View single post by stew77
 Posted: Fri Aug 26th, 2011 05:52 pm
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stew77



Joined: Thu Mar 26th, 2009
Location: Colorado USA
Posts: 10252
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 Arriving this week is the Alpina Extreme Sailing LE, my first exposure to the Alpina brand after enjoying the posts from William and Mark with their Regulator models, and Oscar’s Alpina Extreme Diver which gets some time in his rotation once in a great while.  In researching this one for 'real-world' information, there wasn't much out there that I found, so I thought I'd include a bit more commentary on my likes and dislikes with this one. 

This Extreme Sailing piece is in Alpina’s new Adventure ‘Extreme 40’ collection, inspired by the sponsorship of the Alpina Extreme 40 Catamaran Class.  The packaging for this watch is way over the top, with a box that is approximately 10”x 10”x 10” (that’s big), and includes a scale model of the Alpina Catamaran, all sorts of Alpina marketing swag, and a huge rubberized 2011 Alpina catalog.  In connection with the sponsorship, Alpina has developed a very cool In-House Regatta Caliber AL-880 based off the new Sellita SW500 chronograph that has these way cool Regatta colored countdown timing discs that show through the dial (check it out if you get a chance).  Since I don’t race yachts, I don’t really have any use for the cool AL-880, but if you need 10 minute countdown timing for any application, this one will hit the mark for you.  Ok, all kidding aside, enough about the AL-880 caliber piece…mine is the “regular” automatic in this lineup and I’m liking it quite a bit.

Anyone who is a fan of the current IWC Aquatimer 2000 will notice more than a small resemblance between the IWC and this Alpina model (in particular, the hand set, dial, markers, bezel, and even a bit in the case design although I think I actually prefer the Alpina case design just a bit more).

Alpina tid-bit:  Alpina was acquired by Frederique Constant Geneve in the 2002 timeframe as a way for FC to develop new more sports driven watches.  One of the things I like about the brand is that they are a true Caliber manufacturer (check out the way cool from-the-ground-up AL-950 Alpina Manufacture Caliber that is in Williams ‘Hammerfjord’s’ Alpina Regulator model…really great piece IMO!).  Even the ETA and Sellita movements that Alpina uses throughout their lineup are adjusted, finished, and tested using in-house Alpina resources to keep quality in check.

From my first exposure to the brand, Alpina certainly seems “underrated” based on what they are delivering for the dollar (All IMO, of course).  A very good thing!

Things I like:

- Overall design and how all the elements work together (hands, dial, markers, bezel, and case design)…really a great looking piece and it doesn’t hurt at all that it resembles the IWC 2K which I like very much.  Even the excellent deployment style Alpina ss bracelet is well done (and seems to be a dead ringer for the same style on the IWC.  One advantage the Alpina has over the IWC is no proprietary strap changing system (which I think is extremely cool on the IWC, but limits your strap options).  It took me all of a day to try an Isofrane on this one, and it is a super comfortable combo.  With 22mm lugs, many strap options are available. 

- Case diameter at 45mm gives nice presence while the 13mm thickness makes it an easy wearer IMO (and the 50mm lug-to-lug distance will make this a nice fit for those with smaller wrists too).

- Nicely finished movement which is not typically seen at this price point IMO.  From the blued screws, to the Cotes de Geneve, to the Perlage, to the way cool Alpina designed and finished rotor…I’ve very glad to have a sapphire view caseback on this one.

- Build quality is excellent all around, with great feel on the screw down crown, and excellent/positive 120 click bezel detents.  Case finishing is extremely well done, and I like the contrasting adjacent brushed and polished surfaces on the case which add to the overall look IMO.

Things I don’t like (nitpicks):

- No lume on the seconds hand.  I realize that Alpina is marketing this as a Sailing piece, but I still wish it had lume on the seconds hand (even a bit of lume on the tail end of the seconds hand would be good by me).  Come on now.

- No lume under the bezel inlay.  This is one area where the IWC really has it over the Alpina.  I don’t know if the bezel overlay is acrylic or sapphire, (it is extremely attractive)…but I would like some lume please.

- Lume overall is OK so this is not really a negative…not Seiko, Benarus Megalodon, Helson Shark Diver bright initially but the lume is evenly and nicely applied with the hands slightly brighter than the dial markers and the lume does appear to last a long time into the night.

- No micro-adjust on the ss bracelet.  The excellent ss deployment style bracelet fits me fairly well, but I will be looking into whether or not Alpina offers a half-link for the bracelet (I know that IWC offers one for theirs).  I think the half-link would enable me to get very close to the perfect fit, so I hope Alpina offers one.

Overall though … very happy with this one and really like it on both the excellent Alpina ss bracelet and the Isofrane I have had it on.

The Basic Specs:

Movement:  Alpina AL-525 (modified Sellita SW200), 25 Jewels, 28,800 BPH

Case Material:  Stainless Steel

Crystal:  Sapphire   (Sapphire-view caseback window)

Bezel:  Uni-directional rotating  (120 clicks)

Crown: Screw-down

Water Resistance:  300m /30 atm

Case Diameter:  45mm diameter

Thickness: 13mm

Lug width: 22mm

Lug-to-Lug Length:  50mm

A few pics:















Last edited on Fri Aug 26th, 2011 05:57 pm by stew77