Alpina Alpiner Extreme Automatic California Dial

The horological migratory season has begun! The Alpiner Extreme Automatic outdoor watch inspired by the Alps has temporarily taken flight from its native Switzerland for a winter sun break: for the first time in its history, it’s been decked out with a California dial. First trademarked in 1941, this dial design features a clever blend of Arabic and Roman numerals, dashes and triangles designed to make reading the time from any angle error-proof. Alpina has made the dial more readable still by combining vintage luminous beige hands and hour markers with a black dial, all housed in the collection’s imposing and iconic steel cushion case. The 41x42.5mm Alpiner Extreme Automatic California Dial comes on a rubber strap – and like its fellows, is powered by the trusty AL-525 calibre.

Watchmaking history is replete with ingenious inventions. Alpina has contributed plenty of its own, not least by establishing the core principles of sports watches almost one hundred years ago: timepieces that are non-magnetic, waterproof, rustproof, and impact-resistant. This legacy endures in most of its models today, including the Alpiner Extreme. Meanwhile, another more stylistic development dating from the inter-war years has also sparked enthusiasm among collectors: the California dial.