THE BIG COMEBACK OF THE ALPINER EXTREME REGULATOR AUTOMATIC.
A flagship model launched in 2005, the Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic watch is making its comeback in the Alpina Watches collection, in a new version.
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. In 2022, Alina Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic watch 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.
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. 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.
The Alpiner Extreme Regulator by Alpina 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. And especially, the return of its AL-650 calibre which drove its initial beats nearly 20 years ago.
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. 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.
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.
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. 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. 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.
As for the case, the aesthetic signature of the Alpiner Extreme Regulator line, it has kept the qualities which have carved out its success. 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. 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.
Regulators as such, are atypical in the watchmaking landscape. They offer a differentiated view of each of their indications. 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.
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.
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). When the brand was revived in the early 21st century, the first “outdoor” regulators naturally took over this heritage, with the Avalanche Regulator watch model, followed by the Avalanche Regulator Extreme timepiece.
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.
