36/2249/6 Chopard LUC Luna D'Oro Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Skeleton

In a word, this Chopard is bananas. You won’t see ref. 36/2249 often, the in-period retail price of 147K meant very few sold to begin with. Today, they’ll only trouble you for a third of retail. And what a man watch it is, like a Patek 5213 with a personality. This is a retrograde QP skeleton, in a layout you don’t see often where the date bridges its two lowered subdials. Like I said, Bananas, right? As if that weren’t enough, this is no. 1 out of 50, engraved caseback. LUC was making amazing things in the 90s alongside the 1860, not just the 1860.

In fact, we’ve only been able to find four of these that have resurfaced since new. Just like the circular Luna D’Oro, the ébuache here is F. Piguet 71 (I believe?), plus LUC’s own calendar works. The off-center rotor is a favorite for me. Interestingly, LUC set out to be the high-end arm of the brand in 1997, focused on Chopard’s own in-house calibres. But the caseback here too is marked LUC, and given the finishing work applied here I am willing to call this a Chopard-owned calibre. The skeletonization is class Swiss, floral engravings, blued steel hands, all bridges opened to the extent possible, and just look at that rotor. Somehow, they managed to still incorporate multi-layer angled subdials as well. The date track floats on sapphire, with the only hand with a unique shape. You can call just about any watch rare, but this one really is.

The case, too, is quite interesting. Obviously a tonneau, at 36.5mm, but the lugs are gently stepped. Of the example we’ve seen, there are yellow and pink gold. Is there a platinum? Only Chopard knows. But the idea of a skeletonized retrograde QP was new in 1995, this was obviously a product of the post-quartz exuberance that can make the neo-vintage timeline so special. Chopard and particularly LUC often get forgotten about, that’s been the case for decades. But watches like this are what make hunting in the obscure corners of history so much fun. It is a watch unlikely to ever be rivaled in its own category, undeniable impressive and beautiful in its own right.

The example here is just great. The caseback engravings are personalized, but all still present, started to rub off a bit. It's probably seen a polish. But it's not abusive and the watch itself is what matters here. It comes from a well-regarded London retailer.