Chopard

KMII
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LUC Chrono One after 8 months

As I have gotten sterling advice in my selection process for a chronograph here some eight months ago, I felt it the least I can do in return to write up some short impressions on my stainless steel Chrono One after having had some opportunity to wear it.

First things first - I am still very much enamoured of the watch and more then ever certain that my choice has been the right one. I have been wearing the watch around five days a week, so it has become more or less the daily wear one. I decided to go for a new strap early on, having ordered a dark blue small scale crocodile strap from the Chopard boutique in July. The delivery took a while, and while the ordering process was smooth, the delivery had some kinks and required some visits to the Chopard shop before they figured out where the strap was and when it would be arriving (turned out it was already in store).

The new strap is also longer than the original one (good) and after a week or two of 'bedding in' it became very comfortable. I also find the dark blue strap - which under most conditions looks almost black - a nice complement to the watch, so satisfied on that front, too.

The only gripe I mentioned in the original quick post after getting it - namely the very weak lume on the hour and minute hands - is still there but I would not necessarily see it as a particularly important shortcoming of the watch. It is not something I notice or think about any more.

Otherwise all has been excellent; I love the sound of the movement, the chrono function is a joy to operate and while browsing the forums here, I also found out how to reset the second hand to zero while setting the time - another nice feature of the watch. The fit and finish are top notch and in spite of the rotor not being micro, the movement is still perfectly visible - and nice enough it is, too.

I cannot say I am very diligent in measuring the precision of timekeeping but the watch runs a tad fast but probably well within the specified parameters, given that I only need to adjust it once a month or so. I guess my levels of activity are too low to ever get the movement fully wound, so if I plan on not wearing the watch for a couple of days, I either put it in the watch winder or alternatively do some hand winding, when I get up in the mornings.

The watch is also suitably low key in my work environment. Given that I am currently tasked with reorganizing a business this is certainly a feature, especially since many of my work colleagues prefer the flashier variety of watch (parts of the business have the hierarchy apparent from the model of Rolex they wear, starting with a Daytona at the top and going down through various Submariners, Explorers and GMT Masters). Luckily Chopard - in spite of all its successes - is still not so deeply ingrained in the general public's awareness to make wearing one a potential liability.

One question that I still have is whether it is normal for the date to jump to the next one at 23:59 as opposed to 00:00? Not something I saw mentioned anywhere and the manual is no help either.

So all in all, the watch has been pure joy and I am once again grateful to all members here who provided encouragement and advice. It looks like it may get another LUC sibling in the foreseeable future but as I promised my wife at least one year before getting the next one, this is all some months down the line.

As for the service at the Chopard boutique, I have honestly expected more after having read the reviews here. So far a bit of hit and miss, with the first visit having been as expected, the following visits having been less satisfactory. I was given the approximate arrival date for the strap upon ordering it, then as I received no communication for long after that date I decided to visit and check on the status. While my enquiry finally produced an answer that they really cannot say where the strap is and will check, and I was subsequently contacted that the strap was there all along, I cannot say I had the feeling of being treated like a valuable customer (more like a disturbance, actually). Nor did they take the opportunity of having me in the store repeatedly to show me the new products or attempt to get me interested in anything else the brand makes - a missed opportunity. Not enough to put me off the brand but still, with improvement potential nevertheless.

The last thing remaining is some pictures, which I still need to take but will provide shortly.

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