The Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 Gets The Full Yellow Gold Touch

The Chopard Alpine Eagle, a direct descendant of the slightly baroque St. Moritz model of the 1980s, was resurrected and modernised to reflect contemporary tastes. Since its revival, we’ve seen the Alpine Eagle expand to become an entire collection with a tourbillon, an extra-large chronograph or a compact feminine version, as well as many colours or material combinations. And now, there’s a new, far more flamboyant model in the range, one that captures the original Midas temperament of the watch: the new yellow gold Chopard Alpine Eagle 41. 

The Chopard Alpine Eagle is a true family affair. The predecessor of this watch, the 1980s St. Moritz watch (named after a high-end ski resort in Switzerland), was designed by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele when he started working at the company directed by his father – it was actually his first project. Of course, with the evolution of tastes, the concept of this sporty-chic, slightly baroque and flamboyant watch went out of style, and the collection was discontinued. Yet, on the insistence of Karl-Fritz (Karl-Friedrich’s son) and his grandfather Karl, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele decided in 2019 that it was time for Chopard to return to the integrated sports watch market… And there was already a vessel in the brand’s archives for that: the St. Moritz.

The Chopard Alpine Eagle was born from this inspiration; however, it’s been updated with a contemporary approach. First introduced in Lucent Steel, it benefited from the overall popularity of luxury sports watches with an integrated bracelet. As such, the men’s version, the Alpine Eagle 41, has a tonneau-shaped case that is topped by a prominent bezel decorated with 8 screws, as well as distinctive crown guards on each side of the watch. The design is enhanced by the use of brushed surfaces and polished accents. The main evolution – and a very positive one – compared to the original St. Moritz is the shape of the bezel, which is round and doesn’t come anymore with notches around the screws.

We’ve seen this watch already in 18k rose gold… But there’s something quite appealing about yellow gold, specifically when referring to a watch with an undeniable 1980s inspiration – there isn’t a more apropos choice of metal, right? And it’s now there, with a case and a bracelet in this oddly cool, slightly retro look but a very contemporary take when it comes to the material itself since it’s made of ethically sourced gold – it is one of the brand’s commitments to use 100% ethical gold. The result is a monochromatic yellow gold watch from head to toe, including the screws in the bezel.

The dial of the Alpine Eagle 41 is certainly its main attraction, with a texture inspired by an eagle’s iris – a radial effect and a deep, irregular texture with lots of depth and details. To complement the colour of the case, the brand has chosen to push the gold concept to the max with a tone-on-tone colour, gold-coloured hands and applied markers and ever a gold-toned date disc. Not the most discreet choice, obviously, but one that makes an impact.

Inside the case is the brand’s in-house calibre 01.01-C, an automatic chronometer movement with a comfortable 60h power reserve. The movement is large, modern and finished with a combination of radially brushed bridges and polished bevels. It is wound by a 22k gold rotor that matches the case.

The new full-yellow gold Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 is a boutique exclusive that is priced at EUR 53,300. For more details, please visit www.chopard.com.