I recently reviewed the Alpina Extreme Diver 300 Chronograph Automatic, for my online watch magazine, Escapement. As you’ll see in my review, re-presented here, this divers’ watch offers robust construction, a chronograph and incredible value for money.
My son, Euan, is 15 years old and, in my opinion, should consider destruct-testing products as a possible career choice once he leaves school. Throughout his childhood he has always exhibited a profound talent at breaking objects. An item may appear perfectly serviceable until it falls into the hands of my son, after which it is resigned to traumatic treatment that invariably results in devastation. My first recollection of Euan’s innate ability to destroy items harks back to a summer holiday. En route to our hotel, he proceeded to describe his spectacles as loose before handing me a collection of parts. They would prove beyond repair and a hasty detour was necessary — a visit to an optician to source a speedy replacement.
Mobile phones, of which there have been many, have disintegrated. Headphones, invariably welded to his ears wherever he ventures, often succumb to strain. Indeed, we have just purchased his 12th pair. It doesn’t seem to matter how much an item costs; a brief association with Euan results in that item’s future life on a landfill site somewhere in Northern England. When Euan asks if he can borrow one of my cherished timepieces, I do suffer an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Nevertheless, with repeated pestering, I generally accede to his request. Recently, I tried on a very handsome Alpina divers’ watch and now think I have discovered a timepiece ideally suited to Euan and the harsh treatment he seems predisposed to mete out.
I have always had a penchant for divers’ watches, with their robust construction, capable of withstanding pressures at near unfathomable depths, and their hardy exteriors, able to shrug off minor impacts. In the case of this latest watch from Alpina, it’s hewn-from-granite solidity is paired with one of my favorite complications, the chronograph. The complication is incredibly useful, capable of timing an event, making it an ideal companion in this competitive world. On the face it of it, the Alpina Extreme Diver 300 Chronograph Automatic has two distinct attributes that I cherish dearly. I just wonder whether this watch is Euan-proof.
The dial:
By pairing a black dial with white dial detail, Alpina has established the foundations of a successful marriage. In the case of the Extreme Diver 300, the legibility and ease of read-off is augmented by a number of expertly executed design elements.
The bicompax layout grants a highly agreeable balance and proportion to the dial. The subdials are adorned with a combination of white Arabic numerals and simple white strokes. The hour hand features a silver border and the minutes hand, a red border. Both are lined with an expanse of white luminescent material. The central chronograph seconds hand is white with a red counterweight featuring the brand’s red triangular emblem.
The hour markers are circular dots, again lined with luminescent material. Encircling the dial is a chapter ring that’s clean and simple to read. An elongated, curved aperture reveals the date, with the neighboring values visible above and below.
The case:
Measuring 44 mm in diameter and constructed of stainless steel, this timepiece exudes a masculine, sturdy appearance. The case cleverly fuses circular and angular lines, surpassing the functional and delivering a truly handsome aesthetic.
