There appears to be no end in sight to the watch industry’s ongoing integrated bracelet sports watch arms race. As enthusiasts continue to shower these watches with support, this white-hot market segment has seen the rise of a broad spectrum of competitors to the highly sought-after (and often unattainable) icons of the genre. One of the most compelling of these dark horse contenders to emerge in recent years is the Chopard Alpine Eagle. Inspired by the brand’s own integrated St. Moritz model released in 1980, the Alpine Eagle has earned its own dedicated enthusiast following since its introduction in late 2019. For its latest release, Chopard brings a striking new green dial into the lineup. On paper, between the green dial finishing and the overall design, this should be one of the most on-trend timepieces in the industry at the moment, but Chopard takes a less obvious approach than many of its competitors to deliver something unique and truly enduring. The new Chopard Alpine Eagle Pine Green is a genuine heavy hitter of a timepiece, offering spectacular finishing throughout and a presentation that stands toe-to-toe with models well above its price bracket.
Although the Chopard Alpine Eagle Pine Green’s case measures slightly larger than many of its competitors at 41mm-wide, the design is effortlessly sleek and comfortable on the wrist. Much of this can be laid at the feet of the broad, low-rising crown guards, along with the matching case side protrusions at 9 o’clock. This gives the bulk of the case a slightly smaller overall diameter, and the short, sharply downturned integrated lugs help to wrap the case around the wrist effectively. At 9.7mm-thick, the Alpine Eagle is already far from a thick watch, but this case’s tendency to nestle into the structure of the wrist works to make it appear even thinner in practice. In terms of the overall form, there are elements of the Alpine Eagle Pine Green that should feel familiar to fans of the genre, but Chopard executes these riffs on common themes with admirable attention to detail.
For example, the broad chamfered bezel’s eight distinctive screws are all aligned for a cleaner and more cohesive look. The central raised polished block motif that extends from the case through the bracelet is another prime example. With sharp faceting and brilliant polishing, these blocks work to showcase the bright luster of Chopard’s Lucent Steel A223 alloy. Beyond being more scratch and abrasion resistant than traditional stainless steel alloys, Lucent Steel A223 also carries a brilliance on the wrist that gives the case a radiance closer to white gold than to standard steel in some lighting conditions. The polished elements from the bezel to the tapering case side chamfers all share this sense of bright reflectivity and are sharply complemented by smooth, even linear brushed segments. A sapphire display caseback completes the package here, and Chopard rates the watch for a solid 100 meters of water resistance.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty facing the Chopard Alpine Eagle Pine Green, along with the series at large, is the challenge of explaining its unique “Eagle Eye” dial finishing. As the name implies, this complex organic texture is inspired by the iris of a bird of prey, but the full extent of this heavily grained, slightly arabesque pattern is highly challenging to capture in photos. It’s a dial that needs to be seen in person to be fully appreciated, with a richness and crispness to even the smallest textural details that give the dial design an intricately nuanced character on the wrist. Chopard’s new Pine Green dial hue is similarly nuanced, and far from the obvious choice for a dial like this. Rather than the bolder British racing greens or gemlike emerald tones that have dominated the current green dial trend, Pine Green is surprisingly muted and desaturated. This dark, reserved mossy hue fades to nearly black at certain angles, calling to mind After Eight mints and Hessian uniforms as much as it does old-growth conifer forests. The Alpine Eagle line’s usual mix of applied rhodium-plated Roman numerals and baton indices are present and accounted for here, and will likely continue to be a point of contention among enthusiasts. The cutout date window at 4:30, however, notably unbalances an otherwise handsomely visually counterweighted design, although the dial-matching date wheel does decrease this impact somewhat.
Chopard powers the Alpine Eagle Pine Green with its in-house Chopard 01.01-C automatic movement. Like the case and dial, Chopard flexes its finishing muscle throughout the Chopard 01.01-C, with crisp arabesque waves across the three-quarter bridges and balance cock accented by brightly polished anglage. Perlage on the mainplate and a mix of fluting, anglage, and sunburst brushing on the partially skeletonized rotor completes the look, but the view of this attractively finished design is blocked somewhat by Chopard’s printed Alpine Eagle motif across the sapphire caseback. In terms of performance, the Chopard 01.01-C is no slouch, with a solid 60-hour power reserve at a 28,800 bp beat rate and COSC chronometer certification for accuracy. Our own testing bore this accuracy rating out, delivering an average accuracy rating of just -1 second per day during our testing period.
No integrated sports watch design is complete without a matching bracelet, and the Chopard Alpine Eagle Pine Green is no exception. Crisply chamfered and continuing the raised polished block motif of the case, this bracelet is bright and comfortable on the wrist. While the raised central sections are comparatively small, this still offers a punchier look than many other designs in this segment, and admirably showcases the bright luster of Lucent Steel A223.
Despite taking part in two of the largest trends permeating the luxury watch industry, the new Chopard Apline Eagle Pine Green manages to transcend the zeitgeist and deliver a stylishly offbeat, dramatically finished design that presents a compelling alternative to the segment’s most coveted offerings and should carry a lasting appeal among enthusiasts. The new Chopard Alpine Eagle Pine Green is available now exclusively through Chopard boutiques. MSRP for the Chopard Alpine Eagle Pine Green stands at $14,800 USD as of press time. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
Necessary Data
>Brand: Chopard
>Model: Alpine Eagle Pine Green
>Price: $14,800 USD
>Size: 41mm-wide, 9.7mm-thick
>When reviewer would personally wear it: As a special-occasion “flex watch,” or when meeting with watch enthusiast business associates.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Integrated sports watch lovers looking for a lower-key alternative to the usual options without sacrificing quality.
>Best characteristic of watch: Phenomenal dial finishing, brilliant Lucent Steel A223 case and bracelet.
>Worst characteristic of watch: 4:30 date window disrupts the flow of the dial somewhat; applied Roman numerals are a love-it-or-hate-it inclusion.
