The New “Rhone Blue” Chopard Alpine Eagle 41mm and 36mm

Introduced in 2019, Chopard’s Alpine Eagle has quickly become the maison’s signature luxury sports watch collection, defined by its integrated bracelet, fluted bezel secured by eight indexed screws and dial texture inspired by the iris of an eagle. Winging its way back into the limelight, the time-and-date Alpine Eagle returns in 36 and 41mm Lucent Steel cases with a new Rhone Blue dial.

While the similarities might not be obvious at first, the lineage of the Alpine Eagle dates back to the 1980s St. Moritz model, Chopard’s first steel sports watch, designed by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele with a flamboyant bezel. Although certain features of the St. Moritz sports watch – the integrated bracelet with a polished central link, the eight functional screws in the bezel, the Roman numerals and baton markers, and the tonneau-shaped case – were retained, the Alpine Eagle was thoughtfully reinterpreted as a sophisticated, contemporary sports watch. Available in 33mm, 36mm, 41mm and 44mm case sizes, the collection hosts time-and-date, chronograph, tourbillon, skeletonised, ultra-thin and even a high-frequency model, all with in-house COSC-certified movements.

Lucent Steel, Chopard’s proprietary alloy, was introduced with the first Alpine Eagle model of 2019 and is now used across the board for all of Chopard’s steel timepieces since 2023. Made of recycled steel (80%), Lucent Steel is exceptionally hard and abrasion-resistant, with a brilliance comparable to gold.

Presented in 41mm x 9.75mm and 36mm x 8.45mm Lucent Steel tonneau-shaped cases with vertically brushed surfaces and bright polished chamfers, the round bezel with eight aligned screws is a design feature recuperated from the original St. Moritz. Protected by crown guards, the screw-down crown with its engraved compass rose ensures the 100m water-resistance of the case. Flowing seamlessly from the case, the integrated Lucent Steel bracelet features a wide ingot-shaped central link topped with a polished cap, another throwback to the original St. Moritz.

The novelty here is the new Rhone Blue colour featured on the dial, previously stamped with a sunburst motif to suggest the pattern of an eagle’s iris. The blue tone is inspired by the Rhône River’s high-altitude Alpine origins. Starting life in the Rhône Glacier in the canton of Valais at an altitude of over 2,200 metres, the waters of the famous river emerge with a greyish-blue colour, reflecting sediment picked up from the glacier.

The applied rhodium-plated indices – a mix of Roman numerals and baton markers – and the hour and minute hands are treated with Super-LumiNova. The signature eagle feather, acting as a counterweight, can be seen on the central seconds hand, and the date on the 41mm model is angled in at 4:30 against a grey background. The 36mm model does not include this function.

Both models are powered by in-house COSC chronometer-certified automatic movements. The 41mm relies on the 01.01-C calibre with a 60-hour power reserve, while the more compact 36mm is equipped with the 09.01-C calibre with a 42-hour power reserve.

The 36mm reference retails for CHF 12,400 and the 41mm for CHF 15,400. Like some other Alpine Eagle references, a portion of sales goes to help the Alpine Eagle Foundation’s activities to preserve the Alps, including the reintroduction of the white-tailed eagle around Lake Geneva. More information at chopard.com.