‘Quatrro’ 16/1863 Chopard LUC, Yellow Gold

This 16/1863 is going to be remembered as one of the great buying opportunities of this era alongside the 1860. It’s called the Quattro, and even though it says Chopard on the dial, it’s really a collaborative effort and Parmigiani at its heart. Just like the time-only 1860, it’s truly rare and sold few units in period. Just like the 1860, it’s beautifully made and sports true technical brilliance in every watchmaking sense. But unlike the 1860, the 1863 has no date aperture interrupting that perfect Metalem guilloché. The 16/1863 was supposed to be produced in a limited 1860 pieces, but most estimate Chopard actually produced fewer than half that due to its necessarily high retail price in period. It is today testament to Chopard’s ample ability and daring independent spirit.

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.

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 yellow gold classic design that is still mid-9mm thin. 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. I’ve said it before, 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 example looks great. The case is relatively full, these lugs were never sharp-edged to begin with so keep that in mind. Hallmarks look well-edged. It comes with its clasp. The box included is a service box, not original to the watch. It comes from a private seller in Denmark, but is priced competitively and is a relative steal even without the set, just on condition alone. Though please be do careful, just as it’s not from a known quantity.