For the last few years, Alpina has been on a roll. New additions and refinements to the Alpiner Extreme and Seastrong Extreme series have dominated their releases, with new case sizes, colors, functions, and features. This year, the additions continue with a new color addition to the Alpiner Extreme Automatic, alongside the re-release of an absolute classic from the iconic Swiss Sport Watch Brand.

Alpiner Extreme Automatic Ice Blue

For many, the Alpiner Extreme is the defining watch of Alpina’s modern era, defining the brand’s place as a forward thinking sport watch manufacturer with an eye for extreme environments and intense activities. The multipiece, stepped case design is angular, robust, and contemporary. A combination of brushing and polishing finishing techniques, in combination with an overall build quality and price point of just under US$2,200 makes for one of the best value propositions in the Swiss watch world.

There have been a handful of more colorful additions to the lineup in recent memory, (pink, blue, or teal, to name a few). This year’s latest addition feels like such a natural addition that it’s hard to believe it didn’t already exist. The new Alpiner Extreme Automatic features a beautiful ice blue dial with matching rehaut and matching textured rubber grip on the oversized, screw-down crown. The pale blue dial is particularly well suited to this variation, which pairs the 39mm 40.5mm case with a brushed and polished flat link stainless steel bracelet.

Tech Specs: Alpina Alpiner Extreme Automatic

Reference: AL- 525LB2AE6B
Movement: Self-winding Calibre AL-525 (Sellita SW200-1 base); 38-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes; central seconds; date
Case: 39mm × 40.5mm (11.5mm thick); stainless steel; water-resistant to 200m
Dial: Ice blue satin-finished dial
Strap: Brushed and polished flat link stainless steel bracelet with folding push button clasp
Price: USD 2,195
Availability: May 2025

Heritage Tropic-Proof Handwinding

While the Extreme case design may define Alpina’s modern era, the Swiss brand nevertheless has 142 years of watchmaking history to draw on. Winding the clocks back to 1965, and the size, aesthetics, and use cases for watches were quite different than today. Watches were smaller, typically more simple than today, but the expectations were arguably more stringent. Watches needed to be reliable, steadfast tools.

In 1965, the world had opened up in a way that it never had before in human history — a new age of adventure and travel had dawned. It was in this context that Alpina originally released the Tropic-Proof, a go-anywhere, no-nonsense field watch. It needed to be reliable, wearable, and be suitable to any reasonable (or slightly unreasonable) environment. The cases were made by legendary casemaker François Borgel and sat at a solid 34mm.

Thus, this year Alpina has brought back this classic, midcentury design in as faithful a reissue as any. The watch retains a 34mm stainless steel case and is offered in either black or white dial variations. The sapphire Glassbox crystal adds to the overall legibility of the timepiece, with prominent double markers at 12, 3, 6, and 9. Both watches are fitted with a beige alcantara strap and signed pin buckle.

Within the 9.25mm thick case ticks the AL-480 manual winding movement, featuring a 42 hour power reserve and beating at a respectable 4hz. With its overall proportions, clean, legible dial, and vintage inspired logo, this is a watch for the vintage enthusiast who, frankly, doesn’t want to have to worry about the fragility or the fussiness of vintage watches. As much as we love the classic pieces from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, those pieces that survive are not really suited for more adventurous climes. While it can be an often quoted refrain, that they don’t make things like they used to, fortunately, sometimes, they still do.

Tech Specs: Alpina Heritage Tropic-Proof Handwinding

Reference: AL-480S2H6
Movement: Manual-winding AL-480; 42-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes; central seconds
Case: 34mm × 9.25mm; stainless steel; water-resistant to 30m
Dial: Black or white glossy dial
Strap: Beige Alcantara strap with signed steel pin buckle
Price: USD 1,895
Availability: July 2025