Chopard L.U.C watches

Chopard's L.U.C collection takes its name from Louis-Ulysse Chopard, who founded a watchmaking workshop in Sonvilier in the Bernese Jura in 1860. In 1996, on the initiative of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, now Chopard's co-president, the company set up a movement manufacture in Fleurier. Its L.U.C 1.96 calibre laid the foundation for Chopard's modern in-house watchmaking: an automatic with a gold micro-rotor, two barrels and a 65-hour power reserve.

Several references carry a certification in their name. The XPS Poinçon de Genève 125th Anniversary Edition, limited to 125, refers to the Geneva Seal. The QF models carry the Qualité Fleurier hallmark, a test open only to watches made in Fleurier that covers performance and finish. The Fairmined versions are made in Fairmined-certified gold; Chopard has promoted ethically sourced gold since 2013.

The core of the range is the thin dress watch. The XP measures 39.5 mm and about 7 mm thick, and it is the base for the Urushi editions, whose dial themes include the zodiac years of the Horse, Snake, Goat and Monkey, a tiger, a peacock, goldfish and flowers. The XPS keeps the 39.5 mm case at just over 7 mm, adds a 35 mm version, often with a mother-of-pearl dial and a gem-set bezel, and comes as the Skeletec in runs of 288.

Above them sit the complications. The Quattro, 43 mm and about 9 mm thick, is named for its four barrels. The Lunar One is a 43 mm perpetual calendar, and the Perpetual Chrono a 45 mm perpetual calendar chronograph made in runs of 20 per version. The 1937 is a 42 mm steel or rose gold watch, some with painted Roman numerals, while the 1963 comes as a rose gold chronograph, a 44 mm model in platinum or rose gold and a 40 mm tourbillon with an enamel dial. Other tourbillons include the titanium Engine One and the 15-piece Tourbillon Esprit de Fleurier. The 49.6 mm white gold Louis-Ulysse The Tribute, limited to 150, could be worn as a wristwatch or carried as a pocket watch.