A flagship model launched in 2005, the Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic is making its comeback today in the Alpina collection.
The creation separates the display of the hours, minutes and seconds, and is set inside a heavy-duty case able to withstand the most extreme conditions.
For 2022, the Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic has new lines and for the first time comes in an ultra-compact 41 mm size.
Founded in 1883 but fallen in disuse due to the quartz crisis, it was especially through the Alpiner Extreme – at that time called the Avalanche Extreme – that Alpina found its way back to the summits in the early 2000s.
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 and for the first time, it is perfectly conceivable for both men and women to wear their Alpiner Extreme Automatic in all situations.
Limited to 888 pieces, the Alpiner Extreme Regulator Automatic still has the time-tested AL-650 caliber, 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.
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 model, followed by the Avalanche Regulator Extreme.
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 caliber developed in-house.
