The Alpina Alpiner Extreme Automatic Freeride World Tour 2023 Edition

Alpina, true to the pioneering spirit of its founder and nowadays commitments, has been a vivid supporter of an active lifestyle for many years and partners with the French Ski Federation, Swiss Surfing, Surfrider Foundation Europe, and the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc valley – offering its timekeeping expertise and more. Last week, the Swiss brand announced a special edition watch in the Alpiner Extreme line to celebrate its status as an official timekeeper of the Freeride World Tour and strengthen its ties to the challenging competitions. The new Alpina Alpiner Extreme Automatic FWT23 watch is based on a model released last year, the Alpiner Extreme Automatic.

Alpina is one of the few watch brands that respond to rising trends faster than most of the company’s competitors. When in 2015 Apple introduced their wrist-worn device, Alpina did not waste much time contemplating the consequences and making predictions but instead offered the AlpinaX smartwatch – now this line brings in about a third of Alpina’s revenue. Last year in response to the market demand for contemporary mechanical sports watches, Alpina added to its Alpiner line new self-winding references, the Extreme Regulator Automatic and Extreme Automatic time and date models, both enjoyed a much-deserved warm reception from outdoor enthusiasts with a soft spot for the Swiss mechanics. 

The Alpiner Extreme Automatic is a rugged, reliable, wearable watch with an uncompromising appearance in a stainless steel case. The 3-part case design is reminiscent of the Avalanche line from the past, with the cushion shape and a burgeoning element on the side at 9 o’clock to visually counterbalance the crown guards opposite. The bezel is round, with six screws featuring triangular slots, in line with the triangular Alpina logo. The screw-in crown works to guarantee a water resistance of 200m, and it has a jagged rubber grip to aid operation. The case dimensions are comfortable, 41mm x 42.5mm x 11.50mm, and vertical and circular brushing on the surfaces provide the watch with the aesthetics of a utility timepiece, true to its purpose.

A black outer chapter ring, domed with a scratch-resistant convex sapphire crystal, borders the black dial with a triangular pattern. The silver-coloured hour indices are polished, treated with white luminous material and applied; the hour and minute hands match the indices. The polished central second hand is decorated with a red triangle counterweight. With the red Freeride World Tour logo below the centre, these are the only elements that do not fall into the black and silvery/white colour palette. The rectangular window at 3 o’clock shows the black date disc with a numeral printed in white, large enough to be legible. The minute ring with white marking bears the swiss made designation; the Alpina logo and “automatic” are the only other “distractions”.

The see-through screwed caseback opens the view to the AL-525 Calibre, which is Sellita SW200-1 based. This trusted movement is nicely finished, with a blackened engraved rotor that winds the watch up to run for 38 hours. The integrated textured black rubber strap matches the dial and is closed with a folding buckle with push buttons. 

The Alpina Alpiner Extreme Automatic Freeride World Tour 2023 watch is already available, and the price is EUR 1,595. For more, please visit www.alpinawatches.com.