I am not very familiar with the Alpina watch brand. I’ll be up front that I have never owned one of their watches, nor wore one for any amount of time longer than the hour spent at COUTUREtime; and frankly until this year I’ve never really paid much attention to the brand.
So why am I writing about them? Well in Las Vegas (by chance) I got a brief moment with some of their novelties as I was meeting with sister brand Atelier deMonaco. What remained with me was the feel and look of the Alpiner X. A watch that was created from a Kickstarter campaign and that was finally being introduced to mass market.
Alpina has it’s roots in sports watches. On their site they claim to have invented the genre. Not sure how to verify this lofty claim but they do have a history of working with real sportsmen to create timepieces that fit their activities. According to their site, since 1903 they started working with leading group of alpinists (mountaineers and outdoorsmen) to define specs for sports watches. And in 1938 they released the Alpina 4 sports watch, which they claim defined the genre. The 4 stands for: anti-magnetic, anti-shock, water resistant, and stainless steel.
Alpina Alpiner X
Surely these are attributes that correspond with modern sports watches. And with every Alpina watch you are pretty much guaranteed to have them. Today, most other watches do too, so while a romantic idea, it should not be the reason to buy an Alpina watch. On the other hand, a modern interpretation of the sports watch is perhaps what they have created with the Alpiner X and that is something I can definitely pay attention to as a sportsman myself or perhaps recommend as a reviewer of timepieces.
Similar to other hybrid analog/digital watches, e.g., Breitling Chronospace, the X has a digital display in the bottom half of the dial which is used to show a variety of useful information that outdoorsmen would want. For instance, it includes the classic ABC (altimeter, barometric pressure, and compass) features that the CASIO ProTrek has popularized, but also includes connected GPS, temperature measurement, UV indicator, and of course the normal digital watch features of alarm, count down timer, and chronograph.
To complete and make it easy to access its useful lists of features, the Alpiner X comes with a smartphone companion app that you can use to setup the watch and easily access and setup some of the features. Included as well are a slew of health and fitness features (e.g., step counter and sleep monitoring) that should make the most ardent of connected health monitor lifestyle folks happy. But why would you want this watch rather than a modern smartwatch, which can do the same and be extended with third party apps?
Well the value of these kinds of connected watches, and specifically Alpiner X, are in my view twofold. First, you have the look at feel of a real watch on wrist. It’s always on, looks like a real watch, reads like a real watch (with the analog hands), and will likely last you as long as a real watch, versus being the past version in a few years. Second, and perhaps most important, the Alpiner X includes a battery that will last at least two years. So you are not stuck with yet another device that you need to remember to charge daily. For these features, call me a fan, especially if I decided to take on mountaineering.
In addition to the Alpiner X, I also got a chance to see new versions of the Alpiner 4 mechanical watch that is a direct descendent of the original. It has a look that is classical and you can see hints of the X design (or perhaps its the other way around). The Alpiner 4 includes the Alpina AL-525 which is a Sellita SW200-based mechanical movement. Same goes for the new Seastrong Diver GMT mechanical model. Both mechanical models start at under $1,500.
There is also the identical looking Seastrong connected model with Alpina AL-247 quartz movement which starts at $595 and includes many of the features of the Alpina X. It does not have the digital display but you can access some of the features, e.g., step counter and sleep monitoring, as well as easy world time setup and mobile notifications, all using the companion app. The automatic models have at least 38 hours of power reserve and the quartz models have batteries lasting at least two years. And all include the 4 key features that Alpina is so proud to have highlighted as important for all sports watches.
Alpina also makes other watches for ladies and even some watches with their own manufacture movements. However, for me what would make me consider Alpina is definitely the X. Starting at under $1000 this is almost a no-brainer for any outdoorsman who would need something sturdier than a smartwatch and would not want to strap on a CASIO ProTrek. In other words, those wanting a Swiss-looking watch but with all the features of the ProTrek and most of those of a smartwatch.
While most of their watches are available online to purchase directly, I am also hoping that Alpina will have these novelties ready at authorized dealers across the US and around the world for everyday watch buyers to see and try on. For like me, if you are not familiar with the brand, only seeing in person and on your wrist can you start developing that emotional connection that perhaps will make you take the plunge. alpina.com
The Tudor brand of watches is interesting. Not only because they are the watches from the “little sister” brand to the mighty Rolex, but because they have a design language onto themselves that many like and many don’t. While I don’t own a Tudor watch and not many of their models sing to my sensibilities and aesthetic, I always like to see what novelties they produce every year.
At the COUTUREtime show in Las Vegas, I had this exact opportunity. It’s not clear I left with a lust for any of their new watches, but what Tudor showed me was streamlined, strong, well priced, and overall desirable. Let’s take a closer look.