Chopard in the 90s was as innovative as any watchmaker has ever been. In the words of co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele in 2003, 'Either you are a manufacturer or you're not; there's nothing in between. We wanted to create a complete movement from scratch. Either you do it, or you don't bother.' With a blank check investment and four years of time given to Michel Parmigiani, what resulted was what many call the most beautiful time-only calibre ever made, the 1.96. This is the difficult second act, the LUC 16/1863. It is an evolution of Parmigiani's philosophy which is developing its own cult following today as the world is still increasingly recognizing just what heights Chopard climbed to through what we now call the neo-vintage years.
Relative to the 16/1860, this 16/1863 and its new calibre 1.98 is a comparably audacious watch. This was the era of over-engineered movements and LUC went further than most. The 1863 more commonly goes by 'Quattro', a name derived from the fact that its now manually-wound calibre utilizes four mainspring barrels in dual stacks for an impressive 8-day power reserve. That's what the indication at 12 is. It also debuted a new combined date and running seconds display. Despite the immense reserve, the 1.98 is still COSC certified with a Geneva Seal. The oversized bridges are an excellent canvas to Chopard's ample finishing ability. Its polished and beveled swan neck regulator is particularly lovely. The dial is manufactured by Metalem, who also does Philippe Dufour's dials, with a deep hand guilloché. All this is cased here in a 38mm white gold classic design that is still mid-9mm thin.
The 16/1863 was supposed to be produced in a limited 1860 pieces (like the original), but most estimate Chopard actually produced fewer than half that. The Quattro retailed in period for €35,700, which was drastically above what most customers were acclimatized to or willing to spend. It remains rarely seen for sale. But if one wanted to optimize for classic Neuchâtel design, outright power reserve, and finishing standard, this is probably the best recipe of all time. This is particularly impressive when you remember that Chopard are and always have been independent. The blank check here didn’t come out of some corporate investment portfolio, it came from the Scheufele family in 1995, brave enough to take a wild risk and show the world what they were made of.
