Alpina Unveils Startimer Pilot Watches with a Ride on a Cessna

Alpina 18K rose gold Startimer Pilot.

It’s not every day that I get to ride on a Cessna. But that’s what happened this past Wednesday as I and a handful of watch and fashion journalists took a private jet from the LaGuardia Airport Marine Air Terminal to Martha’s Vineyard for lunch.

Alpina 18k rose gold Startimer caseback.

We were the guests of the Alpina Geneva Swiss watch brand. The idea was to introduce its new line of Startimer pilot watches to the U.S. while also highlighting its cross-marketing campaign with U.S.-based airplane manufacturer Cessna Aircraft and Swiss-based private air service company PrivatAir.

Three of the Startimer Pilot watches on display during a luncheon to introduce the collection to the U.S.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Alpina, manufactured military watches for pilots that were known to be precise and resistant to shock. All were made with the same technical characteristics: a resistant and antireflective glass, an antimagnetic escapement, and a dial with large luminous numerals and hands for a better visibility.

Alpina Startimer chronograph

Alpina revisited its past to create a new line of watches called the Startimer Pilot collection. The collection was introduced in March at the Baselworld trade fair, Basel, Switzerland.

Alpina Startime three-hand date Automatic

The standard version of the watch uses a black dial with large white luminous numerals along with a red Alpina triangle on the second hand. It is housed in a 44mm-diamater stainless steel case. The leather strap closes on the front side of the wrist, resembling the vintage leather straps of the past. A metal bracelet also is available and fits on all versions. At the luncheon, which also included a presentation of the watches and cross-marketing campaign, the company unveiled an 18k rose gold version of the watch.

Watch and fashion reporters gather at the restaurant in Harbor View Hotel. Standing at the end of the table is Pete Stas, Alpina managing director, preparing his presentation.

The watches come in four variations: A basic three-hand date automatic (cal. AL-525); an in-house developed and produced automatic caliber AL-710, featuring minute and hour indication and off-center date hand; an in-house caliber AL-950, which powers the iconic Startimer Pilot Regulator, combining historic pilot watch design features with a modern day regulator lay out; and an automatic chronograph version (cal. AL-860).

Each watch will be packaged with a Cessna Citation Mustang.

The Startimer Pilot movement is designed and developed in the manufacturer's workshop in Plan-les-Ouates, just outside Geneva. The automatic winding mechanism incorporates Alpina’s trademark rotor—a salute to Straub & Co., the designers of Alpina's first automatic caliber, said Peter Stas, Alpina managing director.

The interior of the Cessna Citation Excel.

As part of the cross-marketing campaign, each Alpina Startimer Pilot watch will be packaged alongside a Cessna Citation Mustang scale model in PrivatAir livery.

The Cessna Citation Excel

I promised with this blog that I would give you an inside look at the industry. It doesn’t get more inside than viewing a presentation by the head of a Swiss watch brand explaining the history of its brand, the marketing approach it is taking with a new watch line and describing its new watches, during an intimate lunch at Martha’s Vineyard.

Frédérique Constant, Introduces Four New Watch Collections

Peter Stas introduces new timepiece at Baselworld.

BASEL, Switzerland - Frédérique Constant used the opening day of Baselworld March 24 to officially introduce four new collections, each for a particular market. The Swiss watch brand’s compound of a pair of two-story showrooms in the back of Hall 1.0 served as the backdrop for the announcement. Peter Stas, the Swiss watch brand's managing director, introduced each new collection in a 10-minute presentation flanked by video screens.

Vintage Racing Collection
The Frédérique Constant Vintage Racing collection was created to celebrate the latest edition of “The Ultimate Driving Adventure: Peking to Paris,” a 9,000-mile long race using classic and vintage cars. More than 100 teams participated in the event. The company’s three new automatic chronographs of the collection are distinguished by a hand-polished 43 mm case in 316L stainless steel with three different dial options. Elegant versions come with a silver dial, animated by blackened steel or rose gold plated indexes and hands. The sporty version has a silver dial decorated by black chronograph counters and a black outer-ring. The Vintage Racing Automatic Chrono mechanical self-winding chronograph calibre FC-396, beats at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour that is visible through the transparent case-back, which shows the special rotor engraved with the Peking to Paris logo.

For each version, production is limited to 1,888 pieces. Every timepiece comes with a commemorative plate, showing the route driven by the participants of the latest Peking to Paris Motor Challenge.

Junior Ladies Collection
The company also introduced a collection for girls aged 12 to 16. The Junior Ladies collection, dedicated to girls aged 12 to 16. It is a younger version of the  Frederique Constant Delight timepiece for women. The caseback of each watch is designed to accept an engraved personal message. All models are fitted with a quartz movement and equipped with a choice of three dials for the watch: Roman numerals surrounding a guilloché natural mother-of-pearl dial center; or applied steel indexes and diamonds around a hearts guilloché pattern on a natural mother-of-pearl dial center. All versions are housed ina 26mm diameter steel case and are available with a steel bracelet or a selection of colored satin straps.

In support of the introduction of the Frédérique Constant Junior Ladies range, the brand launched an advertising campaign with 15-year-old model, Alessia Lenders.

Alpina Pilot Watches
Frederique Constant also owns Alpina, an aviation watch brand. Included in its new announcements Thursday was the Alpina Startimer Pilot collection. In the 1930s, Alpina manufactured military watches, particularly for pilots, which were precise and resistant to the shocks. All were conceived with the same technical characteristics: a resistant and antireflective glass, an antimagnetic escapement, and a dial with large luminous numerals and luminous hands for a better visibility.

Alpina revisited its past to create the new collection with four models. In addition to the black dial and large white luminous numerals, there is the red Alpina triangle on the second hand. It is housed in a 44mm-diamater stainless steel case. The leather strap closes on the front side of the wrist, not on the reverse or lower sides, resembling the vintage leather straps of the past. A newly designed metal bracelet also is available and fits on all versions.

Each Startimer Pilot timepiece is available in a limited edition of 8,888 pieces and is delivered with a model of the Cessna Citation Mustang in PrivatAir Livery. It is part of a three-year cross-marketing campaign with Cessna and PrivatAir.

Amour Ladies Automatic Collection
Finally, Frédérique Constant introduced the Amour Ladies Automatic collection, already covered on this website. The line for Asian self-purchasing women is designed by ShuQi, the famous Taiwanese-born movie star and personality, who has been the company’s brand ambassador for Greater China since 2008. Through the advertising campaign for Ladies, ShuQi has actively supported Frédérique Constant charity campaigns in China with the Paint a Smile Foundation and Beijing Children’s Hospital.