Chopard Announce Alpine Eagle XL Chrono Maritime Blue with Turquoise Dial

Considering the 2023 has seen a resurgence in integrated sports watches, it’s almost a little surprising that the Chopard Alpine Eagle hasn’t been a bigger talking point. It’s based on the St Moritz from 1980, a steel sports watch that followed hotly on the heels of the sports luxe titans of the Nautilus and Royal Oak from the 1970s. The Alpine Eagle modernised the design for the 21st century and then the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono supercharged the design by making it larger and adding a chronograph complication. Now Chopard have announced a new Alpine Eagle XL Chrono reference – Ref. 298609-3006 – with a brand new Maritime Blue dial.

It’s kind of funny to hear a watch described as XL. That’s a descriptor you expect to see in a high street clothing chain rather than high end luxury wristwatch but on the other hand, you can’t deny that it’s accurate. The Alpine Eagle XL Chrono Maritime Blue measures 44m in diameter with a broad, brushed bezel and wide pushers that make it seem even larger. It’s made from Lucent Steel, which is Chopard’s proprietary alloy made from a high percentage of recycled material for improved sustainability.

However, while the integrated sports watch design of the case is nice and all, what makes the new piece a stand out in the collection is the dial. It is a bright turquoise that Chopard are calling Maritime Blue. The hue is very Tiffany-esque and it’s very nice – although part of me wants to say come on Chopard, don’t you know turquoise was the colour of 2022? It’s almost 2024.

However, while it might be a little late to the party, what makes the colour even cooler is the precision of the engraved sunray texture, which is designed to emulate an eagle’s iris. It deftly weaves its way around the chronograph subdials which are themselves finished with a circular pattern known as snailing. It looks fabulous and this is quite possibly my favourite dial on any Alpine Eagle to date. It has a vibrancy and playfulness that some of the darker or more classical colours in the existing collection can lack.

Under the surface of the fresh dial is housed the calibre Chopard 03.05-C, an automatic COSC chronograph movement with 60-hour power reserve. It features hours, minutes, chronograph seconds, 12-hour timer, 30-minute timer, small seconds and date complications. It also features three patents for the chronograph zero-resetting mechanism, unidirectional gear drive and vertical chronograph clutch, all of which is designed to facilitate an ultra-precise flyback chronograph function.

The Chopard Alpine Eagle XL Chrono Maritime Blue is a boutique edition, which means it is only available from select Chopard boutiques. It’s priced at £17,400, the same as the black and blue XL Chronos that are also on rubber straps like the Maritime Blue. Ultimately, I understand if you’re not to most excited about this release as it’s effectively a recolour of an existing watch, but I think it’s pretty neat. The turquoise is just so rich and eye catching.

​Oracle Time 

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