Chopard Watches

Ever caught yourself looking at a watch that’s well out of budget, thinking, ‘What if?’, only to mentally slap yourself back to harsh reality? Those most exquisite and expensive timepieces may forever be consigned to only the wildest dreams, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get something rather special for the price of a mid-range Breitling. Here are three underrated watches that offer exceptional watchmaking for much less than you’d expect.

There’s Chopard, and then there’s L.U. Chopard. This is the same brand, although the latter costs more than the former—a lot more. It’s unusual for a brand to split itself so clearly down the middle—this kind of move is usually spread across group brands, like with Rolex and Tudor. Is L.U.C. the real deal, or is it bluffing with a hand worth nothing?

Chopard has been creating beautiful watches since it was founded in 1860, but it didn’t have its own manufacture until 1996. Between then and now, it’s been making up for lost time, producing some really nice in-house movements—and in celebration of the 20-year anniversary of its manufacture, the brand has gone all out with the release of the Chopard L.U.C Full Strike.

L.U.C., the high-end arm of the already high-end Chopard, takes its initials from Chopard founder Louis-Ulysse Chopard. Yes, that makes the new Chopard L.U.C. Time Traveler [semi-sic—that's the American spelling] One the Chopard Louis-Ulysses Chopard Time Traveler One, but pay no heed to that double-stuffed branding because, well, they've earned the right to a little ego time with this watch.