Alpina Startimer Pilot Heritage Manufacture Bumper Movement 2022 Editions

Alpina Startimer Pilot Heritage Manufacture Bumper Movement 2022 Editions

Alpina, one of the well-established watchmakers in Switzerland, introduced the new Startimer Pilot Heritage Manufacture models equipped with a bumper movement.

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Continuing its activities under the umbrella of Citizen Group, Alpina received great acclaim with the Startimer Pilot Heritage Manufacture model it introduced about a year ago. Equipped with an in-house movement, as its name suggests, the model attracted great attention with its bumper-style winding system, one of the forgotten designs of watchmaking. The well-established brand has added new versions to this nostalgic model, aimed at users who like retro-style designs.

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The new models come with a 42mm diameter and 13.25mm thick case with stainless steel and yellow gold plated stainless steel options. The sporty case, featuring circular brushed surfaces on the top and glossy surfaces on the sides, has a box-type sapphire crystal on the front and a sapphire crystal display cover at the back. The case, which promises a comfortable use on almost any wrist with its short horn design and reasonable lug-to-lug distance, is waterproof up to 100 meters.

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The dials of the newly introduced models also adapt to the nostalgic theme of the collection. The dial, available in gray and navy blue options, brings the retro style of the model to the top with its vertically brushed surface, painted hour markers reminiscent of pilot's watches, and Arabic indexes. Both dials offer optimal legibility in almost any environment, thanks to color palettes that deliver sufficient contrast.

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Alpina Startimer Pilot Heritage Manufacture collection comes to life with the Caliber AL-709, designed and produced by the brand. The movement is known as bumper automatic due to its characteristic rotor movement. This rotor, which can rotate only 120 degrees instead of a 360-degree full-rotation rotor, and completes its motion with the help of springs, gets its name because of the way it works, which resembles impact rather than rotation. Although this design, which aims to keep the movement of the rotor more comfortable and stable and to wind the movement more efficiently, has left its place to traditional rotor systems over time, Alpina carries this unique design to the present day with a marginal decision.

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Caliber Al-709 comes out with the extensive modernization of the bumper concept. First, in the new bumper mechanism, the rotor completes its movement with an oscillation of 330 degrees instead of 120. The springs, which are of great importance for the rotor to move, leave their place for more modern and robust designed blades. The automatic movement beats at 4Hz (28,800vph) and offers 38 hours of power reserve when fully wound.

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The new models come on a brown calf leather strap decorated with off-white stitching and a steel pin buckle. The reference and price information for the collection, where each model is limited to 188 pieces, is as follows:

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L-709AN4SH6 steel/blue 2850,00 EUR

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AL-709ACH4SH5 gold plated/champagne 2950,00 EUR