Chopard is a brand that I truly believe is criminally overlooked in the watch landscape today. But for over 25 years now, the brand better known for its jewelry has taken phenomenal strides in truly in-house watchmaking. Chopards first manufacture movement, caliber 96.01-L, debuted in 1997 in the now-legendary L.U.C 1860. The 3.3mm-slim foundational caliber boasted a micro-rotor, double barrels, COSC certification, and the Geneva Hallmark for its immaculate craftsmanship and finishing. Since then, these four characteristics have become a signature of many of Chopards jaw-dropping high-horology creations. And now, at Watches Wonders 2022, the brand finally brings them all to its flagship sports watchToday, well check out the new Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon, and see why its the upgrade the Alpine Eagle deserved.Since 2019, the Alpine Eagle has been the face of modern Chopard sports watches. Its an evolution of the Chopard St. Moritz, the brands first steel sports watch from 1980. Designed by Chopards current Co-President, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the St. Moritz was a daring release for the traditionally precious-metal watch brand. Nevertheless, it was extremely successful. The Alpine Eagle not only shares many aesthetic similarities with that watch, but it also fostered collaboration between three generations of the Scheufele family in its five-year development. It marked the introduction of a new stainless steel alloy, Lucent Steel A223, and is the perfect aesthetic platform for Chopards fantastic watchmaking. As such, its exciting to see a complicated high-horology movement now infusing the Alpine Eagle with even more Chopard spirit.Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying TourbillonExternally, this release follows the Alpine Eagle design formula that the brand has employed since 2019. The Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon is made of Lucent Steel A223, which is antiallergenic and 50% harder than typical steel alloys. As its name suggests, the Lucent Steel alloy also gives the case and bracelet a phenomenal luster. Most surfaces feature a vertically brushed finish, with gleaming polished bevels on the edges of the bracelet links, the case flanks, and the circular bezel. The gold-bullion-shaped links of the integrated bracelet feature three-dimensional polished central caps for a beautiful contrast. Having tried on the Alpine Eagle, I can attest to the fact that the bracelet wraps around the wrist with jaw-dropping grace. It closes with a friction-fit butterfly clasp, which, though basic, provides a seamless and elegant design.The standard 41mm Alpine Eagle is already incredibly wearable at 9.7mm thick. The Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon, however, is even more so. It has the same 41mm diameter as the simpler model, but it measures just 8mm in thickness. This is despite the fact that its an automatic flying tourbillon with a 100m depth rating and dual sapphire crystalsBoth crystals feature a glare-proof coating, and believe me when I say, anti-reflective doesnt do it justice. When I tried the Alpine Eagle on under bright AD lights, it was literally impossible to see any glare. No matter which way I oriented my wrist, the blue textured dial remained totally visible. And its the eagle-iris texture and beautifully saturated color that draw me back to the Alpine Eagle time and time again. Its wonderful to see them in the Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon, paired with white gold luminescent indices and hands.Caliber L.U.C 96.24-LBut the star of the show, of course, and what makes this release really special is the completely in-house automatic flying tourbillon movement. The caliber 96.24-L beats at a frequency of 25,500vph and offers 65 hours of power reserve. It also contains a variable-inertia balance wheel, allowing for extremely precise regulation. Through the aperture at 6 oclock on the dial, you notice the tourbillon cage rotating once per minute. The lack of an upper bridge lets this tourbillon cage fly, suspended in the air by only a bridge underneath. Now, this is neither a new concept nor a new movement for Chopard. That doesnt mean, however, that the caliber 96.24-L is anything short of exceptional. Based on Chopards very first manufacture movement, the 96.01-L, this caliber retains the exact same 3.30mm thickness. This is thanks to the 22K gold micro-rotor and Chopards unwavering dedication to elegance in mechanics.This elegance carries into the movement finishing itself, and C?tes de Genve, perlage, and anglage abound. The level of finishing earns the movement the prestigious Poin?oin de Genve, the Geneva Hallmark for superior quality. But from a technical standpoint, this movement is equally as impressive, because it has characteristics that many tourbillons do not. First, it is a COSC-certified chronometer, providing an accuracy of +6/-4 seconds per day. Though the tourbillon was originally designed to make pocket watches more accurate, a shockingly low number of tourbillon movements are actually chronometer-certified. Even rarer are tourbillon movements with a stop-seconds (hacking) mechanism. But yes, this 25-jewel caliber has that too. Its worth mentioning that of all the flying tourbillons on the market, Chopards are the only ones to bear the Geneva Hallmark and COSC certification.