I very much like the Chopard LUC line of watches. They offer well-finished, sophisticated movements for comparatively reasonable prices. However, Chopard has a somewhat uneven track record in terms of strong designs. Chopard unveiled its first LUC skeleton watch at Baselworld earlier this year, the LUC XP Skeletec – and it is a winner. The watch is beautifully designed and executed; it is one of the most attractive skeleton watches available today.

Chopard LUC XP Skeletec

Unlike most skeleton watches that have usually have ornate, flowery skeletonisation, the LUC Skeletec is contemporary in style. The bridges are formed in an attractive, circular motif, both front and back.

On the dial side Chopard has applied horizontal Geneva stripes, which contrast well with the circular bridge pattern. The chapter ring with applied baton indices is a beautiful, subtle shade of grey that complements the rose gold perfectly.

And floating over the movement is the “L.U. Chopard” logo which is printed on the underside of the crystal.

Over on the back the view of the LUC cal. 96.17-S is equally attractive. The ruthenium coated bridges sport an uncommon frosted finish, exposing the gilded wheels of the gear train.

The rotor is solid 22k gold and is visually identical to those on other LUC models. Chopard could have done something more interesting with it to maintain the modern aesthetic of the movement.

In terms of movement finishing – which Chopard excels at for its top-end LUC watches – this is excellent but not outstanding. The bevels on the bridges for instance are mechanically applied and not polished.

But there are finishing details that stand out, most notably on the steel parts, like the keyless works which are brushed with polished anglage, or the polished screw heads.

The LUC XP Skeletec is a limited edition of 288 pieces in rose gold. As with all Chopard LUC it is fairly priced, at S$28,000, or about US$22,000. This is the best looking Chopard LUC model in some time. Bravo to Chopard and I hope they keep it up. Enjoy the rest of the photos below. – SJX