BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Chopard’s Alpine Eagle didn’t immediately soar from the start; if I’m honest, there were some reservations about the design looking a little similar to all of the other integrated sports watches of the current times. Some people also found the Alpine Eagle to be expensive, I was definitely in the latter category, although I’ll say that I have thought these always looked pretty great. Having tried the Alpine Eagle, it’s easy to say that it’s a very high-quality product; the fit, finish, and feel of the Alpine Eagle are tremendous.
So, we know that Chopars makes very high-quality pieces, another talent of Chopard’s gem-setting, the knowledge for which undoubtedly comes from the jewellery side of the business. Chopard’s operations are more or less split into two, with one half focusing on horology and the other on jewellery and other luxury goods, including sunglasses, handbags and fragrances, to name just a few.
It’s clear that the gem-setting team have been eyeing up the Alpine Eagle range for a while now, as the new Alpine Eagle Summit watches stand out chiefly because of their set bezels. To me, these watches represent a step between the Alpine Eagle models made from solid ethical gold and the models that are made from solid ethical gold and also have pavé diamond dials and bracelets and so forth. Those models look extremely excellent, but I think these Alpine Eagle Summit models with the set bezels work a treat.
There are four models to choose from, and all of them come with a 41mm x 9.7mm case with a solid gold integrated bracelet and clasp, the water resistance of all models is 100m. They also all come with the in-house made self-winding calibre 01.15-C movement, which is a certified chronometer movement with a 4Hz beat rate and a power reserve of around 60 hours.
What changes with the watches is the colouration and material. All watches come with a case and bracelet made of ethically sourced gold which means that everyone involved in the process of retrieving the gold all the way to when it’s delivered to Chopard’s in-house smelting facility is paid fairly and looked after.
Your choices are reference 295363-1007, which is my favourite; it has an 18k white gold case contrasted with a blue dial with a familiar engraving similar to an eagle’s iris. The dial joins nicely with the bezel which is set with blue and purple trapeze-cut sapphires. There’s also reference 295363-1008, which is also made of 18k white gold but has a silver dial and a bezel set with both tsavorites and white sapphires, which blend beautifully to create a pleasing gradient. Reference 295363-5013 mixes things up with a case and bracelet of 18k rose gold with a matching rose gold dial and the bezel has another glorious gradient, this time thanks to the spessartites and white sapphires which have been set by hand as with the other models. Finally, there’s the reference 295363-0002 which easily stands out the most thanks to its 18k yellow gold case. Like the other models, it has set diamonds on the dial in place of some of the markers, but the coloured sapphires of the bezel are what really make this piece stand out just that little bit more.
So, if you fancied giving your other half a watch this holiday season and they’ve been really really good this year, then maybe you could get them one of these. I’d hide it at the top of the tree and see if anyone noticed the extra sparkle, although knowing my brain I’d then forget about it until I took the tree down.
Pricing: $77,600 (rose gold) or $85,400 for white or yellow gold.
