manual, power reserve, Quattro, rose gold
