Alpina was founded in 1883 and is famous for its iconic red triangle signature. A true pioneer of the Swiss watchmaking industry, Alpina has been the basis of various inventions and innovative calibres. Alpina formulated the idea of the Swiss sports watch as we know it today, with the invention of its celebrated Alpina 4 in 1938. Alpina has used the new Horological Smartwatch Platform formulated by the MMT – Manufacture Modules Technologies as being the original “smart” conventional timepieces that cover a missing gap between the classical timepieces and the digital power.
Since the 1960s, Alpina has regularly provided a strong diving watch collection when the Seastrong “10” was already competent of attaining 200m/660 ft. In 2017, Alpina broke a new barrier by launching the first diving horological smartwatch – Alpina Seastrong Horological Smartwatch. It is pleasing for enthusiasts and owners that they can finally play in the water having a traditional-looking watch loaded with the perks of a fitness band or smartwatch. The Seastrong Horological Smartwatch incorporates all the elements of the precise water-inspired sport’s watch with the modern technology of “smart” characteristics.
Based on the historical Alpina diving watches, the Seastrong continues to stay loyal to the Swiss watchmaking traditions, maintaining the facet and the range of capabilities of a horological diving watch. The Alpina Seastrong Collection is presented in four models with black, green, orange and navy blue bezel colour. The Alpina Horological Smartwatch is also available in the Comtesse model, this has been geared to be less of a dive watch and more fashionable than the Seastrong model.
Dial
This premium smartwatch is not heavy, making it relaxed to wear during activities such as running, where it can provide activity tracking functions including steps, distance, active time and the number of calories used (both at rest and during exercise). This data is not displayed on the watch, whose dial keeps all its aesthetic elements; rather, they are transmitted through Bluetooth from the watch to the connected smartphone app. Just open the app and press the crown of the Alpina Seastrong to transmit the data to the phone. There is no need to take your phone running with you if it is not necessary.
This wonderful watch has a blue or black simple dial with luminous indexes and markers that allow for good readability. The exemplary Alpina emblem is proudly positioned at twelve o’clock and the only indication that this is not a regular diver timepiece is the unique icons at two, four, eight and ten o’clock – the smart functions pointers and the HSW (Horological Smart Watch) coloured engraving at six o’clock.
The hour markers are white dots and indices although this is a little different in the Comtesse model which uses numbers at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock. It also features a black coloured dial but with the option of applied rose-gold coloured indexes which are also luminous.
Case
The Seastrong watch has a 44mm fibreglass and stainless steel case while the Comtesse comes with a 36mm fibreglass case. Both have a diving unidirectional bezel, a vital “fail-safe” feature in all diver timepieces. This restricts the number of expired minutes to be minimised by chance – with ratcheting system (instructed by the safety standards – necessary for a dive watch) that can tolerate 100m/330ft water-resistance (Comtesse only has up to 60m water-resistance). This is great for regular swimmers and deep-sea diving. The dial is covered by scratch-resistant sapphire crystal.
The Seastrong Horological smartwatch uses a small but reliable MMT-282-1 Connected movement, the Comtesse however utilises the slightly older MMT-281-1, this does, however, diminish its performance or use. It is a cyborg with a horological body and digital brain. This movement based on the MMT AL-282 is an affiliation between Alpina and MMT, totally crafted and manufactured in Switzerland. The necessary app, the MMT-365 is also crafted there. The smartwatches functions are not different from most of the smartwatches out there:
- Notifications: This feature delivers you a notification anytime you get an email or as calls from your contact numbers.
- Activity Tracking: This keeps track of day-to-day steps, calories burned, and total distance.
- Sleep Monitoring: Wear the watch at night or keep it under the pillow to monitor the sleep pattern. Asleep tracking function gives details on how much time you used in deep sleep, light sleep, or awake.
- Always On-Time & Date: You do not have to set a time and date. The Horological Smartwatch picks up the time from your smartphone and displays new time automatically when you are travelling across time zones.
- Sleep Cycle Alarm: Set a smart sleep alarm that will assist you to wake up at the best reasonable time in your sleep cycle so that you wake up rejuvenated.
- Get-Active Alerts: Set an alert to remind you to move or get active if you have been idle for a set period; you can personalise your Get Active Alerts directly via the MMT-365 app.
- Dynamic Coaching: This feature makes sure you receive recommendations, tips, and information designed precisely for you based on your activity and sleep goals.
- Cloud Back-up and Restore: This feature restores all of your information, even if you misplace your watch or phone. The Horological Smartwatch solely reserves your activity and sleep for 30 days without having to organise it to your smartphone. An incredible way to obtain and save your information instantly.
- Worldtimer 24 Time Zones: This is good for regular travellers. This feature keeps track of your hometown’s time by simply registering your city into the app. You will always be able to know immediately when is a suitable time to call your loved ones or business partners back home.
The MMT-365 app which connects to the smartwatch through Bluetooth is usable on both iOS and Android systems. All the features can be utilised through the Cloud and restored. This is good in case you misplace or switch your phone or watch. It is managed by MMT Swiss to keep your data safe and secure.
Wearability
The Alpina Seastrong Horological Smartwatch is powered by the MMT-282 movements with a four-plus year battery life which we feel is quite impressive. Even the smaller Comtesse model guarantees around 2 years of battery life with moderate use.
The Seastrong model comes with a rubber strap in blue, khaki, black and orange. The Comtesse model, however, is only available with a stainless steel bracelet with black PVD. This reinforces its position as more of a casual, outdoor smartwatch from a premium brand compared to its sportier brother.
Price
The Alpina Horological Smartwatch starts from £525 for the Seastrong model which we feel is a very reasonable price for the included features. The Comtesse model (possible due to the materials used) is priced at £995 at the time of this review.
We would have liked to possibly see some on-screen smart features to compliment the app, but Alpina’s focus at keeping the watch as classic as possible may be the right move on this occasion.
