ALPINA – ALPINER Extreme Automatic California Dial

ALPINA – ALPINER Extreme Automatic California Dial  2023

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 The Alpiner Extreme Automatic
heads for California

The horological migratory season has begun! The Alpiner Extreme Automatic outdoor watch inspired by the Alps has temporarily taken flight from its native Switzerland for a winter sun break: for the first time in its history, it’s been decked out with a California dial. 

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First trademarked in 1941, this dial design features a clever blend of Arabic and Roman numerals, dashes and triangles designed to make reading the time from any angle error-proof. 

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Alpina has made the dial more readable still by combining vintage luminous beige hands and hour markers with a black dial, all housed in the collection’s imposing and iconic steel cushion case. The 41x42.5mm Alpiner Extreme Automatic California Dial comes on a rubber strap – and like its fellows, is powered by the trusty AL-525 calibre.

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Watchmaking history is replete with ingenious inventions. Alpina has contributed plenty of its own, not least by establishing the core principles of sports watches almost one hundred years ago: timepieces that are non-magnetic, waterproof, rustproof, and impact-resistant. 

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This legacy endures in most of its models today, including the Alpiner Extreme. Meanwhile, another more stylistic development dating from the inter-war years has also sparked enthusiasm among collectors: the California dial.

A fascinating piece of watchmaking history

As wristwatches became more widespread and came to perform a more functional role, more particularly for pilots and divers, the need emerged for a dial that would be error-proof, preventing wearers from making any mistakes when reading its indications. 

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The need was all the more pressing in that back then, dials featured both Arabic and Roman numerals, with no consensus as to how the latter should be written: the figure 4 could be represented by IIII or IV; 8 could be VIII or IIX, while 12 might be left out altogether, often replaced by a brand’s logo. 

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Not only that, the figure 6 could be mistakenly read upside-down as 9, a potentially fatal error for aviators in flight – or during an ocean dive.

The heir to the greatest tool watches

The California dial was devised to solve this issue. Between the 1940s and 1980s, it was mostly to be seen on tool watches before becoming a fashion in its own right. 

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It became known as the California dial as a result of collectors’ keen interest in the style in the 1980s, when many of the models in question were to be found in the US state of that name.

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Today, Alpina’s Alpiner Extreme is very much in step with the original ethos of the California dial: a watch born on the steep slopes of the Alps, designed by mountaineers, and now worn by outdoor thrill-seekers everywhere.

Zero misread

The timepiece’s new dial is nigh impossible to misread. Arabic numerals are used for the 8 and the 4, while the 6 is represented by a dash that can’t possibly be mistaken for a 9. The 3 and 9 hour markers are also dashes; confusion is avoided by them being located between two full figures, one Arabic, one Roman, ensuring they will be read correctly.

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Discerning connoisseurs will appreciate a happy coincidence, too: on California dials, the 12 is portrayed by a triangle – which, fortuitously enough, echoes Alpina’s own logo, a red triangle symbolising the Alpine summits. Indeed, one such triangle is to be found (as usual) serving as the counterweight on the seconds hand; another is located just above the brand name. To boost readability still further, Alpina has combined vintage luminous beige hands and hour markers with a black dial. A date window at 3 o’clock provides the finishing touch.

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Housed within the Alpiner Extreme’s iconic cushion-shaped steel case (recently resized to a more compact 41x42.5mm format) is the AL-525 automatic calibre boasting a power reserve of 38 hours; it can be admired through the transparent caseback. Borne on a rubber strap and certified water resistant to depths of 200 metres, this watch is ready for any adventure. 

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model: ALPINER Extreme Automatic California Dial

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Reference     AL-525BB4AE6

Movement
Automatic caliber AL-525
26 jewels,
38-hour power reserve,
28’800 alt/h
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Case
Brushed and polished stainless steel 3-part case
Diameter of 41 X 42.50 mm
Height of 11,50 mm
Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Water-resistant up to 20 ATM/200m/660ft
Engraved and see-through screwed case-back
Screw-in crown
Dial
Black dial with triangle pattern
Black outer ring with white markers
Applied beige color indexes filled with white luminous treatment
Date window at 3 o’clock
Hand-polished silver color hour and minute hands filled with beige luminous treatment
Polished silver color second hand with red triangle
Strap
Black rubber strap with folding buckle

 🔴 Price :  € 1,595 EUR 💰

 #AlpinaWatches #ReachYourSummit #Alpina1883 #Alpiner #AlpinerExtreme

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Press release - 2023
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For more information on our watches, please visit our website or feel free to contact us directly. 

You can email Mrs. Camille Merré, PR Manager, at cfeller@alpina-watches.com

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ALPINA – HERITAGE Carrée Mechanical 140 Years Edition

ALPINA – HERITAGE Carrée Mechanical 140 Years Anniversary Limited Edition 2023

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Alpina celebrates its 140th anniversary with two historic mini-series

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Founded in 1883, Alpina turns 140 in 2023, and in honour of the occasion, the Swiss watchmakers are unveiling a timepiece that revives their illustrious heritage. This isn’t some re-edition or a piece inspired by a predecessor: it really is the original, made in 1938. Alpina has unearthed two 14-piece series of the authentic Calibre 490, released exactly 85 years ago; only a very few of these are still in existence. 

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The fully-restored movements, dubbed Heritage Carrée Mechanical 140 Years, have been housed in a rectangular silver case in tribute to an outstanding wristwatch in Alpina’s history. One series features a black dial, the other a silvered dial. The feeling when you behold a perfectly-finished, rectangular-shaped movement with a sedate frequency (2,5 Hz), already fitted out with early levels of protection against water and dust, is indescribable. These are two highly limited editions, produced for History.

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“If you don't know where you've come from, you don't know where you're going” is a saying that applies to most art forms – and all the more so in watchmaking, where progress has involved a process of accretion over a period of 250 years that continues to inform the watches we wear today.

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In its 140^th anniversary year, Alpina has thus sought to provide a reminder of the contribution made by its Calibre 490 movement to contemporary watchmaking. It represents something of a crossroads: a shape and top-level finishing typical of the refined elegance befitting distinguished watches, intersecting with a number of innovations bearing witness to Alpina’s concomitant desire to launch into the world of sturdy and robust watches designed by the firm today. In sum, it’s a rare and valuable calibre, unveiled at a key moment in Alpina’s history.

A highly accomplished movement

Back in 1938, the Calibre 490 already embodied Alpina’s emerging vision. It features a patented crown incorporating protection against dust – an key milestone, already making the case airtight and a first step on the way to the watertight case that would later become standard.

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The movement, protected by Swiss registered patent no. 158882, is characterised by a simple, robust construction but no less perfectly finished for that: all of its components are bevelled, and the ratchet is sun-brushed. It’s also worth noting that this is a genuine in-house calibre, designed, assembled and finished by one of the firms in the Union Horlogère,  

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Alpina’s original entity – a particularity seldom seen in the 1930s when generic ébauches (movement-blanks) were the market norm and manufacture movements the exception. Only a few period examples of this historic calibre have survived; Alpina has found and restored a small number of them to mark its 140th anniversary celebrations.

An avant-garde construction

This exceptionally rare witness to Alpina’s golden age is thus making a comeback in its original form in 2023. It’s a shaped movement in the finest watchmaking tradition, according to which the movement should reign supreme, dictating the shape of the case rather than the other way around.

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Hand-wound like almost all calibres of its day, it comprises 17 jewels and oscillates at 18,000 vibrations per hour (2,5 Hz), the standard frequency for Thirties timepieces. Its 42-hour power reserve is notably capacious for its time; another distinctive feature is the slender anchor design required to fit within the rectangular layout of the Calibre 490.

A highly robust case

Back in the day, the case was made from steel or gold depending on the model. One steel case was itself protected by a patent (No. 207378) and described as being ‘stainless’, offering further evidence of Alpina’s obsession with making its timepieces resistant to wear and tear.

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The few such cases that have survived are equipped with a number of components designed to maintain two seals under pressure to achieve some degree of watertightness. Several firms went on to draw inspiration from the patent in question in pursuit of the same goal.

Clad in silver

Today, Alpina has designed a new bespoke case to house its Calibre 490, naming the new model after it: Heritage Carrée Mechanical 140 Years. Made from mirror polished silver, it measures 29.5 x 35.7mm. 

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With a thickness of just 9.71 millimetres, it features an anti-glare sapphire crystal on both front and rear, through which the venerable beauty of the period Calibre 490 can be admired. The timepiece comes on a light brown ostrich leather strap, with vintage white stitching and pin buckle.

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Two variations of the piece are available, each in a limited edition of 14. Both feature Alpina’s period logo, two slim central hands and the small seconds hand display at 6 o’clock so typical of the 1930s. A ‘railtrack’ minute circle, also typical of the period, runs around the dial. 

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On one version the dial is black with solid Arabic numerals, accompanied by beige hands and a circular small seconds hand display. The other version sports a silvered dial, black hands and the squarer outline Arabic numerals favoured in the Roaring Twenties, along with a square small seconds hand display.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model:  HERITAGE Carrée Mechanical 140 Years Edition 

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Reference AL-490BA3C10 - Black dial
Reference  AL-490SA3C10  - Silver dial

Movement
AL-490 caliber, hand-winding  

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42-hour power reserve, 18’000 alt/h, 17 jewels
Functions
Hours, minutes, small seconds 
Case
Polished silver 2-part case
Dimensions of 29.50 x 35.70 mm
Height of 9,71 mm
Anti-reflective convex sapphire crystal
Water-resistant up to 3 ATM/30m/100ft
Engraved and see-through screwed case back
Dial

Black dial with matt finishing

Beige printed Arabic numerals and beige graduation
Beige hour and minute hands

Silver dial with matt finishing

Black printed Arabic numerals and black graduation
Black hour and minute hands
Small second counter at 6 o’clock with beige hand
Strap
Light brown Ostrich leather strap with off-white stitching
Pin buckle

🔰Limited edition  to 14 pieces

🔴 Price :  € 4,995 EUR 💰

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Press release - 2022
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For more information on our watches, please visit our website or feel free to contact us directly. 

You can email Mrs. Camille Merré, PR Manager, at cmerre@alpina-watches.com

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ALPINA – ALPINER Extreme Regulator Automatic Edition

ALPINA – ALPINER Extreme Regulator Automatic Limited Edition 2022

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 The big comeback of
the ALPINER Extreme Regulator Automatic by Alpina

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A flagship model launched in 2005, the Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic is making its comeback today in the Alpina collection, in a new light.  

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A powerful creation with separate display of the hours, minutes, and seconds, it is set inside a heavy-duty case able to withstand the most extreme conditions, as its name indicates, illustrating the brand’s mission par excellence. 

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In 2022, the Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic has new lines and for the first time comes in an ultra-compact 41 mm size. Its finely sculpted dial gives it a more assertive look, with as many watchmaking thrills as emotions.

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Founded in 1883 but fallen in disuse due to the quartz crisis, it was especially through the Alpiner Extreme Regulator - at that time called the Avalanche Extreme Regulator - that Alpina found its way back to the summits in the early 2000s. 

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A passion-inducing timepiece for enthusiasts presented in 2005. An atypical creation with distinctive, powerful, and modern lines, ready to meet all challenges, in all environments and in all weathers, faithful to Alpina’s mission to create luxury sports watches able to withstand the most extreme conditions – hence its name.   

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The Alpiner Extreme Regulator, is a timepiece which has accompanied the brand’s revival and which still today is helping it attain a new milestone thanks to its unique look: a new more compact and more vigorous case and a dial whose colour and pattern make it unique. 

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And especially, the return of its AL-650 calibre which drove its initial beats nearly 20 years ago.

A contemporary size

In 2022, the Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic is primarily continuing the movement with a resizing of its case. The watch is now offered in a 41 mm diameter – compared to 48 mm previously. 

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For the first time, it is perfectly conceivable for both men and women to wear their Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic in all situations. This 41 diameter opens up new horizons for it: all terrain and everyone!

An emblematic dial pattern

The new Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic features a dial which recalls the fine engine turning of more traditional timepieces. 

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But Alpina has taken care to conserve its DNA and it is an exclusive pattern of triangles, symbolising the Alpine peaks, which now runs over the entire dial - unlike its predecessors where these famous triangles decorated the centre only.

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The superposition of triangles captures the sun’s rays to shine a specific light on the dial, thus enabling their reflections to mix and bring it life and texture. 

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Produced in granite grey, reflecting the mountains from where Alpina comes from, this dial provides a perfect contrast with the blue-coloured hours and seconds counters over which luminescent hands turn.

Crafted for adventure and for the everyday

This navy blue is found on the flange, the rubber grip of the crown and on the rubber textured strap. Integration of the strap, combined with the use of rubber, is a must for any adventurer. 

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However, to allow for everyday use between two expeditions, the ergonomics of the strap has been revised to favour optimal comfort. The whole adapts perfectly to the shape of the wrist, remaining discreet without losing its character.

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As for the case, the aesthetic signature of the Alpiner Extreme Regulator line, it has kept the qualities which have carved out its success. 

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While reduced to 41 mm, the case is still as strong as ever: in steel, in a “cushion” shape, waterproof to 200 meters with a bezel with six screws spaced out in a triangle design and a crown protector at 3 o’clock balanced by a reinforcement opposite at 9 o’clock. 

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As for the finish, the case is brushed and its corners polished, providing it with texture.  Limited to 888 pieces, the Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic still has the time-tested AL-650 calibre, the movement which has powered it since 2005.

Priority to accuracy

Regulators as such, are atypical in the watchmaking landscape. They offer a differentiated view of each of their indications. 

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Unlike the minutes, the hours and seconds are not central but separate: the hours at 10 o’clock, the seconds at 6 o’clock. This display was initially designed to offered greater reading accuracy, with no possible risk of confusion – especially when the hands overlay each other, once an hour.

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Regulators were moreover adopted as a priority by railway inspectors, in order to guarantee the accuracy of departures and arrivals when the first long-distance trains began to cross several time zones, especially in the United States.

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Alpina considered that this accuracy should not remain the prerogative of a single occupation only and offered it to its primary customers: explorers and adventurers of the Alpine peaks (the origin of the brand name, Alpina). 

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When the brand was revived in the early 21st century, the first “outdoor” regulators naturally took over this heritage, with the Avalanche Regulator model, followed by the Avalanche Regulator Extreme.

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Gradually, the range was extended and renamed, taking the Alpiner name, a clear reminder of its Alpine origins. The Alpiner Regulator then joined Alpina’s prestigious Manufacture collection, thanks to the AL-950 calibre developed in-house.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model: ALPINER Extreme Regulator Automatic

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 Reference AL-650DGN4AE6    

Movement
Automatic caliber AL-650
31 jewels,
38-hour power reserve,
28’800 alt/h
Functions Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Case
Brushed and polished stainless steel 3-part case
Diameter of 41 mm
Height of 12.00 mm
Scratch-resistant convex sapphire crystal
See-through case-back
Water-resistant up to 20 ATM/200m/660ft
Screw-in crowns and case back
Engraved case back
Dial
Dark grey dial with triangle pattern
Navy blue outer ring with white markers
Applied silver color indexes filled with white luminous treatment
Navy blue hour counter at 10 o’clock, hand-polished silver color hour hand filled with white luminous treatment
Hand-polished silver color minute hand filled with white luminous treatment
Navy blue second counter at 6 o’clock, hand-polished silver color second hand filled with white luminous treatment
Strap
Navy blue rubber strap
Clasp type:  Double-fold clasp with secure lock & push button release

🔰Limited Edition ✅ 888 Pieces
🔴 Price :  € 1,995 EUR 💰

 #AlpinaWatches #ReachYourSummit #Alpina1883 #Alpiner #AlpinerExtremeRegulator

 ---------------------------
Press release - 2022
-----------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information on our watches, please visit our website or feel free to contact us directly. 

You can email Mrs. Camille Merré, PR Manager, at cmerre@alpina-watches.com

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