For more than 140 years, Alpina has made a name for itself as a premier watch brand for sportsmen and adventurers alike. Now under the Citizen Watch family, the Swiss brand continues to bring to market exciting watches that often punch way above their weight class. Take, for example, the latest release by the brand: the Alpiner Extreme Skeleton. Coming in two references, depending on the strap chosen, these watches mark an interesting advent for the brand: marrying sports watch performance with a skeletonized dial in one.
Every millimeter of this Alpiner iteration has been consciously redesigned for both aesthetics and performance. It’s hard to talk about this watch without mentioning the namesake skeleton architecture of the watch. Of course, the lack of a proper dial gives us a peek into the inner workings of the movement; it’s the small finishes throughout the watch that make it truly impressive. Take, for instance, the finishing on the movement that alternates between satin and polished surfaces. Or the hour markers applied by hand to the crystal, giving them a floating appearance against a dialless backdrop. Or the luminescent hands which tie it all together and remind one that this is, first and foremost, a sports watch. It’s all packed into a compact and wearable 39mm x 40.55 mm cushion case.
Noted earlier, this watch comes in two references. The first (AL-520GSKT3AE6B) is a monochromatic gray variant that’s inspired by the Alpine foothills. This reference is paired with a stainless steel bracelet. The second reference from the collection (AL-520NSKT3AE6) includes blue as a complementary colorway against the gray. Inspired by the sea as well as the mountains, it’s good to note, then, that this watch is water resistant up to 200 meters. The AL-520NSKT3AE6 reference comes with a navy blue rubber strap.
Each watch features an AL-520 skeletonized automatic caliber with a 38-hour power reserve (the barrel can be seen between 4:00 and 6:00, giving the wearer an immediate visual approximation as to how much power is left at any given time). The anti-reflective sapphire crystal and water resistance ensure the watch is ready for everyday wear and will not need to be babied, while the see-through caseback makes it a watch that blends performance and functionality seamlessly.
Announced last week at Geneva Watch Days, the new Alpiner Extreme Skeleton will be available in October via the official Alpina website and other authorized channels. Pricing starts at $2,595 for the navy blue rubber strap version and $2,895 for the model with a steel bracelet. Alpina
