The Alpine Eagle collection of sporty-chic timepieces is interpreting its flyback chronograph in a case featuring the extreme lightness of grade 5 titanium, a metal known for its tried and tested sturdiness. Like the entire collection, this Alpine Eagle XL Chrono model with its 44 mm-diameter case now framing a new “Rhône Blue” dial colour remains strongly inspired by the power of the eagle and the beauty of the Alps. 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. In line with the Maison’s commitment to preserving the Alpine environment and its biodiversity, part of the proceeds from sales of this model will be donated to the Alpine Eagle Foundation.
Titanium joins the Alpine Eagle chronograph series
The Alpine Eagle XL Chrono welcomes a new 44 mm model. Its extra-large case featuring a pure, assertive design is entirely forged from grade 5 titanium. While this metal known for its extreme lightness and superior resistance has already been used to make two high-frequency Alpine Eagle models, it is now making its debut in the collection’s chronograph line. Alpine Eagle had thus far been interpreted through several variations in Chopard’s exclusive Lucent SteelTM and ethical gold. Featuring a slightly darker shade than steel, titanium further accentuates the sporty and rugged nature of the Alpine Eagle chronograph, while making it so light that one could easily forget the watch is actually on the wrist. Combined with a blend of aluminium and vanadium, grade 5 titanium’s properties make it specially resistant to corrosion and salt water. From steep peaks to ocean depths, the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono thus remains the finest ally of extreme sports enthusiasts.
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.
A sporty contemporary rubber strap
Already available with an integrated metal bracelet and a leather option, the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono model has reinvented itself since 2022 with a rubber strap. The multiple advantages of this material make it an ideal ally for sports chronographs subjected to the most extreme conditions: water-resistant, malleable and comfortable to wear, it gives the timepiece a particularly dynamic look. In using rubber, the Chopard workshops have preserved the elegance and identity of the Alpine Eagle by reprising the shape of the metal-link bracelet – slightly tapering with a raised central cap – that is an integral part of the collection’s DNA. The material is different, while the identity and well-balanced proportions remain signature features of this new contemporary chronograph.
Chopard cultivates a longstanding tradition of sporty rubber straps. In 1995, the Maison’s workshops were among the first to adopt this material with its strong creative potential by reproducing the rubber treads of 1960s tyres on the straps of its Mille Miglia chronograph collection. This trend that has been continuously nurtured by the Mille Miglia models has since spread widely across the watchmaking scene.
A dial in the eagle’s eye
A new colour makes its debut on the dial of this new model. Inspired by the palette of natural colours composing the beauty of the Alpine landscape – like Aletsch Blue, Bernina Grey and Pitch Black – "Rhône Blue" is inspired by the palette of natural colours composing the beauty of Alpine landscapes. It is reminiscent of one of the Alps’ most famous rivers, the Rhône, which originates at the heart of the eponymous glacier in the canton of Valais. It is here – at an altitude of over 2,200 metres – that the journey of this emblematic river begins amid gentle blue hues synonymous with purity, feeding the waters of Lake Geneva and ending its course in the Mediterranean Sea.
The texture and sunburst pattern evoke an eagle's iris. 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.
Direct support for the Alpine Eagle Foundation
The Alpine Eagle Foundation's motto is "Preserving the Alps": an explicit, broad and philanthropic goal. It was set up in 2020 by Chopard’s Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and a number of specialists and lovers of the Alps, including falconer Jacques-Olivier Travers (creator of the Parc des Aigles du Léman) and Ronald Menzel (director of the Freedom Conservation movement dedicated to protecting birds of prey). The Foundation's projects aim to raise awareness, mobilise people and act on behalf of the entire Alpine region and the life it shelters.
Thanks to its partnerships, the Foundation is already supporting a programme to reintroduce the white-tailed eagle around Lake Geneva, as well as a scientific mission analysing the ability of eagles and bearded vultures to memorise potentially lethal obstacles in their territory – such as wind turbines or other human installations – and to modify their behaviour accordingly.
Chopard directly contributes to financing the Foundation's programmes through several Alpine Eagle timepieces. Part of the profits from sales of this new chronograph model with its "Rhône Blue" dial will be donated to the Alpine Eagle Foundation.
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.
