ALPINA - UNITY IS STRENGHT- SINCE 1883

Everything started in 1883 when Gottlieb Hauser, watchmaker in Winterthur, founded
the Swiss Watchmakers Corporation (“Corporation d’Horlogers Suisse”). Its members called themselves affectionately the "Alpinists", and they all shared the same target:” the success of the Alpina watch”.

A number of watchmakers joined to purchase watch components and organized their
manufacturing. Quickly, the new concept gained acceptance. Together with qualified
manufactures, the Association started to develop its own calibres and to enlarge its
distribution network. Ebauches (the base of a calibre) were produced by the Alpina
Ebauche Factory in Geneva, owned by Duret & Colonnaz, which played also an
important role in the construction of the first Alpina calibres. Final steps in the
manufacture of the calibres were performed in Bienne, the place of the head quarters
of the Association as of 1890. Success was swift and representations were set up in
Germany as well as in East and Northern Europe. In 1901, the name "Alpina" was
registered as a trademark at the same time; it would only appear on the dials of high-
end watches.

During the First World War, their customers in Germany were under strong
pressure. Finally in 1917, towards the end of the first World War, the Association
‘Union Horlogère’ was dissolved formally. Two separate anonymous societies were
incorporated: the Union Horlogère SA in Bienne, Switzerland and the Alpina
Deutsche Uhrmacher-Genossenschaft G.m.b.H. in Berlin, Germany. The branch,
which was in charge of Swiss members, incorporated itself as yet a third separate
association in the name of "Alpina Association des Horlogers Suisses". Activities of
the companies surged dramatically after the First World War. Alpina watches were
being sold with great success in 2000 retailers around Europe, from Lisbon to
Copenhagen to Moscow.

In 1933, Alpina presented its first "sports-watch", the "Blockuhr" in steel. During this
time, Alpina patented also a new type of crown (Brevet 1464). Thanks to the
technical progress, the sports-watch evolved quickly and became the "Alpina 4" in
1938. The "4" meant a combination of four major qualities of an Alpina sports-watch:

1) anti magnetic,
2) waterproof
3) equipped with the Incabloc anti-shock system, and lastly,
4) stainless steel.

The “Alpina 4” was manufactured with the Alpina self-winding calibre 592, one of the strongest calibres of its generation. This calibre was later on used to equip further sport-models such as the Alpina 70 (1953), the Standard (1958) and the Tropicproof (1968). In 1945, the first Alpina automatic movement was realized, the 582 calibre. In 1957, the Alpina President was introduced and quickly became known as a reliable automatic sport-watch (calibre 584c with date). In 1963, Alpina realized an automatic movement for women; the smallest and strongest ever made yet, the calibre 362 (6 ½ lines). It worked with a rotor system, turning in both ways. Retrospectively, one can say that the sports-line was the main focus of the Alpina collection. Since 1933, Alpina improved the performance of its sports-watches continuously and followed with these watches an evolution where people engaged in more spare-time activities.

In February 2002, Alpina Watch International SA introduces a new mechanical sports
collection under the name Alpina, perpetuating the Alpina heritage. The new Alpina
collection of technical sport watches is composed of 25 mechanical models, some
equipped with complications; two families with different styles should attract various
kinds of sportsmen.


With the revival of the Alpina brand, the company is facing an interesting challenge.
The dynamism of the brand is one of the commercial priorities, but the clue to
succeed is to re-capture the "Alpinist Spirit". It is the Alpinist Spirit that made the
brand so strong in the past. The new Alpina company aims to re-create a modern
version of the "Association of Alpinists", bringing together selected retailers,
distributors and the new Alpina factory. At first, only a few retailers in the following
countries will be selected: Switzerland, Germany, Japan and the United States. They
will form the initial circle. With these first retailers, Alpina plans to develop close
relationships and co-develop future collections and various interesting new marketing
activities.