Sports
By Michael Thompson
NEW
SEASTRONG
DIVER
IS VINTAGE
ALPINA
ALPINA’S FIRST RE-INTERPRETATION OF ITS 1969 Alpina 10
Super Compressor impressed dive watch enthusiasts three
years ago with its strong 300-meter water resistance, crown-
driven internal diving bezel and retro-styling. Alongside the
vintage tinge, Alpina introduced modern technical specs by
increasing the watch’s water resistance (up to 300 meters
from the 200-meter rating of the original) while retaining an
affordable pricing range that typifies nearly every offering
from this Geneva-based watchmaker.
Alpina now presents an encore Seastrong Diver Heritage
that retains all the vintage cool of the initial examples and
adds a bronze color PVD to its 42mm stainless steel case.
The two screw-in crowns (at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock) remain,
denoting the historical ‘super compressor’ case design initially
made for numerous Swiss watchmakers (including, most
famously, Jaeger-LeCoultre) in the mid-1950s. The top crown,
which Alpina finishes with a grid-like pattern, is used to adjust
the rotating inner diving bezel. The lower crown is used to set
the time and date.
Echoing its earlier forebear, the newest Alpina Seastrong
Diver Heritage uses Caliber AL-525, an automatic
movement based on a Sellita SW 200 modified by Alpina.
This is a 26-jewel self-winding caliber with a 38-hour power
reserve and a 28,800-vph frequency.
Alpina offers two dial options: an almost monochromatic
brown dial and brown rotating inner bezel or a brown dial
with a cream-colored internal rotating bezel set with brown
markers. And regardless of which appears most ‘vintage’ to
your eyes (I’m eyeing the cream-colored version) both nicely
match their bronze-hued case, especially as offset by the
white luminous hands.
With its engraved solid screw-in caseback and inclusion of
two straps (brown leather and rubber), the Alpina Seastrong
Diver Heritage is competitively priced at $1,795.
80 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | WINTER 2020