In the mid-1990s, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, decided to develop the company’s first in-house movement. In 1996 the Chopard Manufacture was duly set up in Fleurier. The event marked the birth of the L.U.C watch range, named in honour of the brand’s founding father, Louis-Ulysse Chopard. Since its inception 20 years ago, the collection has continued to grow. It now welcomes a GMT model, whose dual time zone function is integrated into the movement – a first for the L.U.C collection.
The L.U.C GMT One has a diameter of 42 mm and thickness of 11.71 mm, and comes in an elegant 18 karat rose gold case with alternating polished and satin-brushed finishes. Adjusting the watch couldn’t be easier: the crown at 2 o’clock sets the local time and date, and a second crown at 4 o’clock is used to adjust home time, displayed on a long baton-shaped gold hand with a luminescent arrow at its tip. The periphery of the brown satin-brushed dial features a circular GMT ring displaying the 24 hours of the day, coloured silver between 6.30 and 18.30 for daytime and brown from 18.30 to 6.30, for night.
The L.U.C GMT One is driven by the new L.U.C 01-10-L manufacture movement, which has a generous power reserve of 60 hours. The self-winding movement, visible through the sapphire case back, is finished to the highest aesthetic standards. Like all L.U.C watches with a seconds hand, this timepiece has been awarded chronometer certification by the COSC. This is a hallmark of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s approach; he attaches great importance to independent certification of chronometric precision, and chose to make this a keystone of the L.U.C watch concept since the earliest days of the Chopard Manufacture.
