Alpina Startimer Pilot Quartz Chronograph Watches Review
Tuesday - 10 January 2023
The Alpina Startimer Pilot Quartz Chronograph is back in flight with a design that returns to some of the brand’s superior pilot’s watches created at the beginning of the last century. A new case, bezel and hands are amongst just some of the changes undergone in the design of the popular Startimer watch. Let’s take a closer look…
Having supplied military aviation watches to air forces on the continent throughout the first half of the last century, it’s clear that Alpina remains a benchmark in this field of expertise. To meet such demanding requirements, Alpina’s pilot’s watches need to reach strict criteria in shock resistance and precision. Features like their high contrast dials, anti-magnetic cases and luminous display elements make them highly reliable for a myriad of tasks up in the air.
Returning to a design that has brought the company great success, the new Alpina Startimer watches for 2022 have been carefully designed for an ergonomic fit against the wrist and resemble the brand’s first military timepieces, bridging the gap nicely between the Startimer’s larger 44mm models and smaller 40mm ones.
To start, the bezel of the new Startimer Pilot Quartz Chronograph watch now has a notched design, an early design feature that assisted with an easy grip whilst wearing heavy pilot’s gloves in freezing cockpit conditions. At the 12 o’clock location on the bezel, a red triangular symbol resides, echoing the geometry of the noon location on the dial’s hour track. Also revisiting earlier pilot watch styles is the crown at 3 o’clock, with its flute “onion” profile. The crown is also screwed down to assist the case in upholding a water resistance of 100 meters. Additionally, the back of the case features a vintage Alpina logo, whilst the return of the dial’s cathedral hands deserts the old leaf shape for a fuller-bodied centre and a finer tip. The second hand, however, retains the classic identity of the signature Alpina watch with its triangular counterweight showcasing the company’s emblem.
The new Alpina Startimer Pilot Quartz Chronograph watches come in three new versions – a black, a blue and a green. Each model features a new date window located at 6 o’clock (as opposed to the former 3 o’clock position). The black and steel bracelet model ref: AL-372BW4S26B features brushed outer links and polished inner links, together with a convex sapphire crystal glass front with layers of anti-reflective coating applied to its surface. The counterweight of the seconds hand in this model is finished in a bright red, whilst the hands and Arabic numerals have been treated with a luminous coating in white.
The military green model ref AL-372GR4FBS26 exudes an eye-catching aesthetic with its black PVD-coated stainless steel case. The matte finish on the dial is paired with a beige colour for the dial elements, including the rail track around the periphery of the display for reading the minutes. A brown calf leather strap enhances the military pilot look of this new Alpina Startimer Pilot Quartz Chronograph watch.
The petroleum blue version ref: AL-372NW4S26 also features a brown calf leather strap and boasts tone-on-tone chronograph counters, white luminous hour markers and hands, and a red second hand counterweight. The double date window at 6 o’clock on all three models is filled with a rich black colour and all three watches feature a 10th of a second counter at 3 o’clock, a small second sub-dial at 6 o’clock and a 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock.
Each of the three new Alpina Startimer Pilot Quartz Chronograph watches is powered by a reliable Swiss-made quartz movement, secured inside a two-part case construction. The AL-372 quartz movement promises a reliable 48-month battery life and sits behind an Alpina engraved caseback.
If you’d like more information on any of the three Alpina Startimer Pilot’s Quartz Chronograph watches we’ve featured in this article today, you can call and speak to a member of our sales team or visit the range here.
Technical specifications of the new Alpina Startimer Pilot Quartz Chronograph watch
- Case: 41mm – stainless steel/black PVD coated – 100-meter water resistance – convex anti-reflective sapphire crystal glass front – Alpina engraved caseback – onion-shaped screw-down crown – new notched bezel in stainless steel/black PVD
- Dial: Black / blue / green – white/beige luminous Arabic numerals and hands – red second counterweight – 1/10th of a second counter at 3H – small seconds sub-counter at 6H / 30-minute counter at 9H - double date window in black at 6H – triangular 12 o’clock marker – rail track minutes
- Movement; Quartz - AL-372 Calibre – 48-month battery life
- Strap: Stainless steel – brushed and polished links – folding clasp / brown calf leather strap – stainless steel/black PVD-coated buckle
- Reference: Black and steel - AL-372BW4S26B / petroleum blue and calf leather strap - AL-372NW4S26 / green and brown calf leather - AL-372GR4FBS26
- Price: Starts from £895
