The recently released Chopard Alpine Eagle Cadence 8 HF is an upgraded version of the Alpine Eagle released in 2019. Just like its predecessor, the dial, the finishing and the bracelet are our favorite parts of this watch. The Chopard Alpine Eagle Cadence 8 HF is a reinterpretation of the St. Moritz watch, the first watch created in 1980 by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, now co-president of Chopard.
For this model, Chopard decided to go with titanium instead of Lucent Steel A223 as they did with the Alpine Eagle a couple of years ago. For those of you not familiar with Lucent Steel, this is a type of steel resulting from a re-smelting process featuring three unique characteristics. Thanks to its hypoallergenic composition, Lucent Steel A223 has properties comparable to surgical steel; this alloy with its 223 Vickers’ strength is 50% more resistant to abrasion than conventional steels and has a unique hardness; finally, with its superior homogeneous crystal structure, its purity enables it to reflect light in a unique way.
While this new watch and its predecessor appear to be almost identical, below we’ve added a picture of the Alpine Eagle so you can tell the differences between the two as far as looks goes. With the current interest in watches with an integrated bracelet and flat top cases with screwed-on bezels, the Alpine Eagle from Chopard offers a less expensive but very interesting alternative to the iconic and legendary Audemars Piguet Royal Oak that has now skyrocketed in price and is pretty much only available in the secondary/grey market.
Things to Know About the Watch
While the Alpine Eagle and the new Alpine Eagle Cadence 8 HF appear to be almost identical, there are several differences between them that go beyond the choice of metal for its 41 mm case and bracelet. The Alpine Eagle Cadence 8 HF was released in titanium in a limited edition of only 250 pieces and it beats at double the rate of the Alpine Eagle —4 Hz or 28,800 vph— at 8 Hz or 57,600 vph.
Then comes the dial, that while still featuring a rock-like texture just like on the Alpine Eagle, it only has a Roman numeral at 12 o’clock instead of four at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. Lastly, the dial features a small black lighting bolt imprint above 6 o’clock conveying the nature of its high-frequency escapement.
As far as the bracelet —our favorite part of the watch—, it is totally identical to the one on the regular production Alpine Eagle. The bracelet gently tapers and is comprised by single ingot-shaped links, topped by a raised central cap. The Alpine Eagle Cadence 8 HF round bezel is punctuated by eight screws, grouped in pairs at the four cardinal points. These screws also serve a technical function by guaranteeing the water resistance of the watch to 100 meters.
The Movement
Turning the watch over reveals the most advanced in-house movement from Chopard to date, Calibre 01.12-C. This COSC certified automatic movement provides a 60-hour power reserve when fully wound and it’s equipped with an oscillating weight made of tungsten. As mentioned before, this movement beats at double the frequency of the Alpine Eagle and most modern watches at a rate of 8 Hz or 57,600 vph, The movement was fully developed, produced and assembled at Chopard. The display case back on this 250-piece limited edition features a black imprint that reads ‘Cadence 8 HF’.
On the Wrist & Pricing
On the wrist, the Chopard Alpine Eagle Cadence 8 HF wears true to its size, extremely light, and thanks to its incredibly finished bracelet, it fits like a glove and very comfortably. Its contemporary, refined and assertive looks make the Chopard Alpine Eagle Cadence 8 HF a great contender in the arena of integrated bracelet watches. As far as pricing, this watch is almost $6K USD more expensive than the regular production Alpine Eagle.
Sticker Price $19,000 USD. For more info on Chopard click here.
