The 2009 L.U.C Lunar Big Date

May 31, 2009,05:44 AM
 


For the press release & specifications, please click here.




The new L.U.C Lunar Big Date comes in 18K pink gold and white gold case. 

The new diameter 42mm (by 10.90mm thick) case is first build to house the stunning L.U.C Chrono One.
One thing, which most of us are glad to know is the movement, 
L.U.C 96 LD in the L.U.C Lunar Big Date
is at 33.00mm (by 5.25 mm thick).  Thus it is not a small engine inside the chassis.




Sunburst (radiating from the big date) guilloche dial with two embossed cartouches, a moonphase
sub-dial and second sub-dial. Hand applied indices.




Dauphine style hands.  Both the hour and minute hands are coated with Superluminova.



The moonphase subdial is of 3-level construction sitting on the tangent of the hour chapter ring.
It is developed to suit both hemispheres.

The second subdial is more like
a speedometer.

The length for the second-hand for the 30 to 60 chord should be slightly longer touching the tip
of the markers.  It looks awkward just exceeding the blue 0 to 30 second chord.




From the above picture, both ends of the second-hand could be seen.



A side view of the second subdial cutout.
 


On the side is the quick-set for the moonphase.

The 18K gold crown is of diameter 8mm.



See through caseback with the Caliber L.U.C 96 LD .



Next is the white gold case with a silver colour dial ...












Seeing the big date reminds me of A. Lange & Söhne. Perhaps that's first-mover advantage.





















 


Both variations come with 18K gold deployant buckle.


A side by side of the Duo moonphase.



For me I prefer the quieter understated white gold piece.

How about you?  Any comments or observations?



Kong



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Comments: view entire thread

 

The moonphase is to die for, Kong

 
 By: amanico : May 31st, 2009-06:00
And the WG is, for me too, my favourite. It would have been a very tempting watch if only Chopard had located the moonphase dial at 6, and took off the dial this hemispherical second counter... I don't like the second subdila at all, it brakes the harmony... 

In complete agreement!

 
 By: aaronm : May 31st, 2009-08:18
Move the moonphase to 6 o'clock, have a very thin subsecond hand over the moonphase, remove the extra words under it and sell it to me! I'm rarely a white gold person but this one has such a tuxedo-like stark formality that it makes a really nice looking ... 

It is a very beautiful piece, indeed. However I really didn’t like…

 
 By: marcelo : May 31st, 2009-06:54
…the big date implementation. The partially-hidden second subdial and the moonphase indicator are pretty nice. I think the A. Lange / JLC Reverso big date took a considerable part of the watch’s intrinsic elegance and class. Marcelo

Beautiful pieces..

 
 By: W72 : May 31st, 2009-17:57
But if I've to choose it would be the WG. It is a more tone down, perhaps due to the white metal or perhaps its the plainer looking dial. Not a fan of sunburst and have it featured prominently on the dial is a little distracting for me. The second hand di... 

So are you an introvert? :-P

 
 By: Kong : June 1st, 2009-13:45
I think the sunburst is too 'noisy' as you said. For the second-subdial, the pseudo retrograde is interesting, but would prefer a centre hand with the moonphase subdial centralised per Amanico and Aaron feedback. Have a look at the real piece and see if y... 

Thanks for sharing Kong

 
 By: ianny : May 31st, 2009-19:13
The WG version is beautiful. Are the movements in-house? Warm regards, iAn PS. Was nice meeting you at the Audi/Watch GTG.

Our friend wmclarenf1 is correct! 1 star for him :-)

 
 By: Kong : June 1st, 2009-09:50
It was nice meeting you iAn. For the L.U.C range, the movements are in-house. We may catch up again soon. Kong This message has been edited by Kong on 2009-06-01 14:00:26

A beautiful piece! And fabulous up-close photography.

 
 By: patrick_y : May 31st, 2009-21:59
Although I normally prefer more classic metals such as rose-gold for watches such as these, I actually favor the white-gold version because I find the gullioche on the dial of the rose gold model to be overpowering. I prefer the more subdued dial of the w... 

Thanks Patrick_Y for the kind words...and you are not the only

 
 By: Kong : June 1st, 2009-13:51
one having similar observation for the sunburst guilloche dial. The staggered length of the second hand, is not new, very similar to Daniel Roth's Athys II. Kong

The LUC keeps calling out to me

 
 By: ArthurSG : June 1st, 2009-05:32
Although I suspect the 42mm case is too big for me, I still have to see it in person. The WG and YG with the different dial treatment is like the extreme. WG for the introverted inclined and YG for one that is perhaps a tad more extroverted. Is this at th... 

Understated not neccesarily imply introvert :-)

 
 By: Kong : June 1st, 2009-09:48
The pieces are in the office, and I believe they should be in the boutique soon. Kong

Yes, a much better choice of word [nt]

 
 By: ArthurSG : June 1st, 2009-19:37
No message body

1 Question about the movement ....

 
 By: happyguy1688 : June 1st, 2009-11:38
While the finish of the movement is very nice, To my untrained eyes, the finish of LUC 1.96 with its swan nweck regulator appears to be slightly better and whereas the price of the Lunar Big Date should be much higher than say the 1860 series, why Chopard... 

That's not 1 question :-)

 
 By: Kong : June 1st, 2009-13:59
and you are asking one of the questions which I was thinking when taking the pictures - why not the swan-neck regulator be included? The finishing is still as good, As for the Variner Balance, it is used in higher end tourbillon and the Chrono One. A vali... 

Not so much

 
 By: MiniCooper : June 3rd, 2009-16:29
of Chopard fan but this WG makes me warm up to the brand A stunning watch! Thanks for sharing Cheers

Welcome PinkPanther !

 
 By: Kong : June 3rd, 2009-21:30
Not sure if you know a bit about L.U.C. It is one of the product lines of Chopard which fully research, design and develop (even manufacture) their own products - from case to movements, except the dial and some components. If have time, hope you can expl... 

Thank you...

 
 By: MiniCooper : June 4th, 2009-16:59
Well, I always considered Chopard as a woman's watch, mainly because of the diamonds- and it is in my list for a gift to my wife. The only model that I liked was Mille Miglia But this one has attracted me- very nicely designed and would like to see it in ... 

When will these beauties hit the street

 
 By: tcl28 : June 4th, 2009-07:34
I am totally sold to these beauties. I love the rose gold version and especially the innovative moonphase. Hope they arrive here in singapore soon