# Alpina Alpiner 4 GMT unboxing



## BriarAndBrine (Jul 28, 2015)

Hey folks,

I posted a few days ago about my new acquisition. It's my first Alpina watch, which I have been researching and contemplating for several months. I'm a regular business traveler and find the GMT complication to be useful. As I dug deeper into the types of watches offered, and the different ways that the complication was handled by different companies, I became interested in the Alpina. I'm considering both and Omega GMT as well as a Rolex Explorer II in the future. However, one of the things that I value in watches is flying under the radar. I'm under no illusions about how regularly someone even notices what is on your wrist (hardly ever), but am wary of having either of the aforementioned brands because I don't care to appear ostentatious to those who do notice and care about such things. Maybe it's an unnecessary concern, but it is one for me, nonetheless, and it did play into my desire to seek a watch that was relatively unknown outside communities of enthusiasts.

That's a lot of background. And you've probably heard similar cases before and just want me to post the damn pictures. So, here they are.








There it is, nestled in the bottom of the box!








Looks like a fairly typical watch box. I do like the packaging design quite a lot








Watch box removed. Looks like the ownership info is in the bottom.








There's the warranty info, and the ownership manual. The manual is like like all the others that I've seen. Written in a dozen languages, with over 100pages, 2 of which are relevant to this watch and movement. The warranty card was not filled out or stamped since I bought through a grey market dealer.








On to the main event. The watch! Looks good. I think Alpina could have sprung for a nicer pad to mount the watch to for shipping, but that's a small complaint.








There it is, wrapped in protective plastic to keep my grubby hands from smearing the stainless finish.








First time on my wrist. I had been concerned that the 44mm case would be too large on my 7.5" wrist. But, after this first trial wear, my fears were allayed. It's a comfortable size. Now, I've got to remove some links.








Here it is next to my Longines conquest GMT for context. They are both 14mm thick, but the Longines is only 41mm wide. The Alpina's much larger, but is better proportioned in my opinion.








Side profile. You can see that the Longines has a different case shape, so it has a completely different aesthetic than the Alpina with it's slab sided, submariner style case.








Both on the wrist for comparison.








Now for some closer shots of the Alpina. Here's the right side. The combination of brushed finishing on the sides with the polished bevels are really a nice touch. The case is beautiful. I'm really impressed with both the design and the finishing details.








And now a shot from the other side, with the looted crown.








Here's the case back. It's got a nice engraving to tie into the Alpiner's lifestyle.








The bracelet is a very nice oyster style, with polished and brushed links. It's thinner than I was expecting, giving it a more elegant appearance and comfortable feel on the wrist. It reminds me of the bracelet for the Rolex Milgauss.

and now a look at the dial...








I love the dial details. From the applied indices, filled with a stripe of lume, to the tiny brushed SS triangle logo. It's really a cohesive design.








And while there are 5 lines of text on the bottom of the dial, including the 4 series symbol, it isn't offputting to me. I've seen much worse.








Another shot of the whole watch

And to finish things off, I snapped a pic of the watch with two of my other favorite things. Thanks for looking. And I hope that this was helpful for those contemplating the purchase of this watch:


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## Tony N (Sep 14, 2016)

Very nice report and great photos. Congrats again. Enjoy in good health. If you don't mind, can you message me which gray market dealer, as Jomashop is out of stock.

Thanks


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## KJParlay (Mar 4, 2014)

Very slick, I feel like this is the epitome of Alpina. Well designed, functional, good looking.


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## Nokie (Jul 4, 2011)

Very nice. One of my favorite Alpina models. Enjoy it.


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## mpalmer (Dec 30, 2011)

That's a sharp looking sports watch! Thanks for sharing the pics and review. Enjoy your Alpina!


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## NapoleonDynamite (Jul 30, 2016)

Nice watch!

I've been looking at this. Could you tell us the total length of the watch including lugs? At 44mm it's pretty big for me.

Also, where did you buy it from? Thanks!


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## BriarAndBrine (Jul 28, 2015)

NapoleonDynamite said:


> Nice watch!
> 
> I've been looking at this. Could you tell us the total length of the watch including lugs? At 44mm it's pretty big for me.
> 
> Also, where did you buy it from? Thanks!


Thanks. I like it a lot. I'll be wearing it next week as I travel 11 time zones from home.

I'm not sure of the precise lug to lug measurement. You may be able to find that online. For comparison, my wrist is slightly larger than 7.5".

I got got mine from touch of modern. But, there have been a number of other sellers that I have seen carry this model.


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## BriarAndBrine (Jul 28, 2015)

So, I haven't said anything here, but my GMT had movement issues while traveling in December. The GMT function hand gear started slipping and wouldn't advance the hand. I had to send it back when I got home from my trip. I was pretty bummed out, but it's being taken care of under warranty. Hopefully it'll get back to me soon. :-(


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WatchMe82 (Sep 1, 2007)

Sorry to hear about the movement issues mate! Hopefully it will be fixed up and sent back soon. Otherwise a sweet looking watch! 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## fisker (Dec 18, 2016)

Nice looking watch. I picked up the same watch in the silver face a few months ago and have very much enjoyed using the GMT function on several overseas trips since. Alpina did the GMT right, so all you have to do is adjust the hour hand and leave the GMT on home time as you travel. The silver is great for dress occasions but suffers from legibility in low light, but no matter since I bought mainly as a dress/sport watch for business trips. Of course then I went and bought a seiko MM300 on my last jaunt to Tokyo and now I can't take it off. I'm sure to pick up the Alpina again soon though as it's just a really smart looking watch.


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## wannawatch (May 8, 2013)

That is a smart looking watch and even the box presentation is very impressive. You see these entry level (no insult) watches coming out with such detail and finish and you can't help but think it is part of the reason the big boys are struggling to sell $5-10k. 

Dont freak out over the repairs it happens to the most expensive of watches and look at it this way that watch will get special attention and get dialed in more then a production one.

My Grandfather used to smoke a pipe I love the smell it is the only tobacco product that produces a nice aroma vs a foul cigarette smell Where do you even buy tobacco today? Thought pipes were long extinct.


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## BriarAndBrine (Jul 28, 2015)

Sadly, I have some bad news to share about this watch. To refresh your memories, the GMT module acted wonky on my first int'l trip with it. I reached out to Touch of modern who immediate issued a return tag. Kudos to them for such rapid and responsive after-sale care. After about 6 weeks I was notified of its repair and return. It came in and I excitedly opened the box to test out the repaired watch. I was really stoked on this watch, so it was good to have it home. ...the GMT function was exactly as it was when I returned it. Moreover, I'd asked for the watch to be regulated as it had been running about fifteen seconds slow...and it timed at the same as before. It became clear that nothing had been done at all. Sadness.

ToM was surprised to learn this, as was I. They immediately offered to take the watch back for examination and issue a refund if it couldn't be repaired, apologetic, as any good business would be. I was notified within a few days of returning it that they'd decided to issue a refund. So, I'm sadly no longer in the family of Alpina owners. &#55357;&#56866;

In positive news, I've added a Tag Heuer Carrera Twin Time to take the place of the Alpina, and maybe went a little overboard with an Omega AT >15,000 Gauss that I've been lusting after. Both work fine.

No hard feelings about Alpina at all. It happens. But, I wish it hadn't.


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## drbojangles (Jul 8, 2014)

Bad luck.


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## Tony N (Sep 14, 2016)

BriarAndBrine said:


> Sadly, I have some bad news to share about this watch. To refresh your memories, the GMT module acted wonky on my first int'l trip with it. I reached out to Touch of modern who immediate issued a return tag. Kudos to them for such rapid and responsive after-sale care. After about 6 weeks I was notified of its repair and return. It came in and I excitedly opened the box to test out the repaired watch. I was really stoked on this watch, so it was good to have it home. ...the GMT function was exactly as it was when I returned it. Moreover, I'd asked for the watch to be regulated as it had been running about fifteen seconds slow...and it timed at the same as before. It became clear that nothing had been done at all. Sadness.
> 
> ToM was surprised to learn this, as was I. They immediately offered to take the watch back for examination and issue a refund if it couldn't be repaired, apologetic, as any good business would be. I was notified within a few days of returning it that they'd decided to issue a refund. So, I'm sadly no longer in the family of Alpina owners. 😢
> 
> ...


Sad. I went though a similar situation. I had bought 4 Alpina's within a short period, and exchanged one to get the GMT. I have had quality problems with all except the very first one I purchased, and have now returned all of them except the first, which I had bought used from Sales Corner. This one is running OK, except it went form a few sec fast per day to now running about 20 sec slow. This is on a watch that is well less than a year old. The previous owner had a few months and about 4 month of my ownership!

To add to my disappointment, I also bought a new Frederique Constant which I returned the day I received it as it had problem with winding mechanism!

Actually to be fair, I did not have quality problems with the GMT, just that the date changed function bothered me too much, and returned for that reason, but quality problems with 3 others!! 2 problem free out of 5 is very poor quality control in my book! In years of collecting watch, I must have bought and sold or traded over 60 watches, these were the only ones with problem I ever experienced !!


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## BriarAndBrine (Jul 28, 2015)

Tony N said:


> Sad. I went though a similar situation. I had bought 4 Alpina's within a short period, and exchanged one to get the GMT. I have had quality problems with all except the very first one I purchased, and have now returned all of them except the first, which I had bought used from Sales Corner. This one is running OK, except it went form a few sec fast per day to now running about 20 sec slow. This is on a watch that is well less than a year old. The previous owner had a few months and about 4 month of my ownership!
> 
> To add to my disappointment, I also bought a new Frederique Constant which I returned the day I received it as it had problem with winding mechanism!
> 
> Actually to be fair, I did not have quality problems with the GMT, just that the date changed function bothered me too much, and returned for that reason, but quality problems with 3 others!! 2 problem free out of 5 is very poor quality control in my book! In years of collecting watch, I must have bought and sold or traded over 60 watches, these were the only ones with problem I ever experienced !!


I remember your posts for sure. You were on a tear! It's really disappointing to have our enthusiasm dashed, isn't it? I only got into this hobby a few years ago, but the only one that has ever given me an issue was the GMT. The little guy is sometimes worth fighting for, and sometimes not.


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## impetusera (Oct 5, 2016)

Tony N said:


> Sad. I went though a similar situation. I had bought 4 Alpina's within a short period, and exchanged one to get the GMT. I have had quality problems with all except the very first one I purchased, and have now returned all of them except the first, which I had bought used from Sales Corner. This one is running OK, except it went form a few sec fast per day to now running about 20 sec slow. This is on a watch that is well less than a year old. The previous owner had a few months and about 4 month of my ownership!
> 
> To add to my disappointment, I also bought a new Frederique Constant which I returned the day I received it as it had problem with winding mechanism!
> 
> Actually to be fair, I did not have quality problems with the GMT, just that the date changed function bothered me too much, and returned for that reason, but quality problems with 3 others!! 2 problem free out of 5 is very poor quality control in my book! In years of collecting watch, I must have bought and sold or traded over 60 watches, these were the only ones with problem I ever experienced !!


I have a startimer quartz chrono that I've had no issue with. They make a well physically built good looking watch for sure. Sadly when it comes to the automatic movements there seems to be a lot of issues which has kept me from going to a startimer auto chrono even though those pictures of the gray dial one you posted almost pushed me over.


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## ccm123 (Feb 8, 2010)

Looks great!


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## Tony N (Sep 14, 2016)

impetusera said:


> I have a startimer quartz chrono that I've had no issue with. They make a well physically built good looking watch for sure. Sadly when it comes to the automatic movements there seems to be a lot of issues which has kept me from going to a startimer auto chrono even though those pictures of the gray dial one you posted almost pushed me over.


Yes, I agree, they do make great looking watches. The gray dial Chrono is still one my favorite looking watches.
The size is also perfect for my wrist. But unfortunately quality control was a big let down for me!

I still have this one, and I love the look, it is getting more wrist time than my other watches. And I have had no problems with it, so this leads me to think that the only problem is QC, or the lack of, which lets problems slip though!









Cheers


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## BriarAndBrine (Jul 28, 2015)

Tony N said:


> Yes, I agree, they do make great looking watches. The gray dial Chrono is still one my favorite looking watches.
> The size is also perfect for my wrist. But unfortunately quality control was a big let down for me!
> 
> I still have this one, and I love the look, it is getting more wrist time than my other watches. And I have had no problems with it, so this leads me to think that the only problem is QC, or the lack of, which lets problems slip though!
> ...


Thats a GREAT looking watch. I'm glad that it's hanging in there and hope it does for many many years. &#55357;&#56832;


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## Jason_Jordan44 (Aug 23, 2015)

Nice!


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