The new Alpiner Extreme Automatic Titanium represents the first all-titanium piece for a brand known for its robust and reliable sports watches, instantly recognisable by its red triangle logo, Alpina has been creating watches for demanding environments such as mountaineering, diving, and aviation since 1883.
Traditionally, Gerald Genta is hailed as the inventor of the luxury sports watch when he came up with the Royal Oak in 1970, However, if we define a “sports watch” as any timepiece which delivers exceptional reliability in extreme environments, worn by people conducting extreme activities, then Alpina, these days placed in the “affordable luxury” category, stakes its claim as the true inventor.
It was in 1938 that the Geneva-based manufacture conjured up the Alpina 4 – which, being impact-resistant, non-magnetic, water-resistant and made of stainless steel, merged the four key components of the sports watch genre. That piece was the earliest progenitor to the imperious 39 x 40.5mm timepiece you see here: the first Alpina watch ever to be fashioned entirely of titanium, resulting in an outdoor watch which is both lighter and stronger than any of its predecessors.
The new Alpiner Extreme Automatic Titanium features a sleek case with brushed and polished finishes and integrated bracelet. With its six exposed screws on the bezel and iconic red triangle logo, the new timepiece is unmistakably Alpina.
Alpina, which belongs to the Frederique Constant Group (itself part of the Citizen Group), insists that this remarkable ore – first discovered lurking in the mineral ilmenite in Cornwall in 1791 by British clergyman and amateur mineralogist William Gregor – “ticks all the boxes in terms of strength, finishings, affordability and more especially, genuine added value compared to steel, due to its relative lightness”.
And, for all its practical merits, the Alpiner Extreme Automatic Titanium is also a handsome, heirloom-worthy keepsake too. Its aesthetical parts – a dial embossed with the triangular motif that nods to the alpine summits from which the brand takes its name; the twelve applique hour markers with black mother-of-pearl polished faceting and luminous coating; a case and bracelet which juxtaposes urban brilliant light grey with a satin finish – make it a piece that will look as in situ nestling next to a tailored sleeve in fine-twist worsted as it does peeping out of a high-tech performance ski jacket.
The beating heart within, the Swiss Made AL- 525 calibre, packs a 38-hour power reserve. RRP. £2,195.
Author: Nick Scott
If you are into sports watches, you may like to read about the IWC Big Pilot Shock Absorber Tourbillon Skeleton XPL, the Hublot Big Bang 20th Anniversary Collection, or the Richard Mille RM 43-01 Ferrari.
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