Every two years, TimeForArt provides an exceptional opportunity for Chopard to showcase the full extent of its artistic genius through a one-of-a-kind timepiece.
The new Alpine Eagle 41 XP model combines the pure lines of an iconic creation from the Maison with a dial featuring an exceptional artistic craft perfected by the in-house workshops: straw marquetry. This aesthetic feat is matched by great technical virtuosity: beating inside a 41-millimetre-diameter case in Lucent Steel™ – Chopard’s exclusive alloy endowed with advanced properties and made with an 80 percent recycling rate – its sophisticated L.U.C 96.17-L movement is equipped with the two stacked barrels of Chopard Twin technology, ensuring a 65-hour power reserve.
Straw marquetry dial: A miniature masterpiece
Each edition of a TimeForArt timepiece gives Chopard the opportunity to call on one of the many artistic crafts cultivated in its workshops. In keeping with this tradition, the dial of this new model is graced with straw marquetry. Created by a decoration artisan from the manufacture specially trained in this 17th-century technique, this masterpiece is a first for Chopard, which has never before presented a dial of this kind on its watches. The choice of straw and its link with the agricultural environment recall the deep inspiration that the Alpine Eagle collection draws from nature and the alpine environment that Chopard is committed to preserving.
It all starts with the selection of the material: rye straw grown in Burgundy, France. Each strand is split individually with the fingernail, before being flattened with a dedicated tool called a plioir (bone folder). Using a scalpel, the straw is then cut and subsequently glued to the dial in an intricate pattern owing everything to the artisan’s dexterity. The composition combines strands of different sizes, thicknesses and shades, while its graphic lines evoke an eagle’s eye view in full flight over the skyscrapers of New York – the city where the TimeForArt auction is to be held. Once assembled, the dial is coated with wood wax in order to reveal its full shine and brilliance. During all these stages, the light, thin nature of straw demands extremely meticulous care and patience, justifying 60 hours of work – at the end of which the hour-markers and inner bezel ring are applied by hand, followed by the gold hours and minutes hands.
Alpine Eagle: Sophisticated aesthetics
The Alpine Eagle collection reflects Chopard’s creative richness and visionary spirit in equal measure, along with inspiration drawn from the power of nature. The one-of-a-kind Alpine Eagle 41 XP Time For Art remains true to this approach: a round case with stylized sides, a crown engraved with a compass rose, a bezel with eight functional indexed screws, luminescent indications and a comfortable metal bracelet – and above all, a state-of-the-art material: Lucent Steel™. This innovative steel alloy made with an 80 percent recycling rate was developed by Chopard for its anti-allergenic virtues, robustness and incomparable brilliance obtained through a meticulous remelting process. The Alpine Eagle 41 XP model is endowed with pure, sleek lines and harmonious proportions. Measuring 41 millimetres in diameter and just eight millimetres thick, its case, featuring a slimmed-down bezel and sides, provides a wide opening onto the unprecedented dial.
L.U.C calibre 96.17-L: Mechanical performance
The thinness of the case is made possible by the use of the in-house L.U.C 96.17-L movement measuring just 3.30 mm thick. This self-winding movement is equipped with a 22-carat off-centre micro-rotor incorporated into the thickness of the calibre. Its high inertia enables it to wind the two stacked barrels of Chopard Twin technology, which store the energy needed to give the Alpine Eagle 41 XP Time For Art a total 65-hour power reserve. Once fitted, it will remain on time and accurate for more than two and a half days, the length of a long weekend.
TimeForArt
This one-of-a-kind art watch will be part of the TimeForArt event, an auction of outstanding timepieces by the world’s greatest master watchmakers, with 100 percent of the proceeds directly dedicated to supporting the most visionary contemporary artists through Swiss Institute exhibitions, public apprenticeship programmes and free community workshops. TimeForArt offers a year-round platform for exchanges between the world of watchmaking and the visual arts.
Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele comments on this remarkable collaboration: “TimeForArt is a unique opportunity to put the spotlight on our highly qualified artisans through a project that supports the vitality of the art world. Our workshops are committed to preserving and passing on the wealth of watchmaking traditions of which they are the mediators – and this new Alpine Eagle model proves that our approach of independence and integrated skills is both judicious and beneficial.”
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