Chopard, H. Moser & Cie and Vacheron Constantin resurrect the steel sports watch

Steel reissues of mechanical timepieces are designed to keep the price down and attract a new, younger generation of fans. However, at HK$320,000, the Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955 appears to be the exception

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Why you can trust SCMP

Chopard’s Alpine Eagle, featuring a 41-mm blue dial.

Abid Rahman

Published: 8:30pm, 21 Oct 2019Updated: 8:30pm, 21 Oct 2019

It’s been a few weeks since the last column and I am happy to report that I have not shamed myself, lost anything valuable or sustained any injuries. By the same token, nothing particularly interesting has happened to me either, so perhaps I should leave the house more. However, one thing did pique my interest, actually that’s a lie, I am totally obsessed with the beef between British football wives Colleen “Wagatha Christie” Rooney and Rebekah Vardy.

If you have no idea what I’m prattling on about, google it now, seriously, stop reading this and go and search it out. For those of us who are familiar with the story (it made The New York Times for goodness sake!), can we all just bask in the perfection of Rooney’s plan, the tortured five months she spent laying her intricate, fiendishly clever trap and the oh-so delicious reveal that will echo throughout time: “It’s ......... Rebekah Vardy’s account.”

Right, we should probably get on with the watches. In my downtime, as well as consuming all Rooney-Vardy related content, I’ve been looking at the slew of high-end steel watches that have hit the market. I am a big booster of steel watches, as they appeal to my more egalitarian pretensions but also rose and yellow gold can look a bit gaudy, while white gold and platinum are gilding the lily a touch.

A month ago, I was waxing lyrical about Bell & Ross’ BR05, a steel sports watch that leans heavily on famous watches of the past. Well, wouldn’t you know it? Chopard has also got in on the act, launching a steel sports watch collection, the Alpine Eagle. OK, it’s not as slick as the BR05, but this rugged beast can hold its own. The key feature is the distinctive dial design, with the oversized roman numerals, which might not be to everyone’s taste but you won’t forget the look. I’m also a fan of the irregular placement of the date window, between the four and five o’clock positions.

The chunky, brushed-metal case and strap, along with the nice symmetry of the eight screws holding things together, makes for a joyous exhibition of retro goodness. The watch is relatively devoid of features, but that’s not the point – it’s a piece for everyday use and designed to take a knock or two. There are several versions of the Alpine Eagle (as well as the blue dial, there is a grey-dial version and a grey-dial-and-gold edition), but crucially this watch also comes in two sizes.