Wings Of Desire

Behind Chopard’s Alpine Eagle collection is a story of family bonds, youthful ambition, and undying pursuit of freedom

- Alvin Wong

Despite growing up in the exceedingly comfy environs of the Scheufele household, it appears that young Karl-Fritz’s appetite for success hasn’t been dulled one bit. At 22, the lanky scion to the Chopard luxury empire, currently still a student, has shown to be rather eager to make his mark in the family business. And not with a tentative dip into the company’s operations, mind you – but one marked by a full-fledged watch collection, which he helped kickstart, that involved three generations of Chopard’s leadership.

One of the most talked-about new releases, Chopard’s Alpine Eagle is an homage collection that’s more than meets the eye. On first impression, the collection appears right at home with the array of retro sports-inspired timepieces that have flooded retail shops in recent years. The watches’ unmistakable throwback quality and spirit – their substantial heft, athletic allure, refined tool watch-like aesthetic – recall the pioneering wave of Swiss luxury sports watches that first surfaced in the late 1970s and early 1980s. While it is not wrong to think that, to pigeon-hole the Alpine Eagle as such would be to do the collection’s conception a disservice.

Family Affair

The idea for the Alpine Eagle came to Karl-Fritz about five years ago. Just 17 then, the boy chanced upon the St. Moritz, an old Chopard watch designed by his father, Karl-Friedrich almost 40 years ago. Taken in by the watch’s design and how it felt on the wrist, Karl-Fritz became obsessed with the St. Moritz and tried to convince his father to bring the collection back.

Whether Karl-Friedrich recognised it or not at that time, there was certainly a sense of history repeating itself. His son’s constant attempts to urge him to make a watch uncannily echoed the way he himself tried to persuade his father, Karl, to launch a new Chopard watch collection.