Founded by Gottlieb Hauser in 1883, Alpina has been a creative swiss brand from the early 20th century where they manufactured watch movements and calibers for both the Swiss and the German market. They focus much on rugged tool watches that provide supplies even to the military back then and continuing their legacy till today.  They are currently the sister brand of Frederique Constant, whose primary focus is classic watches. Alpina, on the other hand, specializes in sports watches, mainly the Alpiner (Land), Seastrong (Sea) and Startimer (Air) while consistently providing accessible luxury watches. Today, we are proud to be the first to introduce, the all-new Alpiner Extreme collection.

Designed from scratch, the Alpina takes on a different design from their current lineup, but mainly still reminiscent of the quirky cushion-shaped case watches from the late 70s. The watch still has current specifications of 41mm by 42.5mm and 11.5mm thick. The lugs to lugs dimensions of only 42.5mm make this watch extremely comfortable on all wrist sizes.

Alpina Alpiner Extreme Chronograph Automatic Silver - Bracelet Ref. AL-730SB4AE6B

Although it carries much of the same spirit of the 2009 original Steastrong design, the new Alpiner Extreme Chrono is an heavily upgraded 3-part case design. Made out of 316L stainless steel, the case distills a distinctive structure while being sharp-looking and feel altogether in a wearable package. Together with its multi-finishing that often punches way above Alpina’s price-point, the overall look is conspicuously multi-layered, faceted with an ultra-modern look in addition to the brand’s spirit in which resonates with the integrated sports watch theme.

The crisply satined and polished bezel features six emblazoned screws with a mountainous triangular motif in honor of Alpina’s alpine heritage. To finish up, the case is fitted with a screw-down crown with rubberized knurling to allow easy operation even with wet hands or heavy mountaineering gloves. Flanging the crown is the chronograph pushers, where the top start and stop the chrono, and the bottom one restart it. Both pushers and crown rown is the balanced off on the other side of the case with the additional slab at 9’o clock.

Brushed and polished stainless steel 3-part case

Underneath the sapphire crystal belies a textured Silver “panda” dial, completed with a sharply stamped repeating triangular pattern that lends an almost architectural three-dimensionality to the design. The ridges and recesses formed by the trianglular pattern also work in conjunction with the grey sunburst dial, creating a dazzling array of highlights and shadows in the different lighting conditions. The patterns are then disrupted beautifully by the three sub counters that measures the minute and hour for the chronograph, while the bottom 6 o’clock counter shows the running second.

Alpina’s modernist take on the classic alpha handset and the date display, gives the Extreme collection a sense of refinement on the wrist, especially when paired with the faceted applied indices and the brand’s signatures red triangular found on the chronograph’s seconds hand counterweight. A generous fill of white luminous material across the handset and indices makes this an instantly legible design even in darkness.

Green luminous glows in the dark

Flipping the watch over and seen through its sapphire display case-back, At the heart of the Alpina lies the Alpina self-winding caliber AL-730 automatic movement that offers a power reserve of 62 hours that beats at a rate of 28,800 beats per hour. This 27 jewel movement is based on the ever-reliable Sellita SW510 chronograph movement, a movement renowned for its reliability and performance.

To complete the integrated sports watch design, Alpina fits the Alpiner Extreme Chronograph with an integrated stainless steel bracelet. The push-button bracelet is done in both satined finishing on most surfaced, only to be separated by a sharp polished chamfering on the sides. This well-finished bracelet marries both the toughness and comfortability, giving the overall design a more luxurious, cohesive feel. Truth be told, it is one of the most meticulously executed bracelet we have handled at this price point. Kudos to Alpina showing off its craftsmanship right here.

Since over a decade of the line’s introduction, the upgraded Alpiner Extreme Chronograph Silver delivers a new life into this cornerstone line, catering both an outdoor-capable all-purpose chronograph watch and a truly dynamic, modern-ish integrated design. The textured dial display and cushion-shaped case truly shouts Alpina DNA and we’re glad they brought it back in style.