Let’s begin by saying that to many, Chopard is predominantly seen as a jewelry house and not really thought of as a serious horological manufacture. There are reasons for this of course, with questionable watch designs over the years, it was always going to be an uphill battle. That being said, after you’re done reading this, you will see why the Chopard 16/1860/2 is anything of the aforementioned and one of the most revered watches to those who are in the know.
Beginning with some historical context, the ’90s was seen as a period of recovery, where watch companies were still wary of the devastating quartz crisis that decimated the industry in the ’80s and as a result, remained largely conservative. Most houses were content using movements that had existed for decades from suppliers such as Valjoux, Lemania, and ETA. Bar a few outliers, it was just not the time to go wild.
Relative to this, Chopard was looking to launch itself as a serious watchmaking house and began in 1993 with the help of independent watchmaker, Michel Parmigiani. As a testament to how seriously they were taking this undertaking, it wasn’t until 1996 that they felt ready to launch their high-end watchmaking line- the manufacture L.U.C. The 16/1860/2 you see here today is the first watch released by Chopard L.U.C. and it was universally praised when it came out. With a brand new in-house movement, it was described by Walt Odets on Timezone as ‘probably the finest automatic movement being produced in Switzerland today’.
There are several things that make this watch impressive, with the Cal. 1.96 being at the top of that list. Just taking a single look at it, even a layman would be able to see how beautiful it is. It is evident that Chopard made no shortcuts when it came to this movement as the Cal. 1.96 is one of the most beautifully finished movements of its era. With a stunningly engraved 22-carat gold micro-rotor, thick hand bevelling throughout, and deep Côtes de Genève (Geneva stripes) all over, even Philippe Dufour rated Chopard only second to A. Lange & Söhne in terms of finishing at the time.
Not only was the Cal. 1.96 masterfully decorated, but it was also technically a marvel. With a 70-hour power reserve from two stacked mainspring barrels, it also featured a Breguet overcoil hairspring and a swan neck regulator, all contributing towards its precision and power dispersion. The most comparable movement to the Cal. 1.96 would have to be the ever-trusty Patek Philippe Cal. 240. While that movement is historically important and impressive nonetheless, when comparing the two side by side, I think there is no contest as to who comes out on top. As a cherry on top, not only is this Chopard COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres) certified, but it also bears the hallowed Poincon de Genève (Geneva Seal).
Flipping the watch over, there is a strong resemblance to a certain Dufour Simplicity and that is because the 16/1860/2 dial was produced by Metelem, the same Swiss dial manufacturer that produced dials for the Simplicity. The beautiful hand engine-turned dial is stepped, made of gold and features a beautiful central guilloché pattern that reflects light beautifully.
While this is enough to make any collector excited, what makes this particular example perhaps the most special 16/1860 ever may not be immediately obvious to most. You see, all 16/1860s come with a date window, which many purists would find unnecessary. What you see here, does not have a date window and is believed to be the only 16/1860 without one. Originally fitted with a silver dial, when this watch went back to service with Chopard, under unknown circumstances, the manufacture allowed this example to be refitted with a new old stock black prototype dial. I do believe they were experimenting back when Chopard was developing the watch and toyed with the idea of having a no-date model. This prototype dial is historically important and an interesting insight into the experimentations of the LUC manufacture in the 1990’s.
I really do think that the 16/1860/2 is one of the most underrated and forgotten dress watches out there, perhaps because from photos it just looks like any other ordinary dress watch. With an impeccable case size of 37mm, excellent overall proportions, as well as its rarity with only 1860 pieces ever made in yellow gold, and with this particular example featuring a unique prototype no-date black dial (again, the only one in the world), it really doesn’t get any better than this. It could very well make a compelling case for it to be considered one of the greatest dress watches ever created. Period.
