Bronze’ish: Alpina’s Seastrong Diver Heritage Is Ready For The Sea Without The Verdigris

Today, we take a look at the latest timepiece coming through the Watchonista office, Alpina’s Seastrong Diver Heritage in bronze PVD. The existing Seastrong Diver Heritage collection features two stainless steel watches, one with a cream and black dial and the other with a moody, obsidian dial and the only use of chartreuse that I’ve seen to date. 

The two latest editions bring ample warmth to the Seastrong Heritage family, sporting brown sunray-finished dials and bronze PVD-coated cases. The new watches combine all the requisite components of a diver with design touches suitable for adventures on dry land. To phrase it in the form of a bad pun: Alpina’s new bronze divers are both sea-worthy and see-worthy.

Alpina has been making watches since 1883 and, a little known fact: the brand is responsible for creating the first Swiss sports watch, developed out of their 1933 “Block Uhr.” From the 1930s onward, each of their sports watches has adhered to the concept of “4” which calls for stainless materials, water-resistance, and anti-shock and anti-magnetism protection.
 

Coming in at 42mm, the case is fitted with a screw-down crown and caseback with a water-resistance of 300m/1,000ft. The watch is also fitted with an internal rotating bezel that slopes down towards the central dial, adding a layer of depth to the watch. Here, buyers have the choice of either a matching brown inner bezel or a contrasting white bezel which gives off the feel of a white wall tire.

On top of their tool-watch practicality, the Seastrong Heritage Divers feature small aesthetic touches that set it apart from function-only pieces. The arrow-shaped minute hand is a key example of this. The crowns, featuring a gridded texture or an Alpina logo, are another example, as is the applied date window at the four o’clock position. And if you look closely, the brown dial has a slightly domed shape that only amplifies the sunray finishing.