BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Chopard is one of the biggest players at Watches & Wonders Geneva. Their booth is sat right next to those of Rolex, Tudor and Patek Philippe and is much bigger than my house. Inside it’s a luxurious setting fit for royalty which are probably just some of the clientele, here are the new watches for 2025 that they can choose from.
We weren’t able to see every single new watch from Chopard, but we did see the main highlights which you’ll find below.
Alpine Eagle
Designed to go after the integrated bracelet sports watch market and with their old St Moritz watches in mind, the newest Alpine Eagle sports a 950 platinum case and bracelet. This watch is officially called the Alpine Eagle 41 XP CS Platinum because of its thin 41mm x 8mm platinum case and bracelet (100m water resistant). The dial is very eye-catching with their ‘Shades of Ice’ blue gradient colouration applied over the classic dial decoration which is inspired by the iris of an eagle if I’m not mistaken. Powering it is the calibre L.U.C 96.42-L, a self-winding movement with a 60-hour power reserve and the Geneva Seal which attests to the quality of its construction, decoration and the fact this was all done in or around Geneva. This watch is very classy and might actually be heavier than the platinum Rolex Land-Dweller, which you should probably have on your other wrist to keep yourself balanced. Price on request.
The other model we’re going to look at is the Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF. This one’s a bit more unusual as it features Chopard’s unique 8Hz escapement. The idea behind a higher beat rate is that because the balance wheel is moving so quickly, double that of most mechanical watches today, it reduces the likeliness of there being a discrepancy in the balance wheel’s oscillation, theoretically this improves the watch’s accuracy although we have no specific data to back this up. What we do know is that despite its ceramised titanium case measuring 41.00mm x 9.75mm it’s still one of the lightest watches Chopard makes, a stark contrast to the platinum Alpine Eagle above which might be the heaviest watch I’ve tried on this year. The price of this one is $25,000 and is limited to 250 examples worldwide.
L.U.C. Quattro Mark IV
Chopard is currently working on updating the designs of all of its L.U.C. watches with a new design language which is refined and classy, we’ve seen them update some of their watches already and next up to the plate are the Quattro watches. In Chopard terms, ‘Quattro’ indicates that the watch uses four mainspring barrels, two stacked pairs, to give its watches a long power reserve. How long, to be exact? Around nine days can be had from these watches thanks to those barrels, which, Chopard says, contain a total of just under 1.9m of spring coiled inside.
The hand-wound calibre L.U.C 98.09-L is beautifully finished and awarded the Geneva Seal.
The front side of the watch is straightforward, showing only the time and the date on a subdial, which also shows the running seconds. The watch we have here measures 39.0mm x 10.4mm and is made of platinum, and the frosted-texture dial is light blue. The price in platinum is $47,900.
L.U.C. Quattro Spirit 25 Straw Marquetry Edition
If you’re into your limited edition watches with unique dials this next one is the one for you. The L.U.C. Quattro Spirit 25 Straw Marquetry Edition features, you guessed it, straw on its dial. If I’m remembering correctly, one artisan at Chopard’s manufacture had the idea and ran with it, when they were asked about it by the higher-ups, the higher-ups at Chopard were so impressed they ran with it as a watch limited to eight pieces. I really like the green hexagonal colouration on this one, the marquetry reminds me of wooden flooring in fancy homes, and the floating Chopard logo (printed on the crystal) is a nice touch.
The watch is based on Chopard’s L.U.C. Quattro Spirit 25 which is a classy watch indeed. It features only one hand, which displays the minutes; the hours are shown in the large cutout at 6 O’clock on the dial. The manually-wound calibre L.U.C 98.06-L provides lots of tactile feedback when interacting with the crown, but such interactions should be limited as it has a long eight-day power reserve. Presented in 18k ethically sourced rose gold and measuring 40.0mm x 10.4mm, this limited-edition watch costs $68,400.
L.U.C. Heritage EHG Moon 122
Next up is a rather unique and beautiful watch with a purpose. The L.U.C. Heritage EHG Moon 122 marks the 200th anniversary of the Geneva School of Watchmaking, the oldest such establishment in Switzerland. Unsurprisingly, Chopard benefits a lot from its connection to the School, as it takes on some of the best students every year to continue learning to make watches and thereby keep the tradition going.
The watch itself is my favourite from all the range today. It features a blue aventurine dial with markings depicting the Northern Hemisphere’s sky. The small seconds are indicated over a subdial map of the Northern Hemisphere, and opposite that on the dial is an astronomical moonphase which will need adjustment once every 122 years, assuming the watch is always running. Around the back is the manually-wound calibre L.U.C 63.04-L, which has a more traditional pocket watch look with a large balance wheel operating at 3Hz for a total of 60-hours. It’s been awarded the Geneva Seal as nearly all watches on this list have, and wears it proudly. Made from 18k ethically sourced rose gold and measuring 44.0mm x 12.7mm, this watch retails for $90,300 and is limited to 20 examples.
L.U.C. Full Strike Revelation
The final watch in the collection is Chopard’s ‘halo’ piece, the L.U.C. Full Strike Revelation. The watch comes in a limited run of 20. It is made of 18k ethically sourced yellow gold, measures 42.50mm x 11.55mm, and has a fully open-worked dial showing off all of Chopard’s technical abilities.
The manually wound calibre chronometer-certified L.U.C 08.01-L9 is unique in that it uses the crystal over the dial as the amplifier for the minute repeater’s sound. This has been the Full Strike’s party piece since it was launched. The gongs for the minute repeater are made of the same piece of crystal as that covering the dial, meaning the crystal resonates with the gong strikes, making it a little louder. Also, the minute repeater is activated by the pusher in the crown rather than by a slider, which is rare. The movement has a power reserve of around 60-hours, and the price of this watch is available upon request.
Which of these is your favourite? Let us know in the comments!
