Chopard L.U.C. 16/1860 cal.3.96 36mm from 1998

To understand the caliber 3.96, one first has to understand the significance of the caliber 1.96. Presented in 1996, it was an extraordinarily ambitious effort by Chopard to compete directly with the finest movement makers in the world. In many respects, Chopard created something technically more advanced than what even Patek Philippe was offering at the time, with Patek still relying on the caliber 240 micro-rotor architecture introduced almost twenty years earlier. The 1.96 was remarkably ambitious for a first effort. Its architecture combined an ultra-thin automatic construction with a 22k gold micro-rotor, twin stacked mainspring barrels, approximately 70 hours of power reserve, a Breguet overcoil and swan-neck fine adjustment. Just as importantly, Chopard devoted an extraordinary amount of attention to its finishing, with beautifully executed Geneva stripes, extensive hand-finished anglage and decoration extending even to components that would rarely be seen by the owner. The movement received remarkable recognition almost immediately. Respected watchmaker and movement critic Walt Odets famously described the caliber 1.96 as “probably the finest automatic movement being produced in Switzerland.” Philippe Dufour, arguably the greatest reference for traditional movement finishing of the modern era, also held Chopard's work in extremely high regard, reportedly ranking the manufacture second only to A. Lange & Söhne for the quality of its finishing at the time. That context is important because the caliber 3.96 belongs directly to the lineage of the 1.96. The original movement was an extraordinarily ambitious—and expensive—caliber to produce, with a level of hand finishing and attention to detail that was difficult to sustain from a commercial perspective. The 3.96 was Chopard’s more rational approach to the same concept. It retained much of the architecture and engineering that made the 1.96 exceptional, while simplifying some of the labor-intensive finishing and production techniques found in the earliest examples. The result was essentially the same great foundation, but executed in a more efficient and industrial manner. The 1.96 represented Chopard demonstrating what it could achieve with very few compromises; the 3.96 made that philosophy more practical to produce. This is precisely what makes a 3.96-powered L.U.C 1860 so compelling today. It may lack some of the artisanal flourishes of the earliest 1.96 calibers, but underneath remains much of the architecture, ingenuity and character of one of the most important automatic movements Chopard ever created. Model: Chopard Year of Manufacture: 1998 Material: 18k gold Dimensions: 36mm Model: 16/1860 Movement: Automatic caliber 3.96 Box/Papers: Watch, box and tag. Mechanical Operation Warranty: 6 Months Comments: fited on its original strap in good condition, service history unknown.