(#defsoneanddone) One & Done - Chapter Three (Chopard)

Foreword

Welcome and welcome back! If you're new here, I'm exploring the top 20 best-selling watch brands of 2022 (as seen on GQ Australia) and answering the question: If I could only have one watch from this brand FOREVER, which one would I pick?

Today we are looking at Chopard, but if you want to see my previous article where I covered Hermes, follow #defsoneanddone or click the link here!

As always, tell me what you think! What watch from this brand would YOU want forever? I'd love to hear from you!

#18: Chopard – L.U.C. XP Spirit of Shi Chen

Now, I find that Chopard has a reputation in the watch world for only two reasons:

1)      julia roberts from pretty woman yayyyy

2)      happy diamond in watch go wheeeeeee

Whilst both very academic and concise arguments are very much true, I feel that Chopard is also still considered the “runt of the litter” when it comes to the dress watch arena. I feel it is an unfair assumption when you’re in the playground with the big boys like JLC, Patek and even (to a point) Grand Seiko, the unfortunate reality is that it’s challenging to stand out in a crowd of horological heavyweights.

However, I think the L.U.C XP Spirit of Shi Chen really embodies what Chopard is truly capable of and is a watch that I think would even be suitable for casual use despite its dressier inclinations and unsurprisingly poor water resistance rating.

At 40mm in diameter and 8.28mm in height, the Shi Chen has dimensions suitable for a variety of wrist sizes. This is another watch that I am happy to report that I have worn, and the feeling of it on your wrist is both surprisingly light and extremely horrifying, given that if you breathe on it wrong it would probably cost you a thousand dollars minimum in any currency.

Whilst the beautifully polished 18k rose gold case carries much of the lustre of the timepiece, it’s in the dial where the true details shine. And they literally do – as one of the few Swiss metiers d’art timepieces with an East Asian flair, the beauty of the deceptively simple black urushi lacquer dial made by Chopard’s resident expert Koizumi-san is further exacerbated by the sprinklings of gold across it, denoting the cosmos.

The zodiac theme also lies front and centre of the dial (or at least, front and taking-up-the-10o’clock-to-2o’clock-slots-of-the-dial, but that doesn’t roll off the tongue that well), using the aforementioned real estate to house a 24-hour indicator on the dial that’s so beautifully done, basically, anyone who doesn’t know their Chinese Zodiacs will forget that it’s a 24-hour indicator. This is due to the constant rotation of Chinese Zodiac animals for each hour that has passed, starting with the Rat, and ending with the Pig.

A watch this breathtaking doesn’t deserve to be relegated to the black-tie events chock-filled with other name-brand dress watches – at least in my opinion, anyway. It’s something that should be shared with the people you trust, at almost any place you go, and those so deeply interested in the world of horology that they will write entire articles about this watch so they can beg and plead to a reclusive billionaire who may be reading to give one to them for free. But that couldn’t be me… right?

Be sure to check out my next article, where I check out the prolific jeweller/watchmaker Van Cleef & Arpels! Follow #defsoneanddone to keep up with me :)