Alpina dives through 2016 with new adrenaline-infused pieces
This year at Baselworld, the independent, family-owned Swiss watch manufacturer Alpina unfurls exhilarating additions to its rich legacy: The “Full Black” Alpiner 4 Manufacture Flyback Chronograph, Seastrong Diver 300 Automatic and Seastrong Diver Heritage
Highly distinguished for its emblematic red triangle signature, Alpina is a Geneva-based independent, family-owned fine watchmaking manufacture that traces a rich heritage spanning more than 130 years.
Having been a source of numerous patents and innovative calibres since its inception in 1883, Alpina is indeed a true pioneer of the Swiss watchmaking industry. With the birth of its legendary Alpina 4 in 1938, it is now renowned as the inventor of the original concept of the Swiss sports watch. Over the years, it has gained recognition as one of the very few independent Swiss watch companies that develop, produce and assemble its entirely in-house movements. Today, Alpina continues its mission to design and engineer luxury sport watches that operate with the greatest precision and reliability possible in the most demanding sporting environments, like the Alps.
This year, in conjunction with its many partnerships with prominent sports associations such as the 21st edition of the Trophee Andros, the French Ski Federation and with Aurelien Ducroz, the brand ambassador who won the 2015 Xtreme Verbier competition, Alpina carries on in crafting an exhilarating array of adrenaline-infused sports-inspired watches to add in its host of existing iconic models.
“Full Black” Alpiner 4 Manufacture Flyback Chronograph
Last year, Alpina celebrated an important première in its 132 years history: The launch of its first in-house Manufacture Flyback Chronograph at Baselworld 2015. With this feat, Alpina also not only introduced its first in-house chronograph calibre, but also innovated and ingeniously simplified the flyback and return to zero mechanism through its AL-760 patented “Direct Flyback Technology” automatic flyback calibre. This year, it continues the success with the new full black AL-760 Alpiner 4 Manufacture Flyback Chronograph.
An acknowledged specialist in pilot’s watches, Alpina is pursuing its quest for performance with this flyback chronograph entirely in line with its technical and sporty collections. Invented in the 1930s to facilitate pilots’ use of their watch, the flyback function is now much appreciated for its functionality and reliability.
Three years of development were needed to equip this model with the Manufacture AL-760 calibre and its flyback chronograph module. Easy to handle via its two pushers, this timepiece also ensures perfect readability of the indications, even in dim light. With its sophisticated look, taut lines and high-tech dial, the “Full Black” Alpiner 4 Manufacture Flyback Chronograph pushes the boundaries of sporty watchmaking and expresses its strength with style and efficiency.
Seastrong Diver 300 Automatic
This year also sees the unveiling of Alpina’s new automatic diving range, featuring professional diving specifications and a highly effective essential design. Cased in cushion shaped 44mm stainless steel, the new Alpina Seastrong Diver 300 Automatic makes a professional diving watch that can manage depths up to 300 metres.
This stunning men’s watch lends a design parameter that provides dive time readability and stands out through its essential and functional beauty. With four versions to choose from, the design codes of this new range are derived from the Alpina diver watches from the last century, which were equally strong design statements in functional simplicity.
Featuring the legendary triangle logo of the brand at 12 o’clock, this model also flaunts its screw-in crown and a screw-down case-back, as well as a unidirectional rotating 60min diving bezel in four different colours. The oversized diver hands, dial indexes and bezel markers are luminous and the watch crystal is in anti-reflective treated sapphire. Moreover, it comes with a see-through case back which allows the full view of the inner workings of the Alpina AL-525 automatic calibre.
As per standard, the watch is equipped with a water-resistant genuine leather strap with stitches at the lugs, and for fashion conscious divers a strap set with 4 different colour rubber straps are in offer to match the designs of the watch.
Seastrong Diver Heritage
With the introduction of the Seastrong Diver Heritage this 2016, Alpina reprises a contemporary interpretation of the first Alpina diving watch first launched in 1969.
Back then, even during its early days, the Seastrong had already incorporated all the specific technical capabilities relating to scuba diving. It distinguished itself by its “Super Compax” water-resistance technology and its double screw-lock crown that is still featured in its current version.
Meanwhile, the 4 o’clock crown controls winding and time-setting, while the one at 2 o’clock rotates the inner bezel ring that measures dive times. This information so vital to divers is protected from inadvertent handling by being fitted inside the case. It is visible through a glass box, which in this new model reflecting the 1969 original is nonetheless made of sapphire crystal rather than hesalite, making it complex to produce but equally spectacular to look at.
