ALPINA
The history of ALPINA
The history of Alpina watches dates back to 1883, and the company has always been at the forefront of horological innovation. Alpina has always strived to enhance and grow in all aspect of its company, from Quality Control to the Working Environment.
Gottleib Hauser was a Swiss independent watchmaker who was having difficulty obtaining components and materials for his timepieces. After a few years of hard effort, he came up with the concept of forming a union of other Swiss watchmakers who could exchange components, resources, and ideas jointly. He established the "Alpina Swiss Watchmakers Corporation" at this time. This brought together the most prominent independent Swiss watchmakers, who were known as "Alpinists."
They were originally created to improve and advance the manufacturing of clock movements and timepieces through collaboration between manufacturers and suppliers, but Alpina quickly began creating calibres and chronometers and producing them entirely in-house.
The Alpina Watch logo was inspired by the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland, which stands at 4,478 meters above sea level and overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt. It is one of Europe's highest peaks. This mountain, with its stunning summit and snowy backdrop, is one of the most aesthetically pleasing in the Aosta Valley. The logo was designed in a triangle shape, and it fits nicely.
Jacob Straub determined that Alpina had certain cutting-edge technology that was being used by a few of watchmakers. According to rumors, they even built watch movements for Rolex in the rectangular baguette watches at one point, but requested that they be branded Rolex rather than Alpina. Almost all high-end watches had the Alpina triangle mark on their movements after he registered the 12 and 19 line calibers. It was used to denote remarkable accuracy and excellence.
The Alpina union celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1901, and the brand "Alpina" was registered and featured for the first time on Gottlieb Hauser's high-end calibres and watches. When the Alpina brand and trademark were founded, they also required a distinctive sign to represent the brand, which is how the Alpina red triangle emblem was developed.
In 1913, Alpina timepieces became the official supplier of chronometers to the German Navy, which at its height in 1944 had over 810,000 men. Following WWII, the remaining German Navy ships were distributed among the Allied nations and put to diverse uses, such as mine sweeping and transport.
In 1921, Alpina watches became a well-known maker and provider of timepieces for military pilots, and the famed pilots legs watch, which was used across the Air Force and is still shown in many films today, was introduced. It was worn on a pilot's legs and featured a large strap that allowed it to be worn over the top of their Air Force uniform, allowing them to take exact time measurements with ease. These are extraordinary timepieces that are becoming increasingly difficult to get, commanding high prices at auctions and online, and are prized possessions of collectors.
Alpina watches were the first to create the worldwide watch warranty, which was a declaration of Alpina watches' exceptional quality and dependability. It was a huge success, with Alpina's sales increasing and other watchmakers throughout the world implementing similar guarantees to keep up with Alpina's development.
Alpina Watches introduced another invention in 1933, the 'Block Uhr,' which was the first sports watch of its sort. It had a sturdy and dependable steel casing, as well as a patented new form of crown (Brevet 1464) that screwed down to decrease the amount of dust that got through the gap and damaged the movement and inner workings.
In 1938, the Alpina 4 was introduced and released, marking the beginning of the iconic sports watch. It was known as the Alpina 4 because it featured four distinct characteristics: The movement was anti-magnetic, which helped it keep time and not become magnetized by any electrical items. Waterproof with a seal that allowed it to be worn while participating in snow activities, which was a popular pastime and hobby in Switzerland, which is still known for its Alpine ski resorts and trails. Anti-shock, which allowed it to be banged in everyday life or while participating in sports, and Stainless Steel, which is a steel alloy containing at least 10.5 percent chromium by mass and is particularly hard wearing it wouldn't be easily scratched.
In 1953, Alpina commemorated their 70th anniversary by releasing the 'Alpina 70,' which had all four Alpina sporting features as well as the 592 and 598 calibers. This watch was likewise quite popular and has a golden logo on the dial. Today, it may be bought for a very high price at auction; the one below was priced at almost $75,000.00! Personally, I adore this watch and would add it to my collection if it were within my budget.
The Alpina 4 Chronograph, an Alpina sports watch featuring a telemeter chronograph, was produced in 1959. The telemeter chronograph is a device on the face of a timepiece that allows the owner to use the speed of sound to roughly determine the distance of a ski or a run, for example. It was the ideal complement to a sports watch, as seen by its sales. By this time, Alpina had reached the pinnacle of its popularity, with watch collectors from all over the world flocking to the brand, which had established itself as a benchmark for quality and precision.
In 1969, Alpina introduced the '10 Seastrong' Diver watch, which was the professional diving watch of the time! It had a 17-jewel self-winding caliber. The 10 Seastrong had two crowns, one for determining decompression time through a -60 minute rotating bezel, and the other for adjusting the time. Both featured watertight seals, however the Chronograph function could not be used underwater due to the risk of water getting into the watch's inner workings.
The 'Quartz Crisis' began in 1969, when Seiko produced the world's first commercial quartz wristwatch. This was a big setback for Alpina, as well as many other Swiss brands who had to succumb to Japanese pressure. Alpina restructured their business to focus solely on Switzerland and Germany. It only marketed to these two nations' marketplaces while attempting to figure out what it would accomplish. When all hope appeared to have vanished Peter Stas, a Dutch entrepreneur, arrived on the scene and learned all about the Alpina brand's history in sports watches, military, and aviation. Frederique Constant then took Alpina into the plant and enabled them to continue producing there.
Alpina Watch International SA launched a new mechanical sports line under the name Alpina in February 2002, carrying on the Alpina tradition. The new Alpina technical sport watch line included 25 mechanical models, some with complexities; two families with diverse looks should appeal to different types of athletes.
Alpina's first series of Regulator wristwatches, introduced in 2005, were a nod to the company's rich history and pedigree, but with a style that was very new and modern. Built with today's design and technical know-how, but inspired by the past.
Aletta and Peter Stas, two of Frédérique Constant's co-founders, took over the Alpina Swiss watch brand Alpina in 2002 with the purpose of producing robust yet attractive, high-quality sports watches.
Alpina is now one of the few Swiss watch brands that designs, manufactures, and assembles all of its movements in-house. The AL-980 Tourbillon, AL-718 World Timer, AL-950 Automatic Regulator, AL-710 Automatic Small Date, and, most recently, the AL-760 Flyback Chronograph, incorporating the proprietary "Direct Flyback" technology, are the five in-house calibers offered by Alpina. Finally, there's the AlpinerX AL-283 caliber.
In 2015, Alpina continued its heritage of innovation by introducing the first linked Swiss Made Horological Smartwatch, therefore launching a new watch category in the Swiss watch market.
Alpina's objective is to provide premium sport watches with the highest level of precision and dependability in the most demanding athletic situations, such as the Alps.