Chopard’s 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, the first watch created in 1980 by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, now co-president of Chopard. Imagined and personally designed by him, Alpine Eagle is driven by his passion for the Alps and by the lofty power of the eagle that reigns supreme there. Crafted from an exclusive, ultra-resistant and light-reflecting metal named Lucent Steel A223, it beats to the rhythm of a Chopard chronometer-certified movement. Bearing testament to Chopard's ethical approach, Alpine Eagle gives the Maison an opportunity to reveal its new commitment to protecting the Alpine environment through the launch of the Eagle Wings Foundation - of which Karl-Friedrich Scheufele is founding member.
While vision is essential to running a family Maison, it is perseverance and determination that lead to success. Such was the path taken by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele in 1980, when he presented his very first watchmaking project. As a youthful 22-year-old employee in the family Manufacture at the time, he submitted an idea to his father for a watch to be named St. Moritz. A project with a resolutely coming of age dimension, within which a young man asserts himself, spreads his wings and takes flight.
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.
The 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.