Chopard Revives its Classic Regulator with the New L.U.C 1963 Heritage Regulator

In the mid-1990s, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele embarked on an ambitious project to elevate Chopard’s watchmaking credentials by establishing an independent manufacturing facility in Fleurier – and succeeded. Following the development of the acclaimed ultra-thin automatic calibre 96.01-L, the manufacture released its first watch in 1997. Bearing the initials of founder Louis-Ulysse Chopard,  the L.U.C 1860 launched Chopard as a high-end player. Marking the return of a 2015 regulator model, Chopard proposes a new 25-piece edition of the L.U.C Regulator in a more compact 40mm white gold case powered by the L.U.C calibre 98.02-L with its impressive nine-day power reserve.

Precision regulator clocks, with their distinctive display isolating the minutes, hours and seconds, were once used as reference standards in watchmaking workshops and observatories. Chopard unveiled its first regulator wristwatch in 2006, followed by the large 43mm 2015 L.U.C Regulator with its dominant seconds indication on the periphery indicated by a central hand accompanied by hours in a sub-dial at 3 o’clock, seconds at 6 o’clock, a 24-hour GMT function at 9 o’clock and an arched power reserve display at noon.

The new regulator has been downsized to a more manageable 40mm diameter coupled with a height of 10.3mm. The case, in 18k ethical white gold, combines a satin-brushed caseband with a polished bezel and caseback and features a pusher on the left case flank to advance the GMT hand.

The silver-coloured dial, with its long white gold central minutes hand and contrasting blue transfers, features three sub-dials for the hours, seconds and GMT functions, an arched indicator at noon for the power reserve and a date window inserted at the base of the small seconds counter at 6 o’clock. Despite the abundant amount of information, the dial is symmetrical and legible. The sub-dials are recessed with a raised central disc; the 24-hour GMT counter features sunrays in the lower half and horizontal lines in the upper half to indicate day and night.

The in-house L.U.C 98.02-L manual-winding movement is equipped with Chopard’s exclusive 4-barrel Quattro technology to deliver the exceptional 9-day power reserve, quite a feat given the movement’s thin profile of 4.9mm. Bearing COSC chronometry certification and the Poinçon de Genève hallmark applied to the movement and the entire watch, the movement and its refined finishes can be admired through the sapphire crystal on the caseback.

The watch is paired with a grey alligator strap with an ethical white gold pin buckle. It is a numbered limited edition of 25 pieces and available exclusively at Chopard boutiques. More information at chopard.com.