Alpina Watches

Introduction

When you think of affordable luxury sports watches, the brand name that comes to mind is Alpina. Alpina watches have played an important part in the horological industry for more than 135 years. This watch brand is widely considered to be a pioneer in the sports watchmaking industry of Switzerland since 1883 when it was founded by Gottlieb Hauser. Since then, Alpina has consistently looked for ways to improve all aspects of its business, whether it is the work environment or quality control of watches.

History of Alpina

The history of Alpina watches can be traced back to 1883. An independent watchmaker by the name of Gottlieb Hauser came up with the idea of forming an association of independent retailers and manufacturers of watches. It was named the Alpina Swiss Watchmakers Corporation, and the members of the association called themselves the ‘Alpinists’. The major reason behind the establishment of this association was the difficulties faced by watchmakers like him in sourcing watch materials and parts. The corporation eventually started producing in-house chronometers and calibers. To label these in-house mechanical movements, the brand name Alpina was registered in 1901 and Hauser also created the Red Triangle logo for the brand.

By the 1920s, the Alpina brand became quite successful, becoming the largest supplier of time instruments for military pilots. The company introduced its iconic collection, Alpina 4, in 1938. The number 4 in the collection referred to the four features of Anti-shock, Antimagnetic, Stainless steel, and Water resistance. This collection was loved by many sportsmen, adventurers, military personnel, and engineers. The popularity of this collection helped Alpina in its journey of becoming a globally acclaimed watch brand.

The Swiss watchmaker continued its successful journey in the following years, however, the quartz crisis of the 1970s proved to be a blow for the brand. During this period, the traditional watchmaking industry went through a period of decline. To revive the brand, some German investors formed a new company called the Alpina Watch International SA in 1972. It was eventually taken over by Swiss entrepreneurs Peter and Aletta Stas in 2002. Peter and Aletta Stas were the co-founders of another Swiss watch brand, Frederique Constant.

The production facilities of Alpina were eventually moved to a new location in Plan-les-Quates in Geneva, in 2006. The company produced many modern watches, which paid homage to the tradition of the Alpinists. The new generation of watch collections consisted of the Alpiner, launched in 2014, and the Horological Smart Watch (2015). In 2016, Alpina became a part of the Citizen Group, as the Japanese watch giant acquired Frederique Constant and its sister brands, which include Alpina.

Alpina Watch Collections

The iconic watch brand had been pioneering innovations and developing in-house calibers for several years now. The result is an impressive range of Alpina watches that have been developed, produced, and assembled in-house. The company has developed many self-winding calibers like AL-980 Tourbillion Regulator, AL-760 Flyback Chronograph, AL-718 World Time, AL-710 Small Date, and the AL-950 Regulator.

The brand presently has four impressive collections of analog watches. These are Alpiner, Seastrong, Startimer, and the Comtesse. Among these, Comtesse is a collection that consists of watches specially designed for women. The other three collections consist of men’s watches. Besides the analog watches, the brand also manufactures an outstanding selection of smartwatches. These consist of AlpinerX, Horological Smartwatch, and StartimerX.

Alpiner

The Alpiner is a collection of robust sports watches that are designed for handling extreme conditions of any terrain. The shock-proof stainless steel Alpiner watches come with antimagnetic properties and 100 m water resistance. They also come with sapphire crystal glass, an engraved stainless steel case, and a screw-in crown. These watches are powered by reliable quartz or automatic movements. The Alpiner collection consists of some great watches like –

1. ➢ Alpiner Regulator Automatic
2. ➢ Alpiner Quartz
3. ➢ Alpiner Quartz GMT
4. ➢ Alpiner 4 Automatic
5. ➢ Alpiner 4 Automatic Chronograph

Startimer

The Startimer collection has drawn inspiration from the Alpina aviation watches of 1920. The impressive pilot watches in the Startimer collection come in both quartz and automatic variants. Startimer watches come with sapphire crystal glass, stainless steel case, screw-in crown, and solid case back. The watches are water-resistant up to 100 m. The popular models in this collection are –

1. ➢ Startimer Pilot Heritage Automatic
2. ➢ Startimer Pilot Automatic chronograph with the date
3. ➢ Startimer Pilot Automatic three-hands with the date
4. ➢ Startimer Pilot Heritage Automatic Chronograph

Seastrong

The Seastrong collection of Alpina watches is specially designed for nautical sports enthusiasts and divers. These watches are water-resistant for up to 300m and they come with the option of external or internal unidirectional diving bezels. The Alpina Seastrong watches also come with a luminescent coating on the indexes and hands. Popular models in the Seastrong collection are –

1. ➢ Seastrong Diver GMT
2. ➢ Seastrong Diver 300
3. ➢ Seastrong Diver Gyre
4. ➢ Seastrong Diver Heritage

Comtesse

The Comtesse collection of Alpina watches is specially designed for women. The different models of elegant and sporty timepieces in the Comtesse collection offer water resistance from 60 m to 300 m. The popular models in the Comtesse collection consist of –

1. ➢ Comtesse Quartz
2. ➢ Alpiner Comtesse Sport Quartz
3. ➢ Seastrong Diver Comtesse

The Comtesse Quartz model features a stainless steel and mother-of-pearl case, which looks quite striking when paired with stainless steel bracelets. The Alpiner Comtesse Sports Quartz, on the other hand, comes with a black or silver PVD-coated case, with convex sapphire crystal and stainless-steel bracelets. There is also a diver watch in the Comtesse collection, namely the Seastrong Diver Comtesse, which is a great option for women who love adventure.

Conclusion

Alpina timepieces are loved by those who want an uncomplicated watch that is sporty yet luxurious at the same time. All the Alpina watches come with exceptional water resistance properties, besides antimagnetic and shock-proof capabilities. In addition to the exquisite range of analog timepieces, there are also some great smartwatches offered by Alpina, like the AlpinerX and the SmartimerX.