The Alpine Eagle collection of sporty-chic timepieces is interpreting its flyback chronograph in a 44 mm-diameter model entirely crafted in ethical 18-carat rose gold. Like the entire collection, this model remains strongly inspired by the power of the eagle and the beauty of the Alps. Its Bernina Grey dial is a veritable tribute to the colour of Alpine rocks. The three patents for its Chopard 03.05-C chronometer-certified movement with flyback function testify to innovations enhancing its accuracy as well as its smooth handling.
A cutting-edge chronograph movement
Beating at the heart of all the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono models, the Chopard 03.05-C movement developed and assembled by the artisans in the Manufacture is one of the world’s most innovative chronograph movements. It has a 60-hour power reserve and features an elaborate design guaranteeing accurate adjustments and optimal use of the chronograph functions. Equipped with a column wheel, it is also enhanced by several technical innovations that have earned Chopard three patents stemming from the boldness of its R&D teams.
First of all, it is equipped with a unidirectional gear drive system that prevents energy losses while ensuring rapid automatic winding, a function much appreciated in the inherently energy-hungry chronograph category. In addition, its vertical clutch ensures accurate time-measurement starts. This chronograph calibre is also of the flyback variety, enabling smooth successive timing operations thanks to three pivoting hammers with elastic arms facilitating zero-setting of the hands.
Equipped with a stop-seconds function enabling accurate adjustments of the watch, the Chopard 03.05-C movement is chronometer-certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute.
Inspired by Nature
Drawing on the Alps’ inherent creative strength and beauty, the design of the Alpine Eagle collection is linked to the aesthetics of its dials, whose texture is reminiscent of an eagle’s iris. The collection’s colour palette is a direct reference to Alpine hues. Witness this Bernina Grey model named after the rock of the eponymous mountain range, a site renowned for its natural splendours, including the towering 4,000-metre Piz Bernina straddling the border between Switzerland and Italy.
The seconds hand with its arrow-shaped tip flies over a highly legible display punctuated by snailed counters. The hands and hour-markers are coated with Grade XI Super-LumiNova®, a treatment offering the advantage of retaining the same intensity over the years, while naturally more luminous than traditional Super-LumiNova®.
The tachymeter scale bearing discreet red 100, 160 and 240 graduations appears on the inner bezel ring. It is divided into four steps, with different intervals of 5, 10, 20 or 40 km/h per line. This arrangement facilitates reading the average speed measurements and contributes to the dial’s overall aesthetic dynamic.
From the case to the in-house bracelet, crown and bezel, this Alpine Eagle XL Chrono model is entirely crafted in ethical 18-carat rose gold. As part of Chopard’s Journey to Sustainable Luxury, the fine gold used to produce the Alpine Eagle watches is 100% ethically sourced, as indeed are all the Maison’s watch and jewellery creations since July 2018. One of the rare Manufactures to have had its own precious metals foundry for several decades, Chopard is thus in a position to control its value chain in order to offer creations conveying a more reasonable approach to stewardship of the Earth.
Reinterpreting an icon
Devised by three generations of men in the Scheufele family, the Alpine Eagle collection is a modern reinterpretation of the St. Moritz watch, the first horological creation by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele in the late 1970s. With its pure and assertive design, Alpine Eagle enriches this heritage with powerful inspiration drawn from Nature. A round case with stylised flanks; a crown engraved with a compass rose; a bezel with eight functional indexed screws; as well as textured dial with deep hues and luminescent indications: Alpine Eagle embodies impeccable elegance expressed in a resolutely contemporary manner. Today, in addition to its chronographs, the collection offers a variety of complications, from a high-frequency movement to a flying tourbillon and an extra-thin model with small seconds indication bearing the Poinçon de Genève.
