I really only know two Chopard timepieces, the Alpine Eagle is the second of the two, the other is the Mille Miglia. I had placed the Mille Miglia timepiece on my wrist previously in a Chopard boutique in the Greenbelt mall in Makati, Philippines – I liked it.

Designed by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the Alpine Eagle XL Chronograph is very interesting, very different from the Gerald Genta designs that this watch is attempting to emulate. I never tried on the Alpine Eagle in the boutique, I was only focused on the Mille Miglia during that visit. The Alpine Eagle is a steel sports watch with an integrated bracelet, this is a pretty fashionable style steeped in retro style. This fits into the Royal Oak, Nautilus and Overseas category. As a leading watch manufacturer, Chopard is sometimes relegated into the jewellery category, this is unfortunate. 

They need an iconic timepiece, the Mille Miglia along with the Alpine Eagle propel them into that elite group, only their marketing lets them down, they don’t possess mainstream brand recognition that Audermars Piguet and Patek Philippe does. The external bezel screws all align, the largish stainless steel bezel looks like it can scratch easily, this is why the ceramic bezel insert is important. I bash watches around as I wear them at work, the Alpine Eagle is a steel sports watch so this is what one would expect.