A few months ago when I attended the Doha Jewellery And Watches Exhibition in Qatar, I had the opportunity to meet the guys from the Qatar Watch Club. The club of enthusiasts who want to create a community of watch lovers in the small Gulf nation just turned a year old and are celebrating with a limited edition Chopard L.U.C GMT One watch. Luckily for the QWC guys, the color of their their national flag makes for an exceptionally handsome dial. Done in Burgundy guilloche, this limited edition of 30 pieces steel GMT watch succeeds where so few niche collaborations do: creating a personal and meaningful design that is also universally appealing because of great design choices.
The Burgundy section of the dial is finished in a guilloché pattern, while the AM and PM sections of the second time zone outer ring is finished in a more subdued slate and dark slate satin background. The deep, rich burgundy is already such an attention grabbing dial color so I’m glad they chose subtle tones for the rest of it. This extends to the GMT hand as well, which has a black, lume-filled tip. All these color choices are inspired by the Qatar national flag, but if Chopard released this exact design as part of their lineup I would still have pretty effusive praise for it.
Otherwise, this Chopard L.U.C GMT One watch retains the 42mm wide, 11.71mm thick case you’d find on all versions. Inside and visible through the exhibition case back is the L.U.C 01.10-L movement which operates at 28,800 vph and has a 60-hour power reserve.
I think the QWC crew was pretty savvy in its choice to opt for a stainless steel GMT watch when you consider where enthusiasts tastes and preferences are these days, even if there are only going to be 30 pieces of these made. The burgundy dial is truly beautifully done and is a colorway that I actually prefer over all other dial variants of this watch produced. I suspect that would be true of several models as well. Really, kudos to the Qatar Watch Club on creating such a great looking collaboration.
The Chopard L.U.C GMT One Qatar Watch Club limited edition Ref. 168579-3002 comes on a Burgundy leather strap to match the dial. The standard GMT One watch in steel retails at just around $10,200 USD and I believe this limited edition batch should be right around that number (though most, if not all, are likely spoken for). You can find the Qatar Watch Club on their instagram page here, and you can learn more at chopard.com