RENAISSANCE OF A MANUFACTURE
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alternativeWatchmaking companies capable of conceiving and manufacturing their own movements are a rare breed indeed. However, this was precisely what Louis-Ulysse Chopard set his mind on back in 1860. Some one hundred and thirty years later, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele decided to revive this entrepreneurial spirit by founding the Chopard Manufacture in Fleurier in the Val-de-Travers region, famous for its rich watchmaking heritage, and creating an exclusive calibre that would enable Chopard to regain its original status as an authentic “manufacture”. The highly ambitious and challenging project entailed important investments and a considerable amount of work and skill. After three busy years of research and development, Chopard was at last able to present its first watch with an “in-house” calibre in 1997. That same year, this revolutionary timepiece was voted “Watch of the Year” and became a milestone in watchmaking history. In tribute to the company founder, it was named L.U.C 1860. Its innovative movement features a double-barrel system (L.U.C Twin technology) providing a power reserve of over 65 hours, as well as a 18-carat gold off-centred micro-rotor. Then it took the brand only a few years to conceive and create a range of technically fascinating and outstanding calibres such as the L.U.C Calibre 1.98 Quattro, the world’s first wristwatch movement with four barrels, totalling a power reserve of approximately 9 days, the L.U.C Calibre 1.02 Tourbillon or the L.U.C Calibre 11CF Flyback Chronograph. BACK TO THE L.U.C COLLECTION