Chopard Alpine Eagle

Contemporary, refined and assertive, the new Alpine Eagle sports chic timepiece collection is a state-of-the-art reinterpretation of the St. Moritz

Text: Press Photo: Chopard

The first sports watch from the Maison as well as the first timepiece made of steel in its workshops, the St. Moritz was profoundly innovative for Chopard, then a specialist in gold and diamond-set gold watches. It represented a real and carefully calculated risk. Karl-Friedrich Scheufele made it a success that was to become one of the Maison’s best-sellers for the next decade. With Alpine Eagle, history is repeating itself, since it was at the insistence of his son Karl-Fritz, secretly supported by his grandfather Karl, that Karl-Friedrich Scheufele looked into the updating of the St. Moritz. At first reluctant, he was won over by his son’s strength of conviction, just as he himself had been able to win his father’s support 40 years ago.

karl fritz karl karl friedrich scheufele

Drawing on his creative strength and his passion for the Alps, but also on Louis Sullivan’s principles of harmony which dictate that “form follows function”, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele has created a new collection: Alpine Eagle. Belonging to the select circle of watches with an integrated case and bracelet, this timepiece presents a design that is both refined and contemporary, featuring a wealth of references to the Alpine eagle and its biotope. Its rock-like textured dial evoke an eagle’s iris, its hands call to mind the raptor’s feathers and the cold glinting steel is reminiscent of glaciers.

Chopard Alpine Eagle 41mm Luxury Sports Watch Collection 2

The gently tapered Alpine Eagle bracelet comprises a single ingot-shaped link, topped by a raised central cap. The case is distinguished by a protrusion protecting the crown engraved with a compass rose, an instrument that has helped adventurers find their way since ancient times. Today, it becomes the emblem of contemporary eagles capable of choosing the right direction in the pursuit of their destiny.

Chopard alpine eagle lucent steel a223 ethical gold sports watches

Alpine Eagle’s round bezel is punctuated by eight screws, grouped in pairs at the four cardinal points. Their slots are set at a tangent to the circle of the bezel, a sign of high-quality finishing and sophisticated aesthetic purpose. These screws also serve a technical function by guaranteeing the water resistance of the watch to 100 metres. All Alpine Eagle’s flat surfaces are satin-brushed, a finish carefully crafted to create light effects further enhanced by polished chamfers. The hours and minutes hands, like the hour-markers, are coated with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 to enhance nocturnal legibility. Like the snow, torrents and rock of the Alps that inspired Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and change their appearance according to the light conditions, Alpine Eagle constantly alternates between polished and matt finishes.

Alpine Eagle dial detail

Issued from the time of its launch in ten references in steel, gold, bi-material or diamond-set gold, Alpine Eagle is a particularly rich collection, available in unisex models in two different 41 mm and 36 mm diameters.

chopard alpine eagle 2019

To bring the Alpine Eagle purpose to life, Chopard has created a new material that is as rich, precious and complex as gold, transforming the dream of Renaissance alchemists into glowing reality. Lucent Steel A223 is a steel resulting from a re-smelting process featuring three unique characteristics.

Chopard Alpine Eagle back

On the one hand, thanks to its hypoallergenic composition, Lucent Steel A223 has properties comparable to surgical steel, making it highly dermo-compatible. On the other hand, this alloy with its 223 Vickers’ strength is 50% more resistant to abrasion than conventional steels and has a unique hardness. Finally, with its superior homogeneous crystal structure, its purity enables it to reflect light in a unique way. Like diamond, whose brilliance depends on the lowest degree of impurities, this innovative steel has far less impurities than conventional steel, guaranteeing it brilliance and brightness comparable to that of gold.

chopard alpine eagle 2019 dark

The industrialisation of this new alloy, which required no less than four years of research and development to produce, was a real challenge to manufacture to extremely strict specifications, significantly increasing its manufacturing time as well as wear and tear on machining tools. Lucent Steel A223 is now a rare and extraordinarily precious metal, stemming from a very complex development and manufacturing process.

A Manufacture-made movement

True to Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s deep commitment to fine watchmaking, the two movements with automatic winding embedded in the heart of Alpine Eagle watches have been developed in Chopard’s watchmaking workshops and chronometer-certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Control – a rare event for watches in this category.

Alpine Eagle 41 mm thus welcomes the 01.01-C calibre with a 60-hour power reserve, while the 36 mm models host the 09.01-C calibre with a 42-hour power reserve – with the latter 8-ligne movement being one of the smallest to receive COSC certification. Both are visible through a transparent sapphire crystal back. Thanks to its vertically integrated production process, Chopard has produced and assembled all Alpine Eagle components in-house, from all the components of its movements to the making of its case and bracelet, whether in steel and/or gold.

Chopard Alpine Eagle 41mm Luxury Sports Watch Collection gold

Chopard Alpine Eagle

Alpine Eagle – 41 mm

Case: Lucent Steel A223

Total diameter: 41 mm

Thickness: 9.7 mm

Water resistance: 100 metres

Steel crown with rose compass: 7 mm

Vertical satin-brushed caseband with polished chamfers

Vertical satin-brushed bezel with eight tangent fastening screws

Glare-proofed sapphire crystal

Exhibition back with glare-proofed sapphire crystal

Movement

Mechanical with automatic winding Chopard 01.01-C

Number of parts: 207

Diameter: 28.80 mm

Thickness: 4.95 mm

Number of jewels: 31

Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)

Power reserve: 60 hours

Chronometer-certified (COSC)

Dial and hands

Stamped brass dial with sunburst motif, galvanic blue or grey, inspired by an eagle’s iris

Applied numerals and hour-markers, rhodium-plated and coated with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1

Baton-type hours and minutes hands, rhodium-plated and coated with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1

Rhodium-plated arrow-tipped seconds hand with counterweight shaped like an eagle feather

Functions

Hours, minutes, seconds

Date between 4 and 5 o’clock

Bracelet and clasp

Bracelet in Lucent Steel A223, tapering, with satin-brushed wide link and sides, polished central cap, steel triple folding clasp

Ref. 298600-3001 – in Lucent Steel A223 with blue dial

Ref. 298600-3002 – in Lucent Steel A223 with slate grey dial

Ref. 298600-6001 – in Lucent Steel A223 and 18-carat ethical rose gold with slate grey dial

Alpine Eagle – 36 mm

Case: Lucent Steel A223

Total diameter: 36 mm

Thickness: 8.4 mm

Water resistance: 100 metres

Steel crown with rose compass: 6.10 mm

Vertical satin-brushed caseband with polished chamfers

Vertical satin-brushed bezel with eight tangent fastening screws

Glare-proofed sapphire crystal

Exhibition back with glare-proofed sapphire crystal

Movement

Mechanical with automatic winding Chopard 09.01-C

Number of parts: 159

Diameter: 20.40 mm

Thickness: 3.65 mm

Number of jewels: 27

Frequency: 25,200 vph (3,5 Hz)

Power reserve: 42 hours

Chronometer-certified (COSC)

Dial and hands

Stamped brass dial with sunburst motif, galvanic blue or grey, inspired by an eagle’s iris, or in white mother-of-pearl or Tahitian mother-of-pearl

Applied numerals and hour-markers, rhodium-plated and coated with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1

Baton-type hours and minutes hands, rhodium-plated and coated with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1

Rhodium-plated arrow-tipped seconds hand with counterweight shaped like an eagle feather

Functions

Hours, minutes, seconds

Bracelet and clasp

Bracelet in Lucent Steel A223, tapering, with satin-brushed wide link, satin-brushed central cap, steel triple folding clasp

Ref. 298601-3001 – in Lucent Steel A223 with blue dial

Ref. 298601-3002 – in Lucent Steel A223 with mother-of-pearl dial and diamond-set bezel

Ref. 298601-6001 – in Lucent Steel A223 and ethical 18-carat rose gold with slate grey dial

Ref. 298601-6002 – in Lucent Steel A223 and ethical 18-carat rose gold with mother-of-pearl dial and diamond-set bezel

Ref. 295370-5001 – in ethical 18-carat rose gold with slate grey dial

Ref. 295370-5002 – in ethical 18-carat rose gold with mother-of-pearl dial and diamond-set bezel

Ref. 295370-5003 – in ethical 18-carat rose gold with Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial, diamond-set bezel and partially diamond-set bracelet

Categories: PRESS

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