More than any other watchmaker, Alpina was responsible for the concept of the modern Swiss sports watch, as it is known today.
After several patents to insure water-resistance – and as development of the famous Alpina “Block Uhr” in 1933 – in 1938 Alpina presented the “Alpina 4”: the first modern Swiss sports watch. The concept behind the “Alpina 4” was to reunite the 4 essential features for a sports watch to be called a sports watch, in one single case: 1) Antimagnetic, 2) Antishock, 3) Water-resistant and 4) Stainless steel.
Such had to be a sports watch, in the vision of the Alpina founder Gottlieb Hauser, to be able to tackle the entire vertical Alpine sports environment, from mountain climbing to alpine lake diving. In 2014, Alpina revives the Alpina “4” concept with its new “Alpiner 4” collection dedicated to the Alpine sports universe.
The all-new Alpiner 4 collection features a “Bi-Compax” Chronograph, encasing the well-known Alpina AL-860 Automatic Chronograph movement, and an automatic GMT model, encasing the new Alpina AL-550 GMT movement, featuring an in-house GMT/24H module.
Both models feature the “4” essential sports qualities. Concerning anti-magnetism, the watches are certified according to the ISO 764 norm, which specifies that a watch must resist exposition to a direct current magnetic field of 4 800 A/m without any impact on its accuracy. Regarding the anti-shock properties both watches certified to the ISO 1413 standard.
Additionally, as an important feature for Alpine and great outdoors orientation needs, both watches also have a 360° turning compass bezel. The turning compass bezel coupled with the 24H scale on the outer ring of the dial, offer the user a new and easy way to set the compass, which cannot be found on any other watch currently on the market.
The Alpiner 4 Chronograph
A high-performance but yet elegant case distinguishes this 44mm automatic Alpine chronograph. The combination between the circular brushed stainless steel black PVD coated 360° bezel and the sunray dial with applied luminous indexes, provides the watch with a strong identity, perfect readability and an essential beauty which since years distinguishes the Alpina design codes.
Inside and outside, the watch assures resistance and performance. The case is 100m (330ft) water-resistant, and is engineered with a soft-iron core – enveloping the AL-860 automatic chronograph movement – made of low carbon iron, to protect the mechanical movement against magnetic fields.
The Alpiner 4 Chronograph comes with two dial variants, black or silver, and can be fitted with a stainless steel bracelet or a genuine alligator strap. Prominent on the dial is the “4” logo which distinguishes all Alpina watches possessing all 4 sports qualities.
Technical details
Model: ALPINER 4 CHRONOGRAPH
Reference: AL-860B5AQ6 / AL-860B5AQ6B / AL-860S5AQ6
Movement
Automatic, 26 jewels, 38H power reserve, 28’800 Ah
Functions
Anti-Magnetic, ISO764 certified to 4800 A/m.
Anti-Shock
Hours, minutes, seconds, 30min counter, chronograph second hand
360° turning compass bezel
Case
Stainless steel case, 44 mm diameter
Bi-directional compass bezel
Sapphire crystal
10 ATM (330ft) Water-resistant
Dial
Black / silvered sunray dial with applied luminous indexes
Nickel hands with white luminous
Strap
Black alligator strap
Also available on metal bracelet
Model: Alpiner 4 Chronograph – “Race For Water” Limited Edition
Limited edition of 400pcs/Delivered in a special wooden giftbox
Reference: AL-860AD5AQ6
Movement
Automatic, 26 jewels, 38H power reserve, 28’800 Ah
Functions
Anti-Magnetic, ISO764 certified to 4800 A/m.
Anti-Shock
Hours, minutes, seconds, 30min counter, chronograph second hand
360° turning compass bezel
Case
Stainless steel case, 44 mm diameter
Bi-directional compass bezel
Sapphire crystal
10 ATM (330ft) Water-resistant
Dial
Silver and blue sunray dial with applied luminous indexes
Nickel hands with white luminous
Strap
Black alligator strap
The Alpiner 4 GMT/24H
Engineered with the same principles and designed with the same codes as the Alpiner 4 Chronograph, the GMT version features a new and extremely easy-to-use GMT functionality. In particular, the Alpina AL-550 GMT/24H movement allows you to set the local time by independently moving the hour hand from hour to hour.
The 24H hand always displays your home time and allows you to know if it is day or night. This particular GMT system is the most intuitive to establish both local and home time at a glance.
The Alpiner 4 GMT comes with two dial variants, black or silver, and can be fitted with a stainless steel bracelet or a genuine alligator strap. Prominent on the dial is the “4” logo which distinguishes all Alpina watches possessing all 4 sports qualities.
Technical details
ALPINER 4 GMT: Reference: AL-550S5AQ6 / AL-550S5AQ6B
Movement
Automatic, 26 jewels, 38H power reserve, 28’800 Ah
Functions
Anti-Magnetic, ISO764 certified to 4800 A/m.
Anti-Shock
Hours, minutes, seconds, date, GMT 24H
360° turning compass bezel
Case
Stainless steel case, 44 mm diameter
Bi-directional compass bezel
Sapphire crystal
10 ATM (330ft) Water-resistant
Dial
Silver sunray dial with applied luminous indexes
Date window at 3’
Nickel hands with white luminous
Strap
Black alligator strap
Also available on metal bracelet
ALPINER 4 GMT/ Reference: AL-550G5AQ6
Movement
Automatic, 26 jewels, 38H power reserve, 28’800 Ah
Functions
Anti-Magnetic, ISO764 certified to 4800 A/m.
Anti-Shock
Hours, minutes, seconds, date, GMT 24H
360° turning compass bezel
Case
Stainless steel case, 44 mm diameter
Bi-directional compass bezel
Sapphire crystal
10 ATM (330ft) Water-resistant
Dial
Black sunray dial with applied luminous indexes
Date window at 3’
Nickel hands with white luminous
Strap
Black alligator strap
