INVEST

Chopard L.U.C Grand Cru

It’s now more than two decades since Karl-Friedrich Scheufele — a man whose horological prowess is matched only by his passion for wine-making (‘Grand Cru’ is, of course, a French regional wine classification) and a penchant for vintage cars that spurred the company to sponsor the Mille Miglia car rally — settled upon a tricky mission: to develop a barrel-shaped movement that included not one iota of technical compromise.

The phrase ‘mission accomplished’ became an understatement pretty quickly after said statement of intent with the release, in 2001, of the brand’s first L.U.C XP Tonneau watch. Seventeen years later, the 2018 version of the L.U.C Heritage Grand Cru brings Scheufele’s project to a new level of fruition. An impossibly elegant follow-up to the 2017 rose-gold version, this iteration comes in 18-carat white-gold with 40 baguettecut diamonds framing an elegantly simple dial with 3.05-carat’s worth of glint factor tracing the watch’s sensuous curves. Placing it upon the wrist, another of one’s senses is pleasantly stimulated: the tactile embrace of its gentle camber adding to an ergonomic appeal already offered by the watch’s impressive slenderness.

So what lies beneath? A 22-carat gold micro rotor linked to a rocker and twin barrels, offering a generous 65-hour power reserve, while that Poinçon de Genève, or Geneva Seal, hallmark — a detail with echoes of the way a Grand Cru wine is classified and certified — is given its usual proud prominence.

What makes it so solid an investment in the black-tie section of a man’s wardrobe? Aesthetics that tread the line between being understated and bold with imperious poise, for a start. It’s a piece with which the combined design features — the inherent geometrical elegance that results when straight horizontals are juxtaposed with curved verticals; the way those sensual curves in 18-carat white-gold are accentuated by the sparkle