The TAG Heuer Monaco is one of the most iconic (and revolutionary) watches of all time.Not only was the Monaco the first automatic chronograph ever made, it was also the first square chronograph ever: its boxy design an instant classic when it was first introduced in 1969. Of course, it’s also known as the quintessential motorsports watch, famously worn by Steve McQueen in the classic 1971 film Le Mans.The iconic watch has been discontinued and revived multiple times over the years, and remains one of TAG Heuer’s most definitive models. 2020 marks both the 160th anniversary of the brand as well as the 50th anniversary of the watch – so of course, TAG’s announced two new 39mm Monaco models, which might just be the best yet.One features a bold black dial with a sunray-brushed appearance, whereas the other features a lustrous blue sunray-brushed dial with a red, white and blue colour scheme reminiscent of the original Monaco timepieces of 1969. Both colours are paired with a stylish new metal bracelet – an important feature, as it has been nearly two decades since a new Monaco was presented on a metal bracelet. This particular example draws on the H-shaped bracelet that was used for Monaco watches in the early 1970s. The model with the black dial is also available with a black leather strap.Both models feature the powerful Calibre Heuer 02 movement, which has also made its way into 2020’s Carrera releases. Visible behind the watch’s sapphire crystal caseback and boasts an impressive power reserve of 80 hours, it’s a refined modern movement that gives the Monaco technological heft to match its masculine design.The black dial Monaco – with either a steel bracelet or leather strap – is available right now, and the blue dial will be available in January next year. So do you get a black one for yourself as a Christmas present, or do you treat yourself in 2021 with the blue? Your call.

Technical Specifications

• Ref. CBL2113.BA0644 (black dial, steel bracelet) / CBL2113.FC6177 (black dial, leather strap) / CBL2111.BA0644 (blue dial, steel bracelet)
• Polished and fine-brushed 39mm stainless-steel case
• Bevelled, domed sapphire crystal + sapphire caseback
• Water-resistant to 100m
• Silver minute chronograph counter at 3 o’clock; blue permanent seconds indicator and angled date display at 6 o’clock; hour chronograph counter at 9 o’clock
• Rhodium-plated indexes, hour and minute hands (hands also with white Super-LumiNova)

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The post TAG Heuer Squares The Circle With 'Racy' New Monaco Models appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Ronnie Fieg is one of the most influential individuals in modern fashion. Founder of cult streetwear purveyor KITH and one of the most in-demand collaborators for sneaker brands like ASICS, Adidas, Converse, New Balance and Saucony, Fieg has been singlehandedly responsible for cultivating much of modern fashion – in particular, trends towards ‘quality basics’ and 90s pop culture.RELATED: Conor McGregor Confirms 2020’s Comfiest Fashion Trend With $3,400 Tracksuit TeaseRiding high off the back of a successful collaboration with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, Fieg has splashed out on a bespoke 1989 BMW E30 M3, which he’s had customised in Munich by BMW Classic to his exacting specifications.“From 95-99 I had a poster of this exact car above my bed,” Fieg shared on Instagram.

“I would literally dream of owning an E30. Here is proof that dreaming big and working hard can make anything happen.”

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A post shared by Ronnie Fieg (@ronniefieg) on Oct 11, 2020 at 12:58pm PDT

The rare German coupé has been lovingly restored by BMW’s master craftsmen, seemingly without any performance modifications. However, Fieg’s gone all-out with KITH branding all over the vehicle, from leather upholstery embossed with the KITH logo to replacing the BMW lettering on every instance of the BMW roundel with ‘KITH’. There’s no mistaking whose car it is.The E30 was the second generation of BMW’s now-popular 3 Series and the first generation to see an ‘M car’ variant. E30s in their own right are widely considered one of the best performance cars of the 80s, but the rare E30 M3 takes that to another level. Its boxy styling, amazing driving dynamics and high-revving inline-four made it a legend in its own time, and love for the E30 M3 has grown ever since.The E30 M3 has a unique connection with streetwear, too, thanks to modern fashion’s close relationship with the music world. R&B savant Frank Ocean famously pictured an orange E30 M3 on the cover art of his first record Nostalgia, Ultra and hip-hop superstar Travis Scott also modified a ‘Cactus Jack’ E30 M3 to promote his label’s compilation album JACKBOYS.

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A post shared by flame (@travisscott) on Dec 24, 2019 at 3:08pm PST

Fieg’s not the only streetwear heavyweight with a passion for old German sports cars. Other big names – like Louis Vuitton creative director and Off-White founder Virgil Abloh; Fieg collaborator and acclaimed artist Daniel Arsham; and Queens-based brand Aimé Leon Dore – also boast their own luxury automotive collaborations. It seems to be the ‘done thing’ once you’ve made it in the streetwear world.Abloh recently unveiled his creative ‘Project Geländewagen‘ with Mercedes-Benz, whereas the other two delved into Porsche’s archives for their collabs: Arsham with his beautiful retro ‘930A’ and Aimé Leon Dore with their sumptuously outfitted 964 Carrera 4 respectively.Fieg’s M3 isn’t quite as elaborately reworked as his contemporary’s whips, but it’s still a very fine beast. Nicely done, Ronnie.

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• BMW Reveal Aggressive Changes For Australia’s Most Loved Performance Coupe & Sedan
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The post KITH Streetwear Legend Ronnie Fieg Revamps BMW E30 M3 appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Business class is rampant with innovation. Or it was until 2020. With the global travel shutdown we have seen a surge of cutbacks. Now everything from onboard wifi to champagne is on the chopping block.Whether you think complaints which bemoan this year’s pared-back offerings lack perspective, or whether you are as infuriated by Singapore Airlines’ decision to temporarily get rid of champagne as this man (whose rant went viral in July), you’ll have noticed a slump rather than a bump in 2020’s pointy end offering.But that’s not to say big plans are not still in the works. Like Reddit bros’ faith in dubious stocks, people’s urge to travel is irrepressible. Though domestic markets are seeing a quicker upturn than international ones, the bounce back is underway all over.Not to mention, the health concerns wrought by the pandemic make for an atmosphere ripe for disruption, with carriers looking to gain an edge in making travellers feel comfortable again.Enter: a brand new high-tech monocoque (think: the thing Formula 1 drivers sit in) called Airtek. Brainchild of JPA Design, the company which restyled business class for the modern age a decade ago, Airtek could redefine the pointy end experience.

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The ultra-light seat is designed with durable, single material thicknesses and surrounded by safe storage places for your laptop, cabin bag, and personal items. These are detailed with slim retention straps, conveniently placed around the seat. Everything is created to give the passenger a sense of openness and cleanliness of a more comfortable living space.

A post shared by JPA Design (@jpa.designstudio) on Oct 6, 2020 at 1:25am PDT

“Airy, spacious, futuristic,” with “materials borrowed from Formula 1 cars” (CNN Travel) Airtek is an aviation reporter’s wet dream. But will it be good for passengers?The early signs are positive. As CNN Travel reports, this monocoque revolution will mean more space, lighter seats, smaller carbon footprints (read: a lighter conscience) and more reliable seats with fewer moving parts to break.“A monocoque is a term and approach inspired by the automotive racing industry. It’s really a unification of structure and other components that are around it – rather than having an independent metal structure, independent composite furniture, independent seat, independent frame, all these all these different parts – by unifying them into a single highly efficient composite body with no wasted space,” JPA’s Creative Director Elliott Koehler told CNN Travel.JPA’s plan is to make the seat structure entirely out of composites, which will make it super strong for its weight, as well as freeing up space for your feet, knees and hand luggage.“The benefit to the passenger would be enormous in terms of leg room, and the ability to store a full sized cabin bag in the seat right in front of them,” Koehler said. “That would mean the reduction or removal of overhead bins, further reducing the weight of this airplane. And of course, less bins means a much more open cabin.”

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Soft surfaces on our seat shell make this seat inviting and approachable with optional privacy doors to protect personal spaces. The top edge of the shell has a slightly outward fluted edge, to highlight its singular thin construction and also to increase the sensation of space inside the suite.

A post shared by JPA Design (@jpa.designstudio) on Oct 12, 2020 at 1:39am PDT

This fits in with the pointy end trend of recent years, in which airlines have been providing more storage for bags and even jackets around business class seats (and often suites).This is also smart coming out of COVID: in an era where travellers will likely appreciate a dearth of communal facilities like overhead bins.“We’re keeping things really open” in the Airtek seat, Koehler told CNN Travel. “There’s a little storage for a laptop that’s remarkably open, so you can see it’s a clean and a safe place to put your electronics. The coat hook is just this very minimal strap, almost like a piece of footwear fashion. So that keeps it super clean, and super open and super lightweight. So everything a passenger sees as they’re looking around this seat will communicate this new vision – a lightweight, but also a comfortable and new open experience.”The seat still needs to be certified as safe, given that it must be able to withstand 16g impacts (16 times the force of gravity) while protecting its occupant.This is where, CNN Travel points out, JPA’s decades of experience in the industry (including working on previous generation products like 2010’s game-changing Cathay Pacific ‘herringbone’ pod seat) will come into play.“The JPA team hopes to have a fully resolved model in place for April 2021 – either in person at the annual Aircraft Interiors Expo or virtually, depending on the epidemiological situation – to show their design off to airline customers considering their next generation of business class seats,” (CNN Travel).In the meantime: let’s just hope we can fly internationally and enjoy products like these again soon.

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The post This Futuristic 'Formula One' Seat Design Could Redefine Business Class appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

One of the few business successes of 2020 has been food delivery apps. With going out to eat no longer a viable or attractive option for many Australian consumers (particularly those in COVID hotspots like Melbourne), the demand for takeaway has never been stronger.Superficially, this would seem like a bad thing. With gyms, pools and other exercise venues and opportunities off-limit thanks to The Bat Kiss, surely a rise in takeaway deliveries would further damage Australian waistlines? Not so, it seems. Just as social isolation has actually (and counterintuitively) got people exercising more than usual, it seems as if Aussies have also been taking a different approach to their food delivery habits.RELATED: Why Lockdown Was The Best Thing To Ever Happen To My GainsLeading food delivery app Deliveroo shared some interesting statistics with DMARGE which shows how The Pandemic has actually inspired Aussies to up their eating habits.

“[While] there was an initial swing towards the classic takeaway dishes like burgers and pizzas during the first phase of lockdown… more recently we’re seeing healthier options replace those choices.”

“Salads, in particular, have seen a massive spike in orders in the past month. Nationally a 16% increase has been observed with Melbourne the ‘green capital’ as orders of salads [there] increased by 31%. The number one selling salad in Australia is the falafel salad from Tahina in Melbourne.”

 

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A post shared by TAHINA (@tahinabar) on Aug 18, 2020 at 9:29pm PDT

While it’s good to see that we’re choosing the path of good as opposed to evil when it comes to takeaway choices, the trend is perhaps more ironic than one might initially think: if you’re ordering salad as opposed to going out and getting it yourself, doesn’t that somewhat defeat the point?Salads aren’t the only thing that have seen a spike in popularity, according to Deliveroo: “ice cream orders have also seen a huge spike, rising by 139%, with Aussies ordering sweet treats now more than ever.” So if you’re ordering a salad and then top it off with a chocolate sundae, doesn’t that negate any health benefits anyway?We’re just playing devil’s advocate here. Obviously, any rise in healthy food deliveries is a good thing, and it’s not as if we’re entirely back to normal yet anyway (especially in Melbourne). We shouldn’t demonise people for being responsible: socially distancing, ordering healthy food, supporting the local economy, and so on. And so what if people want an ice cream? The weather’s heating up, anyway.Food delivery apps have been highly successful for many years, and 2020 has only further fuelled their supremacy. It’s never been easier to order quality food to your home, office or a party (a socially distanced party, mind). Food delivery apps are also increasingly becoming more conscious of their environmental impact: indeed, Deliveroo offsets all carbon emissions arising from delivery orders made through the platform (at no cost to the consumer, too) – a first for the industry in Australia. Deliveroo was also the first delivery app to make cutlery opt-in, and has also built partnerships with reusable plastics company Returnr and eco-friendly packaging company BioPak.Time will tell if Australians keep up their healthy order habits post-COVID. Until then, we’re going to order some chips for lunch. Potato is a vegetable, right?

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The post Ironic Twist Behind Australia’s ‘Healthy Eating’ Craze appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Forget Ibiza and Magaluf: this obscure Italian island could be the world’s new sex capital. Wild, sizzling; refined, Filicudi – along with its big sister, Stromboli – is a Mediterranean beauty which plays host to constant little eruptions (and not all of them are volcanic).The two molten mountains, situated in Sicily’s Aeolian archipelago, are said to have aphrodisiac powers perfect for those trying to get their mojo back (or simply have a particularly passionate consummation).Known as the “fertility atolls,” some travellers report life changing experiences on Filicudi and Stromboli.CNN Travel reports the islands have become ‘sex pilgrimage’ sites, according to locals, because of “their apparent ability to raise libidos” as well as providing an environment which “encourages couples to engage in bedroom experimentation.”“Newlywed couples longing to have a baby are said to flock here from all over the world, while young women hoping to find a man say silent prayers in front of odd-looking sea stacks that thrust into the air like… well, you get the idea.”However, it’s not for the sex we’d argue you should see these islands for yourself, but the sheer serenity (that’s right: all it takes is the threat of a deadly volcano and you have a veritable, reasonably uncrowded paradise, even in 2020).This is perfectly summed up by the following Filicudi photo, posted on May the 3rd by @italysegreta (via @gigglesandtonic), a lifestyle brand based on the appreciation of the small pleasures of Italian life.

 

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A post shared by Italy Segreta (@italysegreta) on May 2, 2020 at 10:07pm PDT

Now that’s a Sunday mood.Across the water Stromboli – the lighthouse of the Meditteranean – has even more aphrodisiac properties, and even more bubbling beneath the surface: it is also home to about 300 full-time residents and a ticking time bomb – a volcano which rises 924m from the sea and extends more than 1000m below.But danger, apparently, yields horniness.“It’s a very sensual place, an isle of fire and passion,” Maria Puglisi, a local wine trader, told CNN Travel. “You can feel the constant vibrations inside of you each time the pinnacle erupts; it’s like if the volcano explodes in your body. It’s a powerful, aphrodisiac pull.”

 

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A post shared by Sicilia | Palermo Yallers® (@yallerssicilia) on Oct 9, 2020 at 8:44am PDT

According to Puglisi, many of those who take the eight-hour trek up to Stromboli’s crater strip naked and lie with their bellies on the quivering earth to feel the eruptions and vibrations run through them.

“The volcano is alive, we call it ‘Iddu’ (him), and he’s guilty of turning folks on. He’s a naughty boy.”

Cestrum nocturnum, a plant which grows greenish-white flowers, which bloom when the sun sets, and which produces an (apparently) libido-boosting fragrance, grows on the island of Stromboli, and is rumoured to help couples conceive.

 

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A post shared by Louise Marshall (@gigglesandtonic) on Sep 1, 2020 at 7:11am PDT

It doesn’t end there: Filicudi is less of a second fiddle island as the place you put your new skills to use: its secluded grottoes are said to be often enjoyed by couples who, “on the pretext of using them to shelter from the sun, often end up conceiving babies,” (CNN Travel).

 

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A post shared by Katerina Stathopoulou (@caterina_stathopoulou) on Aug 14, 2020 at 6:36am PDT

“Sailing on sparkling green waves, local fishermen have been known to drop couples off in so-called ‘fertility caves.’ They also offer a service taking young single ladies on a boat tour that includes touching unusually shaped rocks said to offer luck in the search for love,” CNN Travel reports.

 

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A post shared by Ludovica Grillo (@ludogrillo) on Sep 2, 2020 at 10:20am PDT

Should you be fortunate enough to travel to Italy in these tricky times, now could be the perfect time to visit Stromboli or Filicudi.According to Champion Traveller, though June – August is the busiest season with perfect weather, you’ll be able to score cheaper, less crowded lodging (as well as “very nice” weather) in October and November.

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The post Filicudi Island: Obscure Italian Island Could Be Ultimate Sex Paradise appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Following Justin Bieber’s fashion choices is to take a ride on one of the wildest sartorial rollercoasters in living memory. The Canadian singer/songwriter sometimes pulls off amazing fits, like this summery ‘Brooklyn bohemian‘ look or this workwear-meets-streetwear ensemble… And then will turn around and step out in multi-coloured Crocs or saggy-crotch tracksuit shorts.Thankfully his latest get-up is a masterstroke.Yesterday, Bieber posted a photo of him posing in his driveway next to his Lamborghini Urus (his pride and joy) in a similarly high-octane outfit: contrasting a black six-panel cap, polo and trousers with a colourful 90s Benetton F1 Team varsity jacket, Nike SB Stefan Janoski sneakers and a solid gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak worth around ~US$100,000.

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A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Oct 11, 2020 at 4:59pm PDT

Normally we’d be honing in on his timepiece but honestly, the jacket is the most impressive part of this fit.Vintage motorsports memorabilia is often very hard to come by, especially a jacket as distinctive as Bieber’s Benetton number. Go to any good vintage store in Sydney’s Inner West like Cream on Crown or Route 66 and expect to pay upwards of $130, even $200 for a retro racing coaches jacket. That Bieber got his hands on such a nice example of motorsports merch is to be applauded – it’s one hell of a jacket. Perhaps Bieber was inspired by the exploits of his good friend, British F1 champ Lewis Hamilton, with his latest style snap-up – Hamilton’s another big fan of colourful fits.Benetton was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001, owned by the family of the same name – you might be familiar with their clothing brand, United Colors of Benetton. Famous drivers like three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, Ros Verstappen (father of current F1 driver, Max Verstappen) and GOAT Michael Schumacher all raced for Benetton.The Schumacher connection is rather prescient, considering Hamilton just matched Schumacher’s thought-to-be-unbeatable all-time record of 91 wins. Talk about six degrees of separation…

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The post Justin Bieber Steps Out In Rare Benetton F1 Jacket appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

10 years ago the very notion of being an ‘influencer’ as a career choice was one that would never have even been dreamt about. Fast forward to today and, with the rise of social media platforms such as Instagram, posing and posting just a couple photos with a sponsored product can (potentially) earn you the yearly salary of someone who’s studied and worked their way up the career ladder.Instagram influencers are used by companies for their audience reach. Instead of having to drum up ideas for television adverts or billboards around a boardroom table, all a company needs to do is get a well-known celebrity or self-made influencer to mention their products and boom, clicks should ensue. Kylie Jenner is widely regarded as being the highest earner from Instagram, being able to command around US $1.3 million for a single post, in the hope that her 197 million followers will see it.Of course, at the opposite end of the influencer spectrum, you have users who have built up a following by committing such disrespectful acts as eating cereal from a pair of $20,000 Nike sneakers, and demanding free meals in return for some “cross promotion.”It’s not just megastars such as Jenner that can make good money from Instagram, as a recent report from Money.co.uk has looked into the earnings potential of some of the most physically fit humans on the planet: the 2020 CrossFit Games athletes.Acknowledging that 2020’s unique situation has brought virtually all sporting events to a halt, or at least had to have them play behind closed doors, the British-based financial comparison service compiled a list of the potential earnings of the top 30 male and female CrossFit athletes, based on the estimation that each follower an Instagram user has is worth £0.0033/AU $0.006.As we like to call it: a ‘baller’ study.

 

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First session of the day done. Refueling with a big breakfast, turmeric juice and espresso. If only I could stop sweating. #HWPO – @feedingthefrasers keeping me well fed. Scrambled eggs, french toast bagel and plums. – #espresso #homebarista #homecooked

A post shared by Mathew Fraser (@mathewfras) on Oct 9, 2020 at 8:45am PDT

Topping out the men’s leaderboard is Mathew Fraser who, with just over 2.2 million followers, could net himself a healthy £7,305/AU $13,281 for each sponsored post he uploads to his Instagram feed.Noah Ohlsen follows behind with an earnings potential figure of $2,337/AU $4,248. The interesting takeaway from Money.co.uk‘s table is that some of the athletes lower down in the rankings – the rankings of their position going into the in-person CrossFit games finals based on previous rounds – doesn’t correlate with their follower count.Ability and fitness don’t necessarily mean more likes, it seems, indicating other factors come into play. Personality perhaps? Witty captions or posting more content, more regularly.

 

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Day by day Handmade shirt @gerardoandriello made of pima cotton with spandex. . #inspiration #sumisura #menswear #mensstyle #gentleman #sobmedida #bespoke #pimacotton #alfaiataria #menswithclass #gentlemanstyle #omegamychoice #Instatravel #travelblogger #travelgram #Londres #London # #UK #England

A post shared by Bruno Santos (@brunosantos) on Sep 21, 2020 at 6:02am PDT

These findings are also niche in that they only relate to CrossFit 2020 athletes. If the same earning per follower assumption is applied to other fitness influencers, then these earnings pale in comparison.Simeon Panda is regarded as being one of the most-followed fitness-dedicated influencers on Instagram and 7 million followers, could earn just over £23,000/AU$ 42,000 for each post he makes.While income like this could easily force someone to quit their 9-5, it’s still blindingly clear that fitness influencers still don’t have quite the same earnings power as other ‘influencers’ who make big bucks on aesthetic alone.Many kale smoothies to drink; much to ponder…

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The post Study Reveals How Much Fitness Influencers Make appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Paris plongeurs circa 1933. ‘Vanlifers‘ with a broken shower. Matt Damon’s mullet. The word ‘dirty’ gets thrown around a lot when describing things people don’t like (or which they don’t like the smell of).The following photo, taken this morning by DMARGE on a Jetstar flight to Sydney (and subsequently posted to Instagram), pungently combines the two: a pair of feet up on an airplane bulkhead.

“Anything higher is a big no no.”

“The bulkhead is a structural component of the aircraft and not designed for your feet. I think it’s a sign of disrespect to have your feet planted up there. The higher your feet, the more disrespectful.”

“If my seat mate did that I would educate them on etiquette (unless said seat mate looked like he/she could break my neck just by looking at it).”

“In any case the bulkhead is not yours and is not included with the price of your ticket so just leave it alone.”Lizzie Post, etiquette expert and co-president of The Emily Post Institute told DMARGE putting your feet up on the bulk head is a “big no no,” but that “if you do it, make sure to do it in the least invasive way possible.”In other words: make sure your feet don’t stink.Zarife Hardy, director of the Australian School of Etiquette, also has some good tips for dealing with this kind of situation (or temptation).Speaking to 9Honey Travel, Hardy said good etiquette is about making people feel comfortable in your presence.In delicate situations, Hardy said there a few different paths you can go down, with communication key for all of them.

“Talking to your cabin crew privately is a great place to start – do so in the galley, not in front of others.”

“Politely ask them if they know of any other available seats that you may be able to move to.”Want more airplane etiquette tips? Watch this (air)space.

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The post Australian Man's 'Polarising' In-Flight Act Sparks Air Travel Etiquette Debate appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

This feature has been produced in partnership with Chopard

When it was first introduced last year, the Chopard Alpine Eagle immediately caused a stir. 

Not only was it an incredibly handsome watch that adroitly fused the heritage of the brand with the best of modern watchmaking – a perfect new addition to Chopard’s collection of fine timepieces – but it also fired a serious salvo right into the heart of some of the world’s most prominent watch brands.

Steel sports watches have never been more popular than in 2020. When you’re up against heavyweights of the watch world like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Vacheron Constantin Overseas, Patek Philippe Nautilus or the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo, you best bring your A-game, and that’s what Chopard did.

A year on from its groundbreaking release, Chopard have raised the stakes even further, by introducing the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono. And our take? It might just be the most beautiful sports watch on the market.

This is in no small way due to the unique Lucent Steel A223 the watch is crafted from, an innovative steel alloy developed by Chopard for its anti-allergenic properties, its robustness and its incomparable brilliance obtained through a meticulous recasting process – it shines like gold, without any of the weight or malleability.

DMARGE had the chance to chat with Chopard’s Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and his son Karl-Fritz, who together designed the Alpine Eagle. For the pair, adding a chronograph complication to their creation was a no-brainer.

“Chronographs are the ultimate expression of mechanical watches. They’re a real delicacy when it comes to watchmaking – like a 12-cylinder engine,” Scheufele Snr related.

The automotive analogy suits the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono exceptionally well, its sleek, functional design evocative of a fine-tuned sports car. Karl-Friedrich is a noted car lover, responsible for cultivating Chopard’s long-standing partnership with the Mille Miglia rally as well as the Chopard chronograph that bears the famous race’s name.

The Mille Miglia wasn’t the only watch a young Karl-Friedrich added to Chopard’s stable. The Alpine Eagle owes a lot to the St. Moritz, another steel sports watch designed by Karl-Friedrich in 1980 that was groundbreaking at the time. Chopard had never made a watch quite like it before, and it was a runaway success. Indeed, the design of the St. Moritz heavily influenced the design of the Alpine Eagle.

That’s not the only parallel the two watches share. The St. Moritz was a collaboration between Karl-Friedrich and his father, and in turn the Alpine Eagle was a collaboration between Karl-Fritz and his father.

The pair related that intergenerational collaboration has been crucial to the success of the Chopard brand. Another key element of their modern success has been their focus on sustainability – something that Karl-Fritz is particularly passionate about.

“Younger generations are curious about watches, and the stories behind them. But we’re also demanding, and sustainability is very important too,” Scheufele Jnr explained.

Both Karl-Friedrich and Karl-Fritz Scheufele shared how the events of 2020 have accelerated the desirability and awareness of sustainability in watchmaking, noting that they’ve never had more questions from customers about their ethical gold program in particular.

This focus on sustainability is reflected in the Alpine Eagle’s trademark dial: a truly captivating pattern that evokes an eagle’s iris. Scheufele Snr, a keen mountaineer, was a founding member of the Eagle Wings Foundation, a charity that documents the impact of global warming on the Alps and works towards the reintroduction of the white-tailed eagle, the largest of the European eagles, which has disappeared from the Alps.

Furthermore, the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono’s dial is available with a unique colour that furthers this connection to sustainability: an azure hue named ‘Aletsch Blue’, named after the largest glacier in the Alps. It’s a brilliantly Swiss reference, but also emblematic of the brand’s concern about climate change: a reminder that the glacier is becoming smaller and smaller thanks to global warming, and how we must act fast to make sure we don’t just see the Alps on watch dials.

Speaking of dials, the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono’s might just have the best one in the business. It’s not only stunning but incredibly functional without being busy. Despite being a 44mm watch, it’s surprisingly compact on the wrist, thanks to a short lug height. The chronograph stoppers integrate flawlessly with the case – it feels like the Alpine Eagle was always designed as a chrono.

Every little bit of the watch feels intentional and well-considered, like a fine piece of jewellery. Its little touches, like the star-shaped Alpine Eagle motif that adorns the crown and caseback, which not only evokes a snowflake or compass rose, but also an edelweiss – yet another delightfully Swiss touch.

But the best feature of the watch might just be its bracelet. Elegantly designed, with a polished centre joint that shows off the lustre of its Lucent A223 steel, it’s what elevates the Alpine Eagle above its peers. The Alpine Eagle XL Chrono also comes in a two-tone style which pairs the steel with 18ct ethical rose gold – in the two-tone model, the polished steel highlights are replaced with gold for added luxury.

Both the two-tone and pure steel editions are fantastic, and both are sure to turn heads no matter what company you’re in. The two-tone is available only with a ‘Pitch Black’ dial (a colour that makes its debut on the XL Chrono), but the steel is also available with that aforementioned ‘Aletsch Blue’ treatment.

The hardest choice will be figuring out which one you want – but like an eagle, you better swoop in fast… These chronos won’t last for long.

On top of the new XL Chrono, Chopard have also added new additions to the Alpine Eagle range: two new full gold versions to the existing Large size, as well as a new Small size model in Lucent Steel with a diamond-set bezel.

But really, it doesn’t matter what flavour of Alpine Eagle you choose. They’re all delicious. Chopard are on to a winner with this bold new sports watch – forging a legacy that no doubt will endure for years to come.

View the entire Alpine Eagle collection at Chopard’s online boutique.

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