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Alpina Watches
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Author:  Huttfuzz [ Fri Dec 30, 2016 7:23 am ]
Post subject:  Alpina Watches
Hey,

wondered what everyone thought about Alpina Watches as a brand and their in-house movements?

let me know if you had experience with their watches.

cheers,
Author:  Driver8 [ Tue Jan 03, 2017 4:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Alpina Watches
Huttfuzz wrote:
Hey,

wondered what everyone thought about Alpina Watches as a brand and their in-house movements?

let me know if you had experience with their watches.

cheers,

Well as I'm sure you know they currently come under the Frédérique Constant banner, and as such they share very similar in-house movements.....which is a good thing in my opinion. They have a pretty long history as an independent brand, but as happened to so many manufacturers, the quartz crisis hit them pretty hard. Their modern renaissance came in 2002 when FC acquired them and started poking plenty of cash their way. As a brand they are very much still an "under the radar" kind of marque, but that's no bad thing IMO.....especially as it keeps prices reasonable for decent in-house watches.

I don't have any personal experience of ownership but a while ago I was seriously considering the in-house powered Worldtimer (http://www.alpina-watches.com/news/alpi ... re_19.aspx) as I think it represents superb value for money for what it is. The only thing I've heard with regards to issues was an anecdotal story of an alleged "weakness" in the self-winding mechanism of their in-house movements. I just tried to Google it a moment ago without any luck, so it may be nothing more than an isolated case..... or I may have imagined it!

I still wish I'd snapped up that Worldtimer as it was going to an absurdly low price at the time, so if you can find one for good money, I'd say they're definitely worth considering.
Author:  Huttfuzz [ Tue Jan 03, 2017 5:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Alpina Watches
Very interesting driver8, thanks. I remarked that their in house movement have very low power reserve, that's kind of a turn off..

Mat
Author:  Tim S [ Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Alpina Watches
I don't have any experience with Alpina directly but I did pick up the FC Worldtimer a couple of years ago (https://frederiqueconstant.com/watch-fi ... -718wm4h4/) and have been very happy. It did have one big issue a few months into ownership but ever since coming back from the shop (under warranty) it's been running perfectly. I don't know whether the movement differs between the brands (I assume they're similar) but I really don't think you can go wrong, particularly given the price point for an in-house movement. My power reserve is 42 hours if that helps which is legit.
Author:  Huttfuzz [ Tue Jan 03, 2017 11:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Alpina Watches
Tim S wrote:
I don't have any experience with Alpina directly but I did pick up the FC Worldtimer a couple of years ago (https://frederiqueconstant.com/watch-fi ... -718wm4h4/) and have been very happy. It did have one big issue a few months into ownership but ever since coming back from the shop (under warranty) it's been running perfectly. I don't know whether the movement differs between the brands (I assume they're similar) but I really don't think you can go wrong, particularly given the price point for an in-house movement. My power reserve is 42 hours if that helps which is legit.

That watch looks fantastic Tim. Thanks for the info.

Mat
Author:  Driver8 [ Wed Jan 04, 2017 7:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Alpina Watches
Tim S wrote:
I don't have any experience with Alpina directly but I did pick up the FC Worldtimer a couple of years ago (https://frederiqueconstant.com/watch-fi ... -718wm4h4/) and have been very happy. It did have one big issue a few months into ownership but ever since coming back from the shop (under warranty) it's been running perfectly. I don't know whether the movement differs between the brands (I assume they're similar) but I really don't think you can go wrong, particularly given the price point for an in-house movement. My power reserve is 42 hours if that helps which is legit.

Nice watch Tim. :thumbsup: And yes it's essentially exactly the same movement and in the Alpina Worldtimer.
Author:  Tim S [ Fri Jan 06, 2017 6:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Alpina Watches
Huttfuzz wrote:
Tim S wrote:
I don't have any experience with Alpina directly but I did pick up the FC Worldtimer a couple of years ago (https://frederiqueconstant.com/watch-fi ... -718wm4h4/) and have been very happy. It did have one big issue a few months into ownership but ever since coming back from the shop (under warranty) it's been running perfectly. I don't know whether the movement differs between the brands (I assume they're similar) but I really don't think you can go wrong, particularly given the price point for an in-house movement. My power reserve is 42 hours if that helps which is legit.

That watch looks fantastic Tim. Thanks for the info.

Mat

Thanks Mat. I bought it as it added something completely different to my collection - worldtimer, rose gold, more of a formal watch and I've been really happy with it. It's a perfect size for me and the continents on the dial adds a really good touch. Good luck with your search.

Driver8 wrote:
Tim S wrote:
I don't have any experience with Alpina directly but I did pick up the FC Worldtimer a couple of years ago (https://frederiqueconstant.com/watch-fi ... -718wm4h4/) and have been very happy. It did have one big issue a few months into ownership but ever since coming back from the shop (under warranty) it's been running perfectly. I don't know whether the movement differs between the brands (I assume they're similar) but I really don't think you can go wrong, particularly given the price point for an in-house movement. My power reserve is 42 hours if that helps which is legit.

Nice watch Tim. :thumbsup: And yes it's essentially exactly the same movement and in the Alpina Worldtimer.

Thanks Driver and also for confirming the movement.
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