CHOPARD ALPINE EAGLE - JULY 2024 NEWS

We are thrilled to welcome the Chopard Alpine Eagle timepieces to our esteemed collection of luxury watches. These iconic timepieces represent brand heritage and core values that we are most proud to showcase in our salon. Discover the rich history behind Alpine Eagle today and browse the ever-expanding range of timepieces available at J Farren-Price. 

Rebirth of an icon

Contemporary, refined and assertive, the 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 a founding member.

This innovative and multidisciplinary environmental project – designed to raise awareness and galvanise the public with respect to the importance, beauty and fragility of Alpine biotopes – will offer a new vision of the Alps through the eyes of human beings, satellites as well as the eagle – the latter being especially renowned for its piercing gaze.

Alpine Eagle is dedicated to contemporary eagles, the aspiring individuals who outperform in their daily lives and whose vision inspires and elevates. With foresight and determination, they act on the challenges of tomorrow and are innately aware of the importance of environmental issues.

Nature, the premier artisan

Belonging to the select circle of watches with an integrated case and bracelet, this timepiece presents a design that is both refined and contemporary, featuring a wealth of references to the Alpine eagle and its biotope. Its rock-like textured dial evoke an eagle’s iris, its hands call to mind the raptor’s feathers and the cold glinting steel is reminiscent of glaciers.

Finally, the dial colour directly refers to the shades of Alpine ranges: Aletsch Blue for the bluish shimmer of the largest glacier in the Swiss Alps; Bernina Grey for the rock of the mountain chain bearing this name; Frosted White for the mother-of-pearl dial and Sils Grey for the Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial whose iridescent gleam evokes the colour of Lake Sils near St. Moritz, as the seasons go by and the sun plays across the water. 

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.

Ethical Gold 

Gold is the raw material most widely used in Chopard’s production. It is due to this that they devoted particular attention to ensuring that one of the biggest milestones of their Journey to Sustainable Luxury would be the sourcing of responsibly mined gold for their entire production. The Alpine Eagle timepieces are no exception to this. 

This objective has been successfully met since July 2018 when Chopard began using 100% Ethically produced gold – verified as having met international best practice environmental and social standards – in its workshops. This commitment to sustainability exists in the heart of Alpine Eagle timepieces, with this collection’s strong ties to the importance of conserving masterpieces of nature such as the beautiful Swiss Alpine ranges.

Lucent Steel A223: an Alchemist’s quest

To bring the Alpine Eagle purpose to life, Chopard created a new material that is as rich, precious and complex as gold, transforming the dream of Renaissance alchemists into glowing reality. The Alpine Eagle becomes Chopard’s first luxury watch collection to be made in Lucent Steel™, comprising 70% recycled steel. Lucent Steel A223 is a steel resulting from a re-smelting process featuring three unique characteristics. 

Thanks to its anti-allergenic composition, Lucent Steel A223 has properties comparable to surgical steel, making it highly dermo-compatible. In addition, this alloy with its 223 Vickers’ strength is 50% more resistant to abrasion than conventional steels and has a unique hardness.

Finally, with its superior homogeneous crystal structure, its purity enables it to reflect light in a unique way. Like diamond, whose brilliance depends on the lowest degree of impurities, this innovative steel has far less impurities than conventional steel, guaranteeing it brilliance and brightness comparable to that of gold. 

The industrialisation of this new alloy, which required no less than four years of research and development to produce, was a real challenge to manufacture to extremely strict specifications, significantly increasing its manufacturing time as well as wear and tear on machining tools. Lucent Steel A223 is now a rare and extraordinarily precious metal, stemming from a very complex development and manufacturing process.

Shop Alpine Eagle at J Farren-Price, Sydney

Alpine Eagle is a particularly rich collection, featuring unisex models in two different diameters: 41 mm for the large model and 36 mm for the small model. A selection of these iconic models and matching cufflinks is now available at J Farren-Price, Sydney - with more Alpine Eagle timepieces to arrive at our boutique over the coming months. 

Discover the current selection below and stay tuned for new arrivals. Follow our social media pages to keep up to date with our world of luxury. 

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