Source: TimeWerke Videos on YouTube.
Is the Chopard Alpine Eagle a copy of another watch? Does it look like another watch?
Firstly, the word “copy” might be a harsh word depending on the context of its use. Secondly, we fully agree that Chopard’s Alpine Eagle does indeed look like another watch – the Chopard St Moritz that made its debut in 1980.
The St Moritz of 1980 was the first watch creation of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, currently co-president of Chopard. He was then 22 years of age and had to convince his father, Karl Scheufele, to accept the idea. The St Moritz was the first sports watch from Chopard made of steel. Back then, Chopard was focused more on gold and diamond-set gold timepieces. According to the brand, the St Moritz was one of Chopard’s bestsellers over a decade.
In 2019 or close to 40 years later, Chopard’s history has repeated itself. This time, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s son, Karl-Fritz, was the driving force behind the Alpine Eagle.
“When I walked into the office of my father one day and I saw this watch, he explained that it was the St Moritz,” recalls Karl-Fritz. Intrigued, Karl-Fritz decided that the St Moritz had the potential to be resurrected in a modern form.
Though his father was initially reluctant, he was secretly supported by his grandfather and his determination led to the acceptance of a new collection – the Alpine Eagle. The Alpine Eagle represents a relaunch of the St Moritz or perhaps a better term to use is the re-edition of a Chopard sports watch forty years on. “I must admit the [Alpine Eagle] fits into its time today,” says Karl-Friedrich Scheufele.
Looking at vintage pieces of the St Moritz, we observed that the strong feature of its design was the eight screws securing the bezel onto the case and it had an integrated metal bracelet.
While the bezel of the Alpine Eagle is rounded unlike the St Moritz that had a particular shape, it seems like certain design aspects have been retained. This is in the form of the crown protector, the protrusion surrounding the crown and it is balanced by similar protrusions on the case at 9 o’clock.
The prominent eight screws feature is retained and the screws are functional in the sense that it helps in the water-resistance of the watchcase.
The Chopard Alpine Eagle is not a copy of the St Moritz, neither is it an exact re-make. It is a modern-day version of the St Moritz – an evolution of the St Moritz.
“So the story continues,” says Karl-Fritz Scheufele.