Chopard Calibre 1.96 and LUC 1860: One of the Best Automatic Watches Ever Made

I wrote an in-depth article on what many consider to be one of the best modern automatic movements ever made, the Chopard 1.96 movement:

"The list of automatic movements that could really earn the title of 'best automatic movement ever' is short. Ask around and you might get an answer, such as the Patek Philippe 27-460, the brand's second automatic movement; Jaeger- The LeCoultre calibre 920 (used by Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, etc., and used in the original Royal Oak and Nautilus); or the legendary movements of Rolex and Omega.

But a solid answer comes from a manufacturer that may surprise some: the Chopard LUC 1.96 calibre. "

Chopard's historical roots lie in watchmaking and jewelry brands - its founder, Louis-Ulysse Chopard, was a watchmaker - but in the 1980s it refocused on being a true manufacturer capable of producing watches that match those brands. Comparable in-house movements come from Patek Philippe and others. It first set up shop in Fleurier, with the help of master watchmaker Michel Parmigiani. But a few years later, Chopard took the project entirely in-house, spending nearly four years building its own in-house movement from scratch, before delivering 20 prototypes of the 1.96 movement in December 1995 (interesting: The young Jean-Frederic Dufour, the current CEO of Rolex, was responsible for organizing the new in-house manufacturer).