Why The Alpinist deserves the credit it gets

At the open air folk museum, Oslo
July 2017

This watch gets almost nothing but praise from horologists. The worst thing I've read is that "this watch doesn't know what it wants to be - a dress watch, or a sport watch?" 

I prefer to think of it this way: How many other watches under US$350 with gold cathedral hands allow you to wear ribbed tracksuit pants and orange socks? Here's me in Norway.

The Alpinist's 6R15 movement combines a stunning trinity of 48 hour power reserve, hackable seconds (you can stop the seconds hand, allowing second-level accuracy), and a windable and automatic movement. This means I can lay down the watch for nearly two days, and at the end of that period, recharge it by hand-winding it for 10 seconds. If I wear the watch daily, then I never need to wind it at all. Say whaaaat? 

On a minibus, Hong Kong
September 2017

Yes, there are better watches to wear with a suit and tie, but for anything in your activity spectrum between that, and say, surfing, you don't even need to think about putting this on before walking out the door, although with 200m water resistance, it could handle surf easily.

My friend Kevin is a watch enthusiast, and like me, he uses the value proposition of watches like The Alpinist to keep himself in style while he aspires to higher-end pieces. He likes the Breguet Type XX, and I like the Zenith El Primero, which both cost around US$8,000, but have fewer features. 

You could get one of these $8,000 watches, and enjoy their halo of luxury and heritage, while trying to forget that with that money, you could have funded a surfing trip in the Philippines for five months (including air-conditioning)...

Breguet Type XX (38-39mm)

Look at this thing! Military heritage and styling. Whimsical right-side chronograph hand. This particular vintage piece has patina up the wazoo. The modern third-generation model even has a 48 hour power reserve. Kevin looked sad in his eyes after trying it on, when he had to hand it back to the shopkeeper in Tsim Sha Tsui.



Zenith El Primero (38mm)
Look at the overlapping chronograph dials - each with its own colour. Then out of nowhere, there's a star on the seconds hand.

This watchface reminds me of the way André 3000 matches a tartan blazer with a checkered shirt, and walks around as if everyone should have been doing this since the beginning of blazers and shirts.


...or, you could get The Alpinist. The way it makes me feel makes me want to keep aspirations to luxury aspiration for good.

You can see more of my Alpinist on Instagram.