Reply With QuoteThis watch gets a lot of promotion in the glossy of the Dutch equivalent of the Financial times. It looks the business! Best colour for the dial too! Well done.
A new arrival to end 2022 - the 8hz Alpine Eagle Cadence. Not quite as smooth as a Spring Drive, but noticeably smoother that a 4hz watch.
It’s titanium and super light. The dial may not be to everybody’s taste, but the eagle-eye effect is quite subtle and gives a nice sheen to the dial.
But I almost gave up getting the perfect bracelet fit. Then I looked in the kitchen draw and found some self adhesive rubber pads. Four of those and the fit is perfect. The pads aren’t visible when wearing the watch.
Simon
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Last edited by gladders; 5th January 2023 at 11:11.
This watch gets a lot of promotion in the glossy of the Dutch equivalent of the Financial times. It looks the business! Best colour for the dial too! Well done.
I really like the Alpine Eagle and this is my favourite version of it. I think there have been a couple of recent AE purchases on the forum? Really like the dial colour and that the only numerals are at 12. I generally love titanium too. Would you mind posting a few more photos and letting me know your wrist size when you get a chance, please?
Hats off to you for finding a solution on the fit but I'm not sure my obsessive nature would be able to cope! Is there any ability to micro adjust the bracelet or is the sizing achieved through link removal only?
Hi,
I will post some proper images tomorrow when I have better light. I didn’t realise how awful my images above are until I looked at them on a proper monitor.
My wrist is tiny - about 6.25”. I’ve had very little luck with bracelets without micro adjustment and was taking a gamble with this. The rubber pads do give a perfect fit. The bracelet at the smaller size was too tight and at the larger size was flopping around. That Chopard bracelet has no half links, so I had few options.
Cheers,
Simon
Originally Posted by TH14TH14
That is disappointing about the lack of half links - i mean that is a must if you're going to make a bracelet without micro adjustment!
Anyway congrats on the watch, best dial colour for sure!
Thanks Simon - I didn't mean your photos were bad! Would just be great to see some photos from the top though when you can, especially given that you have a small wrist like me. It's a shame about the lack of half links but you've found a solution and the watch looks awesome.
A week in, and I’m still very happy. My rubber pads are working perfectly and I’m still smitten with the gliding second hand.
Here are some better quality (hopefully!) images…
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I love that, I think alpine eagles are spectacular watches.
It's crazy that watches like this don't have half-links or some means of achieving a perfect fit. By including two shorter links it would be possible to cover all bases and get adjustment to within 2mm, I have a Zenith with exactly the same issue where the adjustment is either +/- 5mm which makes it impossible to get a good fit. Old-style bracelets with micro-adjustable clasps take some beating!
What a beautiful watch.
While the cupboard bumpers are fairly ingenious, I’m not sure I could live with that or with such poor adjustability of the bracelet… would you consider writing to Chopard to ask what sort of solution they might propose?
^^^ this.
Nice watch but having to add the bumpers to the back would make it a firm no from me.
Me too.
I’ve had the same experience of ill-fitting bracelets with countless watches. It’s not a Chopard issue, it’s an issue with a common (bad) design decision. I was chatting with the Laurent Ferrier UK rep recently on why their Sport Auto doesn’t offer micro-adjustment and his answer was “aesthetics”. Maybe I have funny shaped wrists, but, in my case, I have two options: never wear a bracket again or come up with a “hack”.
Given the chance, I’d be wearing a Lange Odysseus!
Simon
Congrats on this pick up. I wasn’t particularly sure at first, but a real beauty in person and the finishing is up there. I also really like the dial, quite unique which sets it apart.
Beautiful watch! You do have excellent taste, and you've shared some most interesting watches over the years.
Out of interest:
- Is this 36mm or 41mm?
- I'm intrigued by the bracelet. I think I'm right in saying that the rear centre screws are simply there to hold in place the central polished sections. But, I'm interested in how you go about removing the double-pronged pins for removing / adding links?
I've often been tempted by the steel model with blue dial.
Enjoy !
P.S. I have memories (maybe flawed) of you owning ROOs in the past, so I always assumed you had a larger wrist (not sub-7" like me).
Mde too
Hi and thanks!
It's 41mm. Each bracelet link is the longer brushed piece and a separate polished center piece. They're linked together with the little double-pin things (with a figure of 8 cross section) and the screw on the back tightens the assembly together. So, changing a link involves undoing the screw, sliding out the figure-of-8-thing, and adding or removing a component.
I had a ROO Diver in the past with an extra-short strap. I think I managed to get away with the size and the integrated style rubber strap.
simon
They do have half links. Or rather, one and a half links. I had to buy an extra link and one of the oversized links to get a good fit for mine.
^ this is presumably great news for the OP.
I'm in the camp that couldn't live with the OP's fix, partly just because but mainly as it would be an irritating every day reminder of the makers irrational approach to the key issue of how a watch fits. There's some excellent micro adjust solutions out there, IWC in particular, or just offer a range of smaller links if you have to have the non adjustable clasp aesthetic.
I'm waiting for GS to relent and design/fit a lovely adjustable clasp to their bracelets and can't imagine it would do anything but result in increased sales.
Nice watch having said all of that!
Well put - agree on GS too. I thought when JLC brought out the adjustable deployant they everyone would be on it very rapidly, it almost looks like contempt for the customer that there’s no focus on it.
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