Chopard introduces the new Alpine Eagle series watch, dedicated to the contemporary “eagle” with the power of heritage

Refined, confident and contemporary, the new Alpine Eagle fashion sports watch collection is the first watch of the St. Moritz created in 1980 by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the current co-president of Chopard. Modern interpretation. Alpine Eagle, which means “Alpine Eagle”, was conceived and designed by Mr. Schaefer himself, carrying his passion for the Alps and the sublime power of the eagle, the ruler of this region. Crafted from the ultra-wear-resistant and highly reflective exclusive metal Lucent Steel A223, this watch is powered by a Chopard movement certified chronometer. As a testament to Chopard’s ethical conduct, the Alpine Eagle watch enables the brand to convey a new commitment to the protection of the Alpine environment through the launch of the Eagle Wings Foundation (of which Karl-Frederick Schaefer is one of its founding members) . The Alpine Eagle watch is dedicated to the contemporary “eagles”, these lofty people who surpass McQulon in their daily lives, whose vision inspires people’s hearts and sublimates their emotions. With vision and determination, they take action to meet future challenges and understand the importance of environmental issues.

Stories passed down from generation to generation

Vision is critical to running a family brand, but success can only be achieved through persistence and determination. This was the path Karl-Frederick Schaefer took when he launched his first watchmaking project in 1980. At the time, a 22-year-old young employee of the family watchmaking factory, he approached his father with the idea to create a watch called St. Moritz. Through this enterprising project, the young Schaefer insisted on himself, grew rapidly, and then spread his wings.

St. Moritz is not only Chopard’s first sports watch, but also the first steel timepiece created by the brand’s workshop, which was very innovative for Chopard, who was specializing in making gold watches and diamond-set gold watches at that time. Behind it are real but carefully assessed risks. Karl-Frederick Schaefer was a success, and the St. Moritz became one of the brand’s best-selling models for the next decade. He has since become co-president of Chopard and has overcome many other challenges. He was one of the first to perceive the strong connection between car enthusiasts and mechanical watchmaking fans. With his impetus, Chopard established a now legendary partnership with the Mille Miglia. In 1996, he decided to create the Chopard Manufacture in Fleurier, thus reviving fine watchmaking. In the same pioneering spirit, the co-president of Chopard has paved the way for sustainable luxury by building a Minergie-certified building on the same site in Fleurier.

History repeats itself with the creation of the Alpine Eagle: it was the perseverance of his son Karl-Fritz, with the covert assistance of his grandfather Karl, that finally made Karl-Frederick Schaefer Agree to upgrade the St. Moritz watch. Hesitant at first, he was struck by his son’s steadfast conviction, just as he himself had won his father’s support four decades earlier.

Nature, excellent craftsmen

With his extraordinary creativity and passion for the Alps, and drawing on Louis Sullivan’s harmonious principle of “form serves function”, Karl-Frederick Schaefer has created a new collection: Alpine Eagle. As a rare watch that integrates case and bracelet, the Alpine Eagle’s design is refined and modern, with many elements echoing the Alpine eagle and its biotope. The rock-like dial texture is reminiscent of the iris of an eagle, the hands resemble the feathers of this bird of prey, and the gleaming steel resembles a glacier. The color of the dial is also very meaningful: Aletsch Glacier Blue represents the luminous blue light flowing between the majestic glaciers in the Swiss Alps; Bernina Ash refers to the rocky colors of the Bernina Mountains; mother-of-pearl and large The Hitian mother-of-pearl dial has an iridescent luster, with Alpine Frost White and Sils Star Grey respectively representing the changing seasons, the rising and setting of the sun, and the sun shining on Lake Sils near St. Moritz (St. Moritz) Gorgeous halo changes.

The bracelet of the Alpine Eagle is tapered and consists of a single gold brick link with a raised central cap. What sets the case apart is the bulge that protects the crown. The crown is engraved with the compass rose, an instrument that has helped explorers find their way since ancient times. Today, it symbolizes the contemporary “eagle” who can choose the right direction in deciding his own destiny.

The round bezel of the replica Alpine Eagle watch is embellished with eight screws, arranged in pairs in four cardinal positions. The notches of the screws are in the same direction as the curvature of the bezel, a sign of high-quality finishing and the pursuit of refined aesthetics. These screws also have a technical function, ensuring that the watch is water-resistant to a depth of 100 meters. All facets of the Alpine Eagle watch are satin-finished, a finely crafted finish that creates a light and shadow effect that is further enhanced by a chamfered finish. The hour, minute and hour markers are covered with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 fluorescent coating, making it clearer at night. The snow, turbulence and rocks of the Alps inspired Karl-Frederick Schaefer, and just as their appearance changes with the light, the polishing and matte finish makes the Alpine Eagle watch constantly changing between light and dark.

The Alpine Eagle watch series is rich and diverse. Since its launch, it has been available in ten models including stainless steel, K gold, gold steel and K gold with diamonds. It offers two unisex sizes. The large model is 41 mm in diameter. The small model has a diameter of 36 mm.

Lucent Steel A223 Steel: The Alchemist’s Quest

To give shape to the design of the Alpine Eagle watch, Chopard created a new material as rich, precious and complex as gold, transforming the dreams of the Renaissance alchemists into a luminous reality. Lucent Steel A223 is a remelted steel with three unique properties.

Thanks to its hypoallergenic ingredients, Lucent Steel A223 has properties comparable to surgical steel and is extremely skin compatible. Not only that, this alloy has a Vickers hardness of 223 and is 1.5 times more resistant to wear than conventional stainless steel, making it extremely hard. Finally, the clarity of this alloy allows it to reflect light in a unique way, thanks to a very homogeneous crystal structure. Just as a diamond’s brilliance depends on its minimum content of impurities, this innovative steel has far less impurities than conventional stainless steel, ensuring it has a lustre and brilliance comparable to gold. perfect cheap watch

The development of this new alloy took more than four years, and its industrial production was a veritable challenge – extremely stringent production specifications significantly increased manufacturing time and tool wear. Due to the complex development and manufacturing process, Lucent Steel A223 is a rare and extremely precious metal.

Manufacture movement

Adhering to Karl-Frederick Schaefer’s deep commitment to fine watchmaking, the two self-winding movements in the Alpine Eagle watch were developed by the Chopard workshop and obtained the official Swiss Observatory Precision Time. This is a rarity in this type of watch.

The Alpine Eagle large model is equipped with calibre 01.01-C with a power reserve of 60 hours, while the small model is equipped with calibre 09.01-C with a power reserve of 42 hours. With a diameter of just 8 lignes, the latter is one of the smallest COSC-certified movements. The transparent sapphire glass case back makes both movements clearly visible.

Thanks to the vertically integrated production process, all components of the Alpine Eagle watch are produced and assembled by best Chopard in-house, from all components of the movement to the production of the case and bracelet, whether it is made of stainless steel or K-gold.

Technical Specifications
Alpine Eagle – Large Size

Case:
Lucent Steel A223 stainless steel
Overall diameter 41.00mm
Thickness 9.7mm
Waterproof depth 100 meters
Stainless steel crown with compass rose 7mm
Vertical satin case with polished bevels in the middle
The vertical satin bezel is equipped with eight screws that are notched in the same direction as the curvature of the bezel
Anti-glare sapphire crystal
Anti-glare sapphire crystal see-through case back
Movement:
Mechanical self-winding movement Chopard 01.01-C
Number of parts 207
Diameter 28.80mm
Thickness 4.95mm
Number of jewel bearings 31
Vibration frequency 28,800 times/hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve 60 hours
Swiss Official Chronometer Certification (COSC)
Dial and hands:
Brass galvanized dial with an embossed sunburst pattern inspired by the eagle eye iris in Aletsch Glacier Blue or Bernina Grey
Inlaid numerals and indexes, rhodium-plated with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 luminescent coating
Bar-shaped hour and minute hands, rhodium-plated with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 luminescent coating
Rhodium-plated arrow-tip seconds hand with eagle-feather weight
Features:
Minutes and seconds
Date display set between 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock
Bracelet and Buckle:
Lucent Steel A223 bracelet, tapering, satin-brushed wide links and sides, polished central top, stainless steel triple folding clasp
Reference: 298600-3001 – Lucent Steel A223 with Aletsch glacier blue dial (galvanized brass)
Reference: 298600-3002 – Lucent Steel A223 with Bernina limestone dial (galvanized brass)
Reference: 298600-6001 – Lucent Steel A223 and ethical 18K rose gold, with Bernina limestone dial (galvanized brass)

Technical Specifications
Alpine Eagle – Small Model
Case:
Lucent Steel A223 stainless steel
Overall diameter 36.00mm
Thickness 8.4mm
Waterproof depth 100 meters
Stainless steel crown with compass rose 6.10 mm
Vertical satin case with polished bevels in the middle
The vertical satin bezel is equipped with eight screws that are notched in the same direction as the curvature of the bezel
Anti-glare sapphire crystal
Anti-glare sapphire crystal see-through case back
Movement:
Self-winding mechanical movement Chopard 09.01-C movement
Number of parts 159
Diameter 20.40mm
Thickness 3.65mm
Number of jewel bearings 27
Vibration frequency 25,200 times/hour (3.5 Hz)
Power reserve 42 hours
Swiss Official Chronometer Certification (COSC)
Dial and hands:
Brass galvanized dial with an embossed sunburst pattern inspired by the eagle eye iris in Aletsch Glacier Blue or Bernina Grey; mother-of-pearl dial in Alpine Frost White; or Tahitian Mother-of-pearl dial in Sils Star Grey
Applique hour markers and numerals, rhodium-plated with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 luminescent coating
Bar-shaped hour and minute hands, rhodium-plated with Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 luminescent coating
Rhodium-plated arrow-tip seconds hand with eagle-feather weight
Features:
Minutes and seconds
Bracelet and Buckle:
Lucent Steel A223 bracelet, tapering, satin-brushed wide links, satin-brushed central top, stainless steel triple folding clasp
Reference: 298601-3001 – Lucent Steel A223 with Aletsch glacier blue dial (galvanized brass)
Reference: 298601-3002 – Lucent Steel A223 with Alpine frost white dial (mother of pearl) and diamond-set bezel
Reference: 298601-6001 – Lucent Steel A223 and ethically 18K rose gold with Bernina limestone dial (galvanized brass)
Reference: 298601-6002 – Lucent Steel A223 and ethical 18K rose gold, with Alpine frost white dial (mother of pearl) and diamond-set bezel
Ident No.: 295370-5001 – Ethical 18K rose gold with Bernina rock grey dial (galvanized brass)
Reference: 295370-5002 – Ethical 18K rose gold with Alpine frost white dial (mother of pearl) and diamond-set bezel
Reference: 295370-5003 – Ethical 18K rose gold with Sils star grey dial (Tahitian mother-of-pearl), diamond-set bezel and partially diamond-set bracelet