Hands-On The Alpina Alpiner Extreme Regulator

Who would have thought that in the year 2023 I'd be talking about a watch with a regulator dial?

Brands often dig deep into history, their own or horological history more generally, to find ways to stand out in a crowded market. Take for example regulator displays – a dial with one large minute hand at the center and a smaller hour display to the side – which were useful tools on clocks that increased legibility, often in places like a watch factory where a room full of watchmakers needed an accurate and large reference for everyone to set the time against at once. Today a regulator watch certainly at probably raises some eyebrows as a bit anachronistic and unnecessary. Not many brands really do them anymore. And that's why I like it. It's an example of a brand taking something uncommon from the past and bringing it to the present. 

And watches are supposed to be fun, right? These two versions of the Alpiner Extreme Automatic are at the very least fun. Technically identical to two models released last year, the Watches & Wonders debut of the regulator on bracelet (and the basic Alpiner Extreme Automatic model) marked a new moment for the still-young model. In my opinion, it makes a ton of difference.

But let's go back to last fall when Alpina announced the Alpiner Extreme Regulator. It wasn't the brand's first foray into the odd time display, the company had a model back in 2005 which came in at a whopping 48mm. I was going to remark that this year's watch was a bit chunky at 41mm by 12mm thick, but I have to stop myself if that's the comparison. Whereas many writers like to say "it wears smaller than its measurements," I will say this is the opposite, at least on a rubber strap. But a bracelet changes things.

In my short time wearing the watch I noticed that the rubber strap, while comfortable, left the watch and its heavy-duty steel case feeling a bit top-heavy on my wrist. It was fine, no doubt, but the balance felt a bit off. Part of that is mental, the pretty intense tiered and faceted case is visually pretty sizeable regardless of measurements. The deployant clasp for the rubber strap is great and my preference for any watch not on bracelet, but it doesn't quite do anything to balance out the weight (whether real or perceived).

The bracelet, however, is not only pretty visually appealing, with brushed surfaces that the brand said were done to hold up against the scratches that will come with intense wear (as the watch is ostensibly meant to be used) but helps with balance as well. That's actually itself a surprise as the bracelet is very thin and reminded me a bit of Bulgari's Octo Finissimo bracelet. The "head" of an Octo Finissimo has never been anywhere near this thick, but in my mind, the weight of even a light bracelet helps far more than a rubber strap. The only downside is that fingerprints (which can more easily be wiped off a high-polish strap) seem to really stick to the brushed case and bracelet. Then again, who cares about fingerprints when you're rock climbing?

The case has a mix of brushed surfaces and high-polished facets that should also show wear a lot better if you are using this while mountain climbing. It also comes with 200 meters of water resistance which is nice, albeit less useful scaling a mountain unless that mountain is underwater, and even has a display caseback, albeit for a movement with relatively affordable finishing. That movement, the AL-650 caliber, based on a Sellita movement but it gets the job done.

Then we get to the core of what makes this watch stand out from the other Alpiner Extreme Automatic models: the regulator. I wouldn't say I spent enough time with the watch to judge how quickly I could become adept at reading a regulator while searching for the hours on the subdial at 10:00. Next to a 24-hour dial, I imagine it's pretty simple, but regardless the fun is in its existence, not its practicality. The rubber-strap version comes with a black dial while the steel bracelet has a blue dial with grey subdials, both with the brand's signature triangle dial motif and both limited to 888 pieces.

At $2,295 on a rubber strap and $2,595 on the new bracelet, it's hard to find much wrong with the watches – even my balance concerns considered. It improves on a previous release, sure, but more than anything it brings to the market something few brands are doing today and at an affordable price.