The bridges are adorned with a elegant Côtes de Genève design and there’s beveling and polishing perform throughout. Obviously, this movement boasts the Poinçon de Genève — also known as the Geneva Seal or Hallmark of Geneva. The Geneva Seal is a more rare quality certification, booked only for watches produced from the canton of Geneva. Refreshed and rendered more rigorous a couple of years before, that the Geneva Seal now includes a set criteria concerning not just the aesthetic qualities of the motion, but also that of the instance, as well as testing performance claims including precision, power book, water resistance, and most of functions.Getting back to something I mentioned in the start is the subject of the ‘Grand Cru’ designation of this watch. The title will forever remain engraved on the case-back — and will likely induce sales reps and owners to elicit the same confused and somewhat tortured explanation that a man having the most distinguished and elevated taste in wine are the guy who wears this timepiece.There really is a bit more to it than that, it just is not really communicated about. The only method I can look at this seemingly insignificant engraving and take it as something meaningful is via contemplating it since the Scheufele family shyly peeking through the thick Chopard curtain for an instant. More than half a century ago the Scheufele family bought Chopard, a dying company with just a couple of employees abandoned, and built it into one of their most successful and, up to now, independent luxury jewelry and watch brands around. Chopard’s watch company — and, even more importantly from our perspective, the caliber Chopard L.U.C watches — would be your mind- and love child of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, a well-spoken, humble, second-generation member of the Chopard-Scheufele era.
Chopard has given its ultra-high frequency movement a striking, modern look, with a black ceramic case and red accents, available as the 250-piece limited edition L.U.C 8HF Power Control.
Chopard was amongst the first brands to create a serially produced, ultra-high beat movement when it presented the L.U.C 8HF back in 2012. Running at 8 Hz or 57,600 beats per hour (bph), the L.U.C Calibre 01.09-L movement returns at Baselworld 2014, inside the L.U.C 8HF Power Control. The high frequency of the Calibre 01.09-L – double the 28,800 bph of most conventional movements – helps it keep better time by increasing the inertia of the balance, making it more stable and less prone to deviations caused by external factors like impacts and shock. Despite the high frequency of the movement, it still manages a respectable 60 hour power reserve.
Notably, the silicon parts used in the Calibre 01.09-L, namely the impulse pin, lever, escape wheel, are interchangeable with the same components in other Choprad L.U.C movements. That means these silicon components will surely make their way into other calibres in the not too distant future. The L.U.C 8HF Power Control has a 42 mm matte black ceramic case and crown. The bezel is also ceramic, with a black titanium ring in between the bezel and case. A sapphire porthole in the back exposes the balance wheel beating at a frenetic 57,600 bph.
Finished with a sunburst brushing, the dial is black with red accents. The date window is at six, and the power reserve at 10. Though Chopard’s track record in watch aesthetics is inconsistent, the Power Control is surprisingly attractive and coherently designed.
The L.U.C 8HF Power Control is limited to 250 pieces with a retail price of 26,530 Singapore dollars. That includes 7% tax and is equivalent to US$21,000.
