Chopard has just released its highly anticipated Alpine Eagle Watch Collection.
The design is not entirely new at all to Chopard. Chopard has of course a very rich history and catalogue of watch releases to date. The Alpine Eagle is essentially a modern evolution, or revolution, of the St Moritz design it released in the Eighties.
And here today, I have no doubt many people will be drawing parallels to the ‘other’ watches in this category from for example Patek and Audemars Piguet and it is easy to see why. Note also that the St. Moritz at the time was already Chopard’s answer, so to speak, to AP’s Royal Oak.
I am happy that Chopard joins the pack here much like you, but I am not happy that they went with this design. This will attract negative criticism as the design is so very similar in spirit. This is sad since they are a great watchmaker. Is it that difficult to be creative in this industry? Price quality this is banging yes, but where is the creativity. This will forever be compared against the RO and even Nautilus, both of which will have much better resale value.
The measure of a good watch does not lie in it’s resale value.The RO does not have this textured dial, special scratch resistant steel, rose compass crownCrown The knob on the outside of the watch that you typically use to either wind the mainspring or set the time
[Learn More] and all the other little details that make this piece unique. No comparison necessary. It doesn’t have the ridiculous price, waiting list or invisible halo of the RO either.What EXACTLY is so incredibly, mind boggling and marvelous about the RO? That it came first? I expect you drive and worship a Model T Ford then.
Hi Stefan! Not sure if replying to me or CallMeBrian above. Just in case you refer to me: I don’t think I disagree with any of your points mentioned and very much appreciate you joining the conversation here!
Resale value is definitely not a good measure, because a lot of innovative brands that I admire most – usually independents – don’t have great resale value.
Also completely agree that this is a fine watch on many levels (Chopard is a fantastic watchmaker) and indeed the price they set is really unbelievable (in a great way). That’s a lot of value packed in there!
However, I also can absolutely understand why comparison is made between the Alpine Eagle and the RO. I’m pretty sure the people at Chopard know this as well and I didn’t think I should ignore the elephant in the room here. On top of that, in the current ‘flipper’ market, a lot of potential buyers (not necessarily people buying to ‘keep’) will be aiming to get a safer bet which I think is what CallMeBrian was hinting at.
I also mainly ride a bike (quite modern one) and had to google the Model T Ford! 🙂
My comment about resale value was aimed at CallMe Brian , just don’t think that should be your criteria when buying a watch.Thanks for your reply! I was lucky enough to try this watch on my wrist yesterday. Amazingly the boutique already had them in. My impressions? Yes, very well made watch with a little bit of weight to it. I have a small wrist and both sizes were ok. for me, but I like the idea of the longer power reserveRéserve de marche Also known as Power Reserve. A watch's power reserve refers to the amount of time a mechanical watch can run without being wound. The power reserve of a mechanical watch can vary depending on the size of the mainspring, the efficiency of the gear train, and the rate at which the mainspring releases energy. If a watch has a Power Reserve 'complication' it simply means that the status of the power reserve can be seen on the watch itself (either on the dial or movement side of the watch).
[Learn More] in the larger model. Feels comfortable to wear.The only dislike was that the blue and grey colors are quite different to what you see in the photographs. Much lighter in tone.I think this is the case with a lot of brands ( I had the same issue with the VC fifty-six where the so called Petrol Blue which looks great in photos is almost a shiny baby blue in the metal ) and the reason why you must see them before purchase. I had the impression the watch would stand up to a lot of knocks if you really decided to keep it on your wrist for real adventures. I forgot to check the quality of the lume. Note also that the warranty is only 2 years, something that could be better I think. I’m still putting this on my shortlist, I think Chopard did a good job with this one.