In the Flesh: Alpina Tribute to KM

Just recently, I talked about a new release from Alpina, a small watchmaker part of the Frederique Constant family. Alpina watches generally fall in a strange and hard-to-judge part of the market, from about $1,000 to $3,000. In that price bracket, watchmakers oftentimes have to make noticeable sacrifices in their watches, whether it’s with case or movement finishing, or maybe a bit of both. With their Manufacture series, featuring in-house movements developed by Frederique Constant, Alpina does an excellent job balancing the two. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Alpina Tribute to KM for a full review, so let’s take a look.

The inspiration for the Tribute to KM is a service watch made by Alpina for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during WWII. They’re exactly what you’d expect for a military issue watch: legible during both day and night, and durable. The KM watch housed Alpina’s caliber 592, which was a reliable manual wind movement. Although Alpina is not the same brand it once was – as it was purchased and re-purposed –they’ve decided to honor a collectible watch from its namesake’s past. Some folks don’t agree with wearing or owning German WWII watches (and I don’t blame them), but the watchmakers generally had little choice in complying with the Nazis. Either way, I can see the argument for appreciating a timepiece that was valuable in a combat situation, no matter which side it was on. With the Tribute to KM, Alpina is hoping you can see it that way as well.

I’m going to start with the movement, the Caliber AL-710. As I mentioned, this is based on a movement created by Alpina’s parent company, Frederique Constant. Rather than re-invent the wheel, Frederique Constant has made slight modifications to previously developed movements, which has now lead to this center-seconds automatic, with a date subdial at 6 o’clock. While they share the basic movements, Alpina differentiates with the finishing (i.e., mostly just the rotor). Viewed through the exhibition caseback, I don’t think the movement will blow anyone away. A lot of what can be seen is the mostly-solid plate designs, in addition to the balance wheel. I love multiple finely finished bridges, but for a price point under $3,000, it just can’t be expected. I did, however, appreciate the perlage around the edge of the movement complemented by the smaller perlage pattern behind the balance. Alpina could have easily stuck with the same pattern size, but that was a nice touch. Finally, the blackened steel rotor looks fantastic, and the color is set off even further with blued screws.

Moving onto the case, Alpina included a few subtle details that take it a step or two above “basic”. At this price point, and with an in-house movement, I would have forgiven a lack of case detailing, but I luckily didn’t have to. You’ll find satin finishing on the barrel of the case, as well as the sides and tops of the lugs. Alpina then contrasted the brushed look with high-polished lug chamfers and rounded bezel. It may not look or sound like much, but they are important details that add a degree of sophistication to the watch. Also, this is a tribute to a military watch, so one shouldn’t expect anything too creative with the case anyway. As for the size, I would have liked a 39mm or 40mm diameter, rather than the 41.5mm. This sounds nitpicky, but evidenced by the rear bezel, there are clearly a few millimeters to work with, and a watch with a high dial-to-bezel size ratio doesn’t need to be more than 40mm.

The dial of the Tribute to KM is another highlight of the watch. Rather than do a painted dial like its predecessor, Alpina opted for applied markers. I think a painted/printed dial would have looked cheap. On an otherwise simple layout, the applied markers add much needed depth. I might have made the Alpina logo a bit smaller, but that seems to be the trend with most of their watches. The smartest move Alpina made was doing this watch as a center seconds, yet still retaining the small seconds appearance of the original KM with a date subdial. I’ve seen too many re-issues and tributes with unnecessary date windows, so this was a nice touch. Alpina did a fantastic job modernizing a simple dial while not overdoing it.

Overall wearability of the Tribute to KM is quite good. Again, for my wrist, I’d rather have a 39mm or 40mm, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it. I wouldn’t call the watch svelte, but the profile sits nicely on the wrist, and had no trouble working under my suit sleeve. The strap fitted to the Alpina is a genuine leather calfskin strap that I would probably switch out. I’m not big on full length contrast stitching, and I much prefer shell cordovan to calfskin if I’m going for leather. A great add would be for Alpina to include some sort of tan or military green canvas strap. I think that’s a fair thing to ask for a $3,000 watch.

Looking across the market, Alpina provides serious value at their price point. You can pull in Sinn, Longines, and some others, but try finding something else with an in-house automatic movement. I think the most obvious and direct competition is the NOMOS Club Automat Datum. The two watches are almost exactly the same dimensions and price, and even similar in appearance. Many folks will probably shout “NOMOS” right away, but I honestly believe that’s because NOMOS gets so much more attention in the blogosphere. There’s no reason to look past Alpina (or Frederique Constant) if you’re playing in this price range. My thoughts on the $2,000 to $3,000 range is that it’s a gateway to $5,000+, and the Tribute to KM whets your appetite for what you’ll find in that upper range. With a retail price of $2,900, Alpina shows off how much can be done without brand premium. I think you can expect Alpina to get more and more attention if they keep up like this.

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