A TOUCH OF FANTASY
After a first limited edition of the XPS Twist QF, released in 2017, Chopard is back and breaking the traditional watchmaking design rules, but always in style.
If you want to break the rules, then you need to master them to perfection. This is an art where Chopard has shown real skill, as can be seen in the Twist series from the L.U.C. collection. An example? Take a look at the L.U.C XPS Twist QF launched at the last Baselworld! The limited edition of 250 watches provides a new take on classic watchmaking style based on symmetry. You find the brand’s typically refined style, but the offset position of two of the elements gives the watch a unique personality that is guaranteed to please. The transgressive style is first of all highlighted in the seconds sub-dial. It is positioned at 7 o’clock and becomes the main visual focal point, since the satin sunburst finish on the dial converges towards it. To reset the dauphine-style hands, the discreet crown also comes as a surprise at 4 o’clock.
This 100% Swiss-made model meets all of Chopard’s usual high standards. The L.U.C XPS Twist QF has both the Fleurier Quality and COSC chronometer certifications. The 40mm-wide white gold Fairmined case is worn with a blue-grey matt alligator leather strap, dyed with plant pigments.
Price: 19,800 CHF chopard.com
By Dan Diaconu
This new watch by Montblanc is powered by the MB M13.21 calibre, a hand-wound movement providing 55 hours of power reserve and housed in a 40mm-wide steel case.
The second range, Fruits, is a real fruit salad with all the most popular fruits (RM 07-03 Myrtille/Blueberry, RM 16-01 Citron/Lemon, RM 16-01 Fraise/Strawberry, RM 37-01 Cerise/Cherry) and exotic fruits (RM 07-03 Litchi/Lychee, RM 37-01 Kiwi), among other flavours. Each figurine on the dial is painted in acrylic, then lacquered and coated with ground enamel and very fine sand to produce a crunchy sugar effect. The cases of the six flavours combine coloured Quartz TPT® with Carbon TPT®.
The Gentleman is housed in a 40mm-wide and 10.64mm-thick case with curved, ergonomic lugs for maximum comfort and is topped with a solid pink-gold bezel. The metal case is watertight down to 50m and houses the calibre Powermatic 80, a self-winding movement which, as its name implies, provides 80 hours of power reserve. It comes with a silicon hairspring for improved accuracy and magnetic resistance. The powerful mechanism gives life to the hour, minute and central seconds, as well as the date at 3 o’clock.
To guarantee that this is a very comfortable watch to wear, Hublot has made the case from a high-tech alloy, Texalium, a combination of fibre glass and aluminium. The result? The Big Bang Unico Golf Blue Carbon only weighs 98 grams! The watch can be precisely adjusted to the wrist with a velcro fastener on the contemporary strap.
On the dial are black onyx facetted indices. The same colour is used on the lacquered watch hands. Powered by the hand-wound calibre Master Chronometer 3861, providing a power reserve of 50 hours, the hours and minutes are displayed in the centre, while the seconds can be seen in a sub-dial at 9 o’clock. The chronograph features are on display in two totalisers at 3 and 6 o’clock.
Although it is a similar shape to the previous models, the new watch stands out in different ways. It is not a chronograph but a three-handed watch with a date, to start with. Next, it does without the usual colours in the collection (black, white and silver), but comes in an attractive, delicately sanded blue with a Sfumato effect – that is, with a light colour in the centre that grows darker towards the outside of the dial. The large Arabic numerals for the hours are coated in white Super-LumiNova®, and there are silver, lume-coated hands for the hours, minutes and seconds. The date is at 6 o’clock.
Just 88 models are available, exclusively reserved for the Swiss market. The dial features a disc made of serpentinite, a metamorphic rock with a yellowish or dark green colour, and a look and feel a little like a snake’s scales. The rock was taken from the abrupt slopes of the Matterhorn. This pyramid-shaped summit rises to an altitude of 4,478m. It is not only the 12th highest mountain in the Alps, but is also a symbol of Switzerland. The serpentinite decorating the dial on the Grande Seconde Moon Swiss Serpentinite produces an effect of depth due to the many veins running across it.
The Arceau Awooooo model is a very exclusive edition with only eight pieces made. The watch comes with a graphite alligator-leather strap and a white-gold tang buckle.
The 250 Pilot Type 20 Extra Silver watch is equipped with a vintage-look brown leather strap. It includes a leather flap, similar to the ones found on leather flight helmets until the mid-20th century.