In a surprising yet welcome development, Alpina has unveiled its first-ever full titanium timepiece with the Alpiner Extreme Automatic Titanium.
Despite the brand’s long-standing reputation for crafting robust outdoor and sports watches, this marks their inaugural venture into complete titanium construction—a material that has transformed from watchmaking outlier to enthusiast favorite over recent decades.
Swiss Sports Watch Evolution
The Alpiner Extreme collection provides the perfect canvas for this material debut. Its distinctive 39mm × 40.5mm cushion case with a wide circular bezel and industrial-inspired exposed screws harmonizes naturally with titanium’s technical character.
The angular, bold geometry of the Extreme design language gains additional credibility through a material most associated with cutting-edge aerospace applications.
Alpina has selected Grade 2 titanium for this release—the more common and accessible alloy that still delivers titanium’s signature benefits. While higher-end watchmakers often opt for the harder Grade 5 variant to achieve more elaborate finishing techniques, the Alpiner Extreme requires only straightforward vertical brushing across flat surfaces complemented by polished beveled edges to achieve its purposeful aesthetic.
The integrated bracelet—a critical component of any sports watch with this design ethos—continues the titanium construction with an H-link architecture featuring matching brushed finish and a secure folding clasp with push-button release. This all-titanium execution dramatically enhances wearing comfort compared to steel models, especially during extended wear or active pursuits.
Alpina Design With Technical Foundations
While the case material represents new territory for Alpina, the watch maintains the collection’s recognizable design language through its dial execution. The signature tessellating triangle pattern—echoing Alpina’s mountain peak logo—creates a distinctive texture across the silver dial surface.
This geometric motif follows the tradition of patterned dials found on integrated bracelet sports watches pioneered by legendary designers like Gerald Genta of Royal Oak fame.
Applied pearl black indexes with luminous treatment provide excellent legibility against the textured background, while the date window at 3 o’clock offers practical functionality without disrupting the dial’s balanced composition. The red-tipped seconds hand adds a subtle pop of Alpina’s signature color.
Beneath the solid caseback (engraved with the Alpiner pattern) beats Alpina’s caliber AL-525, their customized version of the Sellita SW200-1 featuring a branded rotor. While reliable and serviceable, the movement represents the one area where modernization would be welcome—its 38-hour power reserve lags behind contemporary standards, a consequence of bulk movement purchasing realities faced by independent brands.
With 200-meter water resistance and robust construction, the Alpiner Extreme Automatic Titanium delivers true sports watch capabilities in a considerably more comfortable package than its steel counterparts. Priced at £2,195, it occupies a competitive position in the mid-range sports watch market, offering both material innovation and Alpina’s established design language.
For those eager to experience Alpina’s titanium expertise firsthand, the brand will showcase this and other models at the upcoming Hands On Horology event at London’s Protein Studios this June—an opportunity to appreciate how titanium transforms the wearing experience of this striking sports timepiece.
