I come from a land where the highest altitude is just over 1000 metres. Although I love snowboarding, it has always been something that requires planning and hours of travelling. When I’m in Switzerland I am always astonished by people standing in full gear in the city centre after an early finish of their business day, waiting for the tram or rail to take them to the ski lifts a few kilometres away. Mountains, snow and alpine activities are completely natural here.
No wonder, that a watchmaking company took its name from the alpines, united watchmakers who called themselves “Alpinists” and built watches to accompany active people on leisure or others who work hard in rough conditions. And there are many people like this, who fanatically associate Alpina with these conditions and great performances. The company, owned by Frederique Constant since 2002, has basically dedicated all their collections to such activities and named them sharply and clearly: Adventure, Aviation, Diving, Sailing and Racing collections.
In addition to these, in 2014 the firm introduced a new line called the Alpiner 4 and set its mission to be the right mate to any alpine sports.
Alpiner 4 collection
What were the criteria of a real sports watch for Gottlieb Hauser, the founder of Alpina? The pieces must be antimagnetic, shock and water resistant, and made of stainless steel to prevent corrosion. The company revived the concept of this magical 4 and created a new collection, dedicated to mountain sports of all kinds. The two models, the Alpiner 4 Chronograph and the Alpiner 4 GMT/24H both live up to these principles. They come in black or silver dial colour versions.
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Alpiner 4 GMT/24H
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Aviation collection
Alpina has been developing timepieces for aviation for a long time; therefore the range of models in the similarly named collection is pretty wide. The offering is extended almost every year by new pieces – in 2014 it welcomed two newcomers, the Startimer Pilot Automatic Chronograph “Black Star” and the Startimer Pilot Automatic “Sunstar”. The chronograph is operated by the same AL-860 movement that works in the Alpiner 4. Its name “Black Star” refers to the black PVD coated stainless steel case and the matching sunray dial, while the “Sunstar” refers to the lighter grey equally finished little brother.
Photo credits: Alipna, Loupiosity.com.
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