L.U.C XPS

The L.U.C XPS 39.5mm (ref. 161932-9001) is Chopard's thinnest watch: a 39.5mm steel case housing the in-house caliber 96.01-L, a hand-wound movement just 3.3mm thick. "XP" stands for Extra Plat, extra flat, and the name is honest. What makes this specific reference unusual in the L.U.C family is the steel case: most L.U.C watches come in yellow gold, rose gold, or white gold. The XPS in steel is the most accessible way into Chopard's manufacture caliber range, and it wears more quietly than its precious-metal siblings without giving up anything in finishing or movement quality.

What it is

Chopard established the L.U.C movement family in 1996 as the backbone of its manufacture credibility, named for Louis-Ulysse Chopard, the brand's founder. The XPS debuted as the ultra-thin flagship of the L.U.C line, built around movements developed to achieve meaningful thinness without sacrificing the hand-finishing standards the line was built on. The 96.01-L caliber arrived as a hand-wound iteration specifically suited to ultra-flat construction, with a micro-rotor-free layout that keeps the profile clean.

The 161932-9001 in steel launched in 2013 and has remained in continuous production. It occupies an important category position: a Chopard manufacture dress watch priced well below the gold L.U.C variants, genuinely thin, and worn in a 39.5mm case that most people find flattering under a shirt cuff.

Buying notes

The XPS case is thin and the movement thinner still: 3.3mm of caliber inside a dress watch is not the configuration for an active lifestyle, and examples that have been worn hard show it. Check the case for dents at the lugs and along the case band, which are difficult to refinish on thin steel without distorting the profile. Verify dial originality carefully: the lacquered dials on L.U.C dress references are refined items that look noticeably different when service-replaced, check for consistent printing depth and index adhesion.

The steel bracelet or strap should be factory Chopard; aftermarket options are common on pre-owned examples and are acceptable, but should be priced accordingly. L.U.C references are sold in lower volumes than most major manufacture brands, so the pool of service-history documentation on secondary examples is shallower than Patek or JLC at a comparable tier. Ask for any available service records before completing a purchase.

Market read

Pre-owned XPS 39.5mm steel examples trade in the $6,500-$9,500 range through 2025-2026, against a retail of approximately $11,000-$12,500. The secondary market for L.U.C references is thinner than for comparable Swiss manufacture watches from Jaeger-LeCoultre or IWC, which cuts both ways: liquidity is lower, but patient buyers find clean examples at fair discounts to retail. The steel variant trades at a meaningful premium over its own retail discount versus the gold variants, which reflects the practical appeal of a non-precious case at this movement grade.

Full-set examples with papers and box trade above watch-only sales more reliably here than in higher-volume segments.

Service expectations

The caliber 96.01-L is serviced by Chopard directly and by a small number of experienced independents familiar with ultra-thin movement architecture. Service interval is 5-7 years; Chopard's service network is smaller than Rolex or Omega's, so turnaround times can run longer than you might expect. The 3.3mm movement construction requires a watchmaker who is comfortable working inside thin cases; not every qualified watchmaker should take this one.