As for the size, I would have liked a 39mm or 40mm diameter, rather than the 41.5mm. Also, this is a tribute to a military watch, so one shouldn’t expect anything too creative with the case anyway. It may not look or sound like much, but they are important details that add a degree of sophistication to the watch.
Alpina then contrasted the brushed look with high-polished lug chamfers and rounded bezel. You’ll find satin finishing on the barrel of the case, as well as the sides and tops of the lugs. At this price point, and with an in-house movement, I would have forgiven a lack of case detailing, but I luckily didn’t have to. Moving onto the case, Alpina included a few subtle details that take it a step or two above “basic”. Finally, the blackened steel rotor looks fantastic, and the color is set off even further with blued screws. Alpina could have easily stuck with the same pattern size, but that was a nice touch. I did, however, appreciate the perlage around the edge of the movement complemented by the smaller perlage pattern behind the balance. I love multiple finely finished bridges, but for a price point under $3,000, it just can’t be expected. A lot of what can be seen is the mostly-solid plate designs, in addition to the balance wheel. Viewed through the exhibition caseback, I don’t think the movement will blow anyone away. While they share the basic movements, Alpina differentiates with the finishing (i.e., mostly just the rotor). Rather than re-invent the wheel, Frederique Constant has made slight modifications to previously developed movements, which has now lead to this center-seconds automatic, with a date subdial at 6 o’clock. As I mentioned, this is based on a movement created by Alpina’s parent company, Frederique Constant. I’m going to start with the movement, the Caliber AL-710. With the Tribute to KM, Alpina is hoping you can see it that way as well. Either way, I can see the argument for appreciating a timepiece that was valuable in a combat situation, no matter which side it was on. Some folks don’t agree with wearing or owning German WWII watches (and I don’t blame them), but the watchmakers generally had little choice in complying with the Nazis. Although Alpina is not the same brand it once was – as it was purchased and re-purposed –they’ve decided to honor a collectible watch from its namesake’s past.
#ALPINA WATCH REVIEWS MANUAL#
The KM watch housed Alpina’s caliber 592, which was a reliable manual wind movement. They’re exactly what you’d expect for a military issue watch: legible during both day and night, and durable. The inspiration for the Tribute to KM is a service watch made by Alpina for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during WWII.
#ALPINA WATCH REVIEWS FULL#
I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Alpina Tribute to KM for a full review, so let’s take a look. With their Manufacture series, featuring in-house movements developed by Frederique Constant, Alpina does an excellent job balancing the two. In that price bracket, watchmakers oftentimes have to make noticeable sacrifices in their watches, whether it’s with case or movement finishing, or maybe a bit of both. Alpina watches generally fall in a strange and hard-to-judge part of the market, from about $1,000 to $3,000.
Just recently, I talked about a new release from Alpina, a small watchmaker part of the Frederique Constant family.