Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Chopard Alpine Eagle Gets A Pine Green Dial (Live Pics & Price)
A fresh, textured pine green dial for Chopard’s luxury sports watch inspired by the Alpine habitat of the white-tailed eagle.
One of the most buoyant genres in the watchmaking arena is the luxury integrated sports watch, going from strength to strength since the Royal Oak’s debut in 1972. Although Chopard appears to have been a latecomer to the scene with its 2019 Alpine Eagle, the roots of this watch can be traced to the late 1970s with a watch created by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele (now Chopard’s Co-President) known as the St. Moritz. The latest model to join the Alpine Eagle is this time-and-date model with a pine green dial and Chopard’s 01.01-C movement with chronometer certification. Parts of the proceeds from the sales of this watch will be donated to the Alpine Eagle Foundation.
From St. Moritz to Sustainability
Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s design for the St. Moritz, a sporty-chic model with a showy baroque bezel, captured the hedonistic flamboyance of the 1980s and borrowed its name from the swank Swiss ski resort. Interestingly, the evolution of the St. Moritz is a three-generation story. The Alpine Eagle collection was reborn on the insistence of Karl-Fritz (Karl-Friedrich’s son) and his grandfather Karl. Rechristened and revamped from head to toe, the collection’s name is more congruent with the brand’s commitment to sustainable luxury – the brand now uses 100% ethical gold – and its support of the non-profit Alpine Eagle Foundation. One of the current projects is to reintroduce the white-tailed eagle around Lake Geneva.
Time-and-Date Model
Available with time-and-date, chronograph and tourbillon functions, as well as a high-frequency 8Hz model and luxurious versions dripping with gemstones, this 41mm Alpine Eagle flies in with a fresh pine green face and a 41mm Lucent Steel A223 case. Chopard’s proprietary Lucent Steel, developed with partner Voestalpine Böhler, is said to be 50% more resistant to abrasion, harder (223 Vickers) and more reflective and luminous (lucent) than conventional steel alloys and is made from 70% recycled material.
Mounted on top of the tonneau-shaped case, with vertically brushed surfaces and bright polished chamfers, is the round bezel with eight aligned screws, a design feature recuperated from the original St. Moritz. With a height of 9.7mm, the case is not what could be described as ‘ultra-thin’ but lean enough. Protected by crown guards, the 7mm screw-down crown with its engraved compass rose ensures the 100m water-resistance of the case, and the three-link bracelet flows seamlessly into the case. Both the tonneau-shaped case and the highly polished central link on the bracelet are also throwbacks to the St. Moritz.
Pine Green
Inspired by the forests carpeting the Alpine biotope, the pine green dial of the Alpine Eagle features the characteristic striated pattern to suggest the iris of an eagle’s eye. Using a brass blank stamped with an irregular sunburst pattern with a pine green PVD treatment, the striations radiate from the centre. Rhodium-plated Roman numerals and hour markers are applied to the dial and treated with Grade X1 Super-Luminova, like the baton-style hour and minute hands. The signature eagle feather acting as a counterweight can be seen on the central seconds hand, and the date is perched a 4:30 with a green background and light green numerals to match the inscriptions ‘Chopard’ and ‘Chronometer’ at noon and the peripheral minutes track. A glareproofed scratch-resistant sapphire crystal protects the dial.
In-house chronometer
The Chopard Alpine Eagle is powered by an in-house automatic movement – calibre Chopard 01.01-C – with a frequency of 28,000vph, a stop-seconds function and a 60-hour power reserve. The movement is a COSC-certified chronometer.
Availability & Price
As mentioned, a percentage of the proceeds of the sale of the watch will go to the Alpine Eagle Foundation. Last June, the foundation released the first eaglet and hopes to release more than 80 white-tailed eagles on the shores of Lake Geneva over the next eight years.
The Alpine Eagle in Lucent Steel is not a limited edition and will retail for EUR 16,100. There is also an 18k ethical rose gold model, retailing for EUR 55,400. For more information, please visit Chopard.com.
