Alpina

The Alpina sports watch has no airs and graces. A faithful inner life and a robust outer skin are more important to it than a beautiful pose. Which is not to say that it forgoes aesthetic appeal and smart lines. If you look into the clearly structured face of an Alpina sports watch, you will recognize values that many other watches from the "affordable luxury" market segment lack. At HORANDO, too, this tradition-steeped brand gets to show off its qualities in numerous sought-after models ranging from Alpiner and Startimer to Comtesse and Seastrong. Very contemporary - this Alpina. Despite its advanced years, it has retained a youthfulness that is perhaps due to the upheavals it has passed with flying colors.

In harmony between aspiration and reality since 1883

As with few other traditional watch brands still in existence today, the history of the 20th century can be seen in Alpina's own company history. In 1883, on the initiative of watchmaker Gottlieb Hauser, an original Swiss association of leading watchmakers came together. After the official registration as ALPINA in 1901, the founding fathers quickly make a name for themselves as "Alpinists". The "Corporation d'Horlogers Suisse" - a kind of "united brotherhood of watchmakers", had conspired to preserve the quality of movements and watches. Soon, they were also making a name for themselves by developing and manufacturing their own calibers. 20 years later, 2,000 dealers worldwide, with a focus on Eastern, Northern and Central Europe, were selling the watch brand from Biel, which was both robust and attractive. The ideals of Gottlieb Hauser remain valid brand maxims to this day. His core target group were people who exposed themselves to extreme conditions or were dedicated to technical perfection: Air Force pilots, divers, members of the armed forces in the navy and infantry, mountaineers and everyday adventurers. Hauser's ideal Alpina still has to meet the quality conditions formulated at the time: Waterproof, anti-magnetic, resistant to shock and encased in robust stainless steel.

The turmoil of a traditional brand

ALPINA founded subsidiaries in Geneva and Besancon and expanded into Germany with branches in Berlin and Glashütte/Saxony. North American watchmakers such as Gruen and Hamilton also joined the Alpina cooperative spirit. However, import restrictions from Switzerland to Germany during World War I hit Alpina to the core. After 1917, the brand split into two independent companies with locations in Geneva and Glashütte. The 1920s brought a renewed upswing for the Alpina manufacture, until the Second World War destroyed the business relations that were still flourishing between the subgroups. At the request of the Allies, the German Alpina now operated under the name "Dugena" = Deutsche Uhrmacher-Genossenschaft Alpina. The quartz crisis, which washed cheap watches onto the market like herrings, took the old-style ALPINA with it. In 1972, German investors moved the company headquarters and the business, which was temporarily reduced to a mere trading activity, from the watchmaking mecca of Geneva to Cologne.

A new era under a strong roof

Alpina initially had no part in the renaissance of the mechanical watch until 2002, when a strong revival revived the brand. Under the flag of the Frédérique Constant watch manufacture, Alpina Watches International SA reignited the rocket. Already at BASELWORLD 2003, Alpina relaunched itself as a complete model series under the model name Avalanche (Avalanche), which was understood as a fanal. In the years that followed, the company established itself in a higher league with six completely new complications: AL-980 Tourbillon, AL-760 Flyback Chronograph, AL-718 World Timer, AL-950 Automatic Regulator, AL-710 Small Date. 76 years after the very first Alpina 4 with a manual-winding caliber - the most modern sports watch of its time - Alpina launched the "Alpiner Collection", a new version that unites all the traditional values that founder Gottlob Hauser chiseled into the Alpina credo. Even today, they are still the valid standard for sports watches. HORANDO is one of the 300 German retailers of luxury watches today, where the brand with the indestructible lion's heart is in the (stationary and online) showcases.

Alpina: When less should be more!

Around the core cell of the Alpina range - the currently six lines of the Alpiner collection - are grouped other assortments, especially for male luxury watch lovers. The Alpina Startimer collection addresses aviators, the Alpina Seastrong on the other hand deep-sea divers, and the Horological Smartwatch in the unisex trend released in 2015 appeals to aficionados of both sexes who want to use a wristwatch and smartphone in one tool. The casual elegance of Regulator, Avalanche, Extreme Chrono Double triggers enthusiasm not only among hobbyists, extreme athletes and technology foxes. People with taste and aspirations and a decided penchant for understatement are always right with an Alpina luxury watch - especially since its range of variations offers so much.

Alpina: Streamlined on the water and in the air

Not only at mountain heights, where the air is thinner, but also in the cockpit of airliners, the high-precision Alpina is an operational companion. Through date display and case back, the Alpina Startimer Pilot Manfacture allows an admiring look into the AL-710 automatic caliber (ex. reference AL-710G4S6). Typical Alpina symbolism on the dial: red triangle at the bottom of the second hand, date display with small hand at 6 o'clock. White luminous hands and hand-applied numerals and indices contrast strikingly with the anthracite-colored dial background. The Alpina 130 Heritage Pilot Chronographs in gold with rotor look a touch more elegant. Their AL-860B4H5 movement equips them for light years. Taking a big step into the posh fraction is the ladies' wristwatch Avalanche Extreme with white ceramic. No less than 50 real diamonds are processed on the bezel in gold color and on the time positions of the dial. Decorative screws with a triangle in the center seem like a reflection of the original Alpina symbol.

Alpina can also be colorful!

After the well-received Alpina Extreme Diver 1000 meter collection from 2008, the watch manufacturer shows courage for color a year later and launches diving watches that already reveal their inner logic in their names: Cote d'Azur, Black Ocean, Orange Sunset, Yellowtail. Each Alpina Extreme Diver shows off its diving capabilities even at a depth of 1000 meters with absolute readability and water resistance. Super Luminova markers on the black PVD steel case of diameter 48 mm provide luminous hands and indices. The AL-525 caliber holds a 42-hour power reserve. At position 10 o'clock sits the helium escape valve, which is essential for balancing the pressure in the case. Ingenious detail: the Alpina logo placed on the rotor catches the eye through the sapphire crystal of the caseback. An all-around successful sports watch that is a joy to wear, even if you rarely go down to 1000 meters.