The New Alpina Startimer Pilot’s Automatic 40mm

Alpina’s history may be linked to the manufacture of sports watches, but over the last 50 years the Swiss brand, now part of the Citizen empire and renowned for its affordable, robust wristwatches, has specialised in designing and supplying military watches for pioneers of the aviation industry. Some of the first Alpina pilot’s watches promised shock-resistant qualities, a legible, luminous dial, and a functional anti-magnetic design. The Alpina Startimer Pilot collection has built upon these fundamental values offering a diverse collection of tool watches geared towards professional flyers, military personnel and pilot watch collectors alike. And now, there’s a more compact version available.

The Alpina Startimer Pilot collection

The Startimer Pilot watch collection is already home to a range of automatic watches. Some are powered by third-party movements, others are fitted with an in-house calibre. Some feature hunter casebacks, others belong to the Heritage sub-collection, tipping their hat to designs from the 1930s. There are monopusher chronographs, GMT models and retro 1970s-inspired models to choose from, and so on. 

But the new compact 40mm additions to the Startimer Pilot watch collection may appeal to a slightly wider audience. For one, the new models boast a pared-down and restrained design that can be utilized in various professions. The businessman, for example, can slip this 10.25mm-high timepiece under the cuff of a work shirt with no fuss. Likewise, its new 40mm case size may now appeal to ladies, since the demand for larger women’s watches has now surpassed the slim and delicate designs of yesteryear.

The five new models

Alpina remains committed to creating simple pilot’s watches with scaled back designs that limit timekeeping to the essentials. The release of these new 40mm additions supports this allegiance. The no-frills design is available in a black titanium PVD-coated stainless steel version priced at EUR 995, a polished rose gold-plated stainless steel option priced at EUR 1,195, and a polished stainless steel iteration priced at EUR 895. The 2-part case construction of each new model is integrated with 100-meter water resistance and bears an image of the Alpine peaks engraved upon its sealed caseback.

These new 40mm automatic pilot’s watches distil the essence of the Startimer collection very well, remaining virtually unaltered in many ways to the purist look of Alpina’s classic pilot’s watch aesthetic. The index hour markers that are familiarly seen at 12 and 6 o’clock, however, have been swapped with horizontal baton markers. Other details, like Alpina’s red vertical triangle seen at 12 o’clock and the base of the seconds hand, remain untouched.

The new releases come in various dial colours with luminous-coated indices and hands. The black titanium PVD-coated stainless steel model features a dark grey dial and a black leather strap. The stainless steel options are available in a navy blue or white dial with a black leather strap, while the rose gold-plated steel models come in a navy blue or dark grey dial option. All five models are powered by the AL-525 calibre based on the automatic Sellita SW-200 movement, offering a 38-hour power reserve and date window located at 3 o’clock.

It seems that shaving 4mm off the case and leaving the rest of the Startimer Pilot design virtually untouched is a decision that has worked out well for Genevan-based watch company, Alpina, which has once again captured the aeronautical spirit of the Startimer quite aptly, this time for male and female audiences alike.

More details and orders at alpinawatches.com.