Introducing Alpina's New Alpiner Heritage Carrée And Startimer Pilot Quartz Worldtimer

With the brand's two latest releases, Alpina has highlighted both the company's long heritage and their current vision for the brand's future. Thankfully for Alpina fans, both are quite familiar. 

The first two watches build off of the brand's success last year when they celebrated Alpina's 140th anniversary and released the classically-styled, tank-shaped watch with the Calibre 490. That movement dated from 1938, which was restored and presented in a silver case, and Alpina produced only 14 examples. Now, the same aesthetic is being offered by the Alpiner Heritage Carrée, which is powered by a contemporary movement (the self-winding AL-530 mechanical caliber). Offered in a black dial and silver two-tone variant, the Alpiner Heritage Carrée measures 32.5mm x 39 mm and a comfortable 9.71mm thick. 

With their classical styling and slightly stepped case, the watches should feel familiar to even those people who didn't see last year's release, and both versions sport period Arabic numerals, dauphine hands, and the original Alpina logo. Either version is being offered for $1,595 but it's worth noting that the black dial will not be sold in the United States. 

Now, if you're looking for something more modern and tough-looking, check out the new Startimer Pilot Quartz Worldtimer. It's the first world time complication for the Startimer line, powered by a quartz movement – which helps to keep the watch affordable, at only $1,095. For your money, you get hours, minutes, seconds, GMT, and a world timer in one of three colorways, all measuring 41mm by 11.5mm. The Army green looks tough, while the blue and black dials look somewhat more classic. You can pick the green and blue dials up with bracelets for $1,095 or save $100 for the black dial, which comes on a black calf leather strap with white stitching. Regardless of the color, it's a lot of bang for your buck. 

I'm thinking a lot of different things – thanks to putting two wildly different releases in one story – but I'll try to be short and cohesive. I'll start with the Alpiner Heritage Carrée, which feels like a fantastic nod to the early days of rectangular vintage watchmaking. While the original idea to use vintage calibers is always fun, it naturally limits the number of watches available at the end of the day – and the price point is usually higher. Alternatively, with this release, for a relatively affordable $1,595 you get a really solid dressy option for when you want to go simple, classic, and more than a little old school. 

But, staying true to myself, I know the Startimer Pilot Quartz Worldtimer is more my speed, especially with the usefulness of world time and GMT. The date window kind of chops into the 24-hour indicator, but otherwise, it looks like a clean and wearable watch with nice dimensions. There's no information about whether or not it's a caller or flyer GMT, but if we get more information, I'll keep you posted.

Brand: Alpina
Model: Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic 140 Years and Startimer Pilot Quartz Worldtimer
Reference Number: AL-530SAC3C6 (Alpiner) AL-255N4S26B (Startimer)

Diameter: 32.5mm x 39 mm (Alpiner) 41mm (Startimer)
Thickness: 9.71mm (Alpiner); 11.5mm (Startimer)
Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial Color: Silver dial with matt finishing (Alpiner); Navy blue, green, or black dial with sunray finishing and printed Arabic numerals (Startimer)
Indexes: Black printed Arabic numerals and black graduation (Alpiner), Printed Arabic numerals filled with white luminous treatment, White outer ring with seconds graduation, 24H disc with day & night indication, date window at 3 o'clock, and city disc with 24 cities (Startimer)
Lume: None (Alpiner); Yes (Startimer)
Water Resistance: 30m (Alpiner) 100m (Startimer)
Strap/Bracelet: Light brown Ostrich leather strap with off-white stitching and pin buckle (Alpiner); Brushed and polished stainless steel 3-link bracelet and folding buckle with push buttons or black calf leather strap with dirty white stitching and pin buckle (Startimer)

Caliber: AL-530 (Alpiner); AL-255 caliber (Startimer)
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds (Alpiner); Hours, Minutes, Seconds, GMT, Worldtimer, Date (Startimer)
Power Reserve: 38 hours (Alpiner); 45 months of battery life (Startimer)
Winding: Automatic (Alpiner) Quartz (Startimer)
Frequency: 28,800 bph (Alpiner) N/A (Startimer)
Jewels: 31 (Alpiner); 1 (Startimer)

Price: Alpiner: $1,595 | Startimer: $1,095 (bracelet) or $995 (strap)
Availability: Immediately
Limited Edition: No

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