Only Watch 2011, the charity auction conducted by Antiquorum, just concluded a few hours ago in Monte Carlo, with sales totalling EUR4.5 million. Overall results are good though there are a couple that are embarrassingly low like the Chopard and Chaumet. Notably high prices include the Patek 3939 repeater in steel, the Van Cleef & Arpels From Earth to the Moon and the BLU Gagarin tourbillon. Here are the full results. – SJX

The unique Patek Philippe ref. 3939 repeater in steel sold for a whopping EUR1.4 million. The Vacheron Constantin Dove Watch I like hammered for EUR90,000. Surprisingly the Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Complication sold for EUR215,000. The rest of the results soon. – SJX

The LUC range of watches from Chopard, especially those with Poinçon de Genève (Geneva Seal) or Qualite Fleurier Seal, are all wonderfully finished and constructed, truly beyond reproach. With that emphasis on finishing and quality in mind, Chopard has just unveiled the Chopard LUC Triple Certification Tourbillon, aka the 3C Tourbillon. Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-President of Chopard, was just in town to present the watch. 

The name of the watch is derived from the triple certificates it carries, the Geneva Seal, Fleurier Quality Foundation (FQF) and COSC. There is some redundancy between the certifications. While the Geneva Seal and COSC are complementary, the FQF certification overlaps with the other two labels. COSC is a timing certificate, issued to a particular movement – not a cased up watch. On the other hand, the Geneva Seal is issued by the Canton of Geneva for watches made there, and concerns finishing and decoration of movements. It hasn’t been updated in some time and the body governing the certification will be announcing a revamp in November. The FQF label, however, is arguably the most stringent test procedure in the industry. It covers timing, reliability and technical critera. FQF certification includes both the COSC test, as well as 21-day Chronofiable reliability test, and the Fleuritest that mimics the motion of the watch on the arm over 24 hours. The final component of the FQF label are technical and finishing criteria similar to that of the Geneva Seal.

 

The 3C Tourbillon with the LUC Tech Fleurier



Karl-Friedrich Scheufele Co-President of Chopard

While I find the concept a bit over the top, akin to wear a belt and suspenders, the watch is beautifully executed. The calibre is the L.U.C 02.13-L (L.U.C 1.02QF), with a nine day power reserve thanks to a pair of double barrels for four mainsprings in total. The movement finishing is first class and wonderful to behold. Look at the shape of the bridges and bevelled edges for instance.

Similarly the dial is finished with a grained, sandblasted finish that is uncommon and attractive. I really like the dial finish. However, the lettering on the dial is much too large.

The 3C tourbillon is much like other watches in the LUC series – exceptional quality and finishing but let down by the design, in my humble opinion. Not that the watch is unattractive, but it could be better. Pricing is reasonable at about CHF120,000. It is a limited edition of 100 pieces in rose gold. Case diameter is a largish 43 mm. – SJX

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