Chopard launched an “extra-large” chronograph version of its sport-luxury Alpine Eagle model in 2020, consisting of two references with cases and bracelets in Lucent steel and a third in a bi-material execution combining Lucent steel and the maison?s ?ethical? rose gold. For the latest iteration of the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono, released at the end of 2021, Chopard once again offers a two-tone, bi-material timepiece, this one pairing its ethical gold with ceramized titanium and mounted on a new calfskin leather strap.

Like its predecessors, the watch has an “XL” 44-mm case with right-side-mounted chronograph pushers that are elegantly integrated on either side of the crown guards. The gold used for the bezel, crown, pushers and caseband is sourced from the ethical supply chain that Chopard famously established in 2018, and the bead-blasted ceramized titanium used for crown guards and caseback, a material used in the aerospace, automotive, and medical industries, boasts exceptional hardness (700 Vickers), friction and corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility. The material, which Chopard also showcased in a pair of L.U.C travel watches earlier in 2021, derived from an electroplasma technology that oxidizes surface layers of titanium at extreme temperatures. The gold bezel features eight functional indexed screws at the key points, and the crown sports an engraved compass rose.
The textured-motif dials, inspired by the visual of an eagle&...