Alpine

Like few other traditional watch brands still in existence today, the story of the 20th century is reflected in Alpina's own company history. In 1883, at the initiative of watchmaker Gottlieb Hauser, an originally Swiss association of leading watchmakers came together. After official registration as ALPINA in 1901, the founding fathers quickly made a name for themselves as "Alpinists." The "Corporation d'Horlogers Suisse" – a kind of "unified brotherhood of watchmakers" – was committed to maintaining the quality of watch movements and watches. They soon gained a reputation for developing and manufacturing their own calibers. Twenty years later, 2,000 dealers worldwide, with a focus on Eastern, Northern, and Central Europe, sold the robust yet attractive watch brand from Biel. Gottlieb Hauser's ideals remain the brand's guiding principles to this day. His core target group were people who exposed themselves to extreme conditions or were committed to technical perfection: air force pilots, divers, members of the armed forces in the navy and infantry, summit climbers, and everyday adventurers. Hauser's Ideal Alpina still has to meet the quality standards formulated back then: waterproof, anti-magnetic, shock-resistant, and encased in robust stainless steel.

ALPINA established branches in Geneva and Besançon and expanded into Germany with offices in Berlin and Glashütte, Saxony. North American watchmakers such as Gruen and Hamilton also embraced the Alpina cooperative idea. However, import restrictions from Switzerland to Germany during the First World War hit Alpina hard. After 1917, the brand split into two independent companies with locations in Geneva and Glashütte. The 1920s brought renewed prosperity to the Alpina manufactory, until the Second World War destroyed the still-flourishing business relationships between the sub-groups. At the request of the Allies, the German Alpina now traded under the name "Dugena" (German Watchmakers' Cooperative Alpina). The quartz crisis, which flooded the market with cheap watches like herring, swept the old ALPINA brand with it. In 1972, German investors relocated the company headquarters and the business volume, which had temporarily been reduced to pure trading activities, from the watchmaking mecca of Geneva to Cologne.

Alpina initially played no part in the renaissance of the mechanical watch until a strong revival revived the brand in 2002. Under the banner of the watch manufacturer Frédérique Constant, Alpina Watches International SA reignited the rocket. At BASELWORLD 2003, Alpina relaunched itself as a complete model series under the model name Avalanche (avalanche), which was seen as a beacon of light. In the following years, 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, and AL-710 Small Date. 76 years after the very first Alpina 4 with a hand-wound caliber – the most modern sports watch of its time – Alpina is launching a new version with the "Alpiner Collection," which combines all the traditional values ​​that founder Gottlob Hauser engraved in the Alpina credo. They remain the standard for sports watches today. HORANDO is one of the 300 German luxury watch retailers that currently feature the brand with the indestructible lion's heart in their (both brick-and-mortar and online) display cases.

The core of the Alpina offering – the current six lines of the Alpiner collection – is grouped around other ranges, primarily for male luxury watch lovers. The Alpina Startimer collection is aimed at aviators, while the Alpina Seastrong is for deep-sea divers. The unisex Horological Smartwatch, launched in 2015, appeals to aficionados of both sexes who want to use a wristwatch and smartphone in one tool. The casual elegance of the Regulator, Avalanche, and Extreme Chrono Double inspires enthusiasm not only among amateur and extreme sports enthusiasts and techies. Those with taste and discernment, with a decided penchant for understatement, are always right with an Alpina luxury watch – especially since its wide range offers a lot to many.

Not only in mountainous regions where the air is thinner, but also in the cockpit of airliners, the high-precision Alpina is a powerful companion. The date display and case back of the Alpina Startimer Pilot Manfacture allow an admiring view of the AL-710 automatic caliber. Typical Alpina symbolism appears on the dial: a red triangle at the bottom of the second hand, a date display with a small hand at 6 o'clock. White luminous hands and the hand-applied numerals and indices contrast strikingly with the anthracite-colored dial background. The Alpina 130 Heritage Pilot Chronographs in gold with a rotor are a bit more elegant. Their AL-860B4H5 movement equips them for light years. The Avalanche Extreme ladies' wristwatch in white ceramic takes a major step into the luxury category. No fewer than 50 genuine diamonds are set on the gold-colored bezel and at the time positions on the dial. Decorative screws with a triangle in the middle seem like a reflection of the original Alpina symbol.

Following the highly acclaimed Alpina Extreme Diver 1000 Meter collection from 2008, the watch manufacturer boldly embraced color a year later, launching diving watches whose names reveal their inherent logic: Cote d'Azur, Black Ocean, Orange Sunset, and Yellowtail. Each Alpina Extreme Diver demonstrates its diving suitability even at a depth of 1000 meters with absolute legibility and water resistance. Super-Luminova markings on the 48 mm black PVD steel case ensure luminous hands and indices. The AL-525 caliber provides a 42-hour power reserve. The helium escape valve, essential for pressure equalization within the case, is located at 10 o'clock. A sophisticated detail: the Alpina logo on the rotor catches the eye through the sapphire crystal on the underside of the case. An all-round successful sports watch that is a pleasure to wear, even if you rarely go below 1000 meters.