# Alpina Startimer 40mm Review (AL525X3SP26) AL525G3S6B - Lots of Pics



## humanboy

This is my first review ever, so please forgive my poor penmanship and photos.

I have always had a soft spot for Alpina and there is AD here in York whose widow I have pressed my face up against on more than one occasion. So one rainy afternoon on the way home from work I pushed my luck and decided to try some on. I was immediately drawn to the pilot watches. Their simplicity seemed to match my own desire for a less cluttered collection.

From their range I had always thought that it was this model that I wanted (Pic stolen from the Internet) and in the shop I marveled at the quality, all the time knowing I couldn't really afford it.










I also I tried on its smaller brother. I already have a couple of 40mm watches and was convinced I didn't need another. The watch felt great and the dial simply glowed in the light. I was surprised by how much I liked it. However this too was out of my range. It perhaps didn't have the presence of its 44mm sibling, but it had something I really liked, I'm still not sure what that is by the way.

I decided I should put any ideas of buying one from my head as it was never really likely I would get that sort of money together for one watch. After all I could buy _loads_ of watches for that money.

I have been a fanatical watch flipper and had enjoyed owning a lot of watches albeit for just a few days in some cases. Over time I decided to consolidate and concentrate perhaps on watches I might want to hang on to for while rather than lose money hand over fist.

I therefore sold a number of watches, including my Precista PRS-82 and Glycine Combat and had a tidy sum in my Paypal account. Still not enough for the Alpinas I wanted but nevertheless the largest amount of money I'm likely to ever have for a watch. I resisted the urge to buy 3 or 4 new ones and instead set a course for one 'good' watch.

Having learned nothing I immediately used the money to bid on this Bell & Ross 123 on the bay. I did little or no research and stormed in. Now don't get me wrong it was a real beauty.



I tried to convince myself that at 37.5mm was big enough. It wasn't and I reluctantly sold it.

So with less money in my pocket I was determined to buy something that had at least a fighting chance of making it out of the plastic wrapper. I did hours of research and tried on a few brands, but nothing really grabbed me.

Then out of the blue I spotted the 40mm Alpina on sale in the US for a fraction of the price here in the UK. Even with the import duties and postage this was still £540. Knowing that I had at least tried the watch on this time I pulled the trigger.

*Packaging*
What I didn't expect when the watch arrived was just how massive the box would be. My previous purchases have usually come in a plastic box or 'leatherette' pouch. So to see this behemoth was a real surprise. As was the plane inside. Yes, a flippin' plane!

Unfortunately this had suffered some minor damage in transit. The seller offered me $50 store credit as an apology, but frankly I wasn't that bothered.







*Bracelet*
This is a shiny and brushed affair and not really my style. I have noticed though that this will only just fit my 8" wrist and having looked again at the Alpina advertising it shows a woman wearing the watch. I have to say that I hadn't thought that this may be for a woman and I don't feel it is any less masculine than say the Stowa Ikarus, which also has a grey dial.



The bracelet feels solid and very well executed. Although I'll confess that I'm no expert in the field and it remains in its plastic wrapper



*Case*
In my opinion this is at least a match for the Bell & Ross 123 I owned. It is comfortable and extremely well made. The brushing is excellent with some understated polishing on the edges and bezel.









This also wears larger due to the thin bezel and wide dial. The 20mm lugs drop slightly below the body of the watch allowing it to sit comfortably on my wrist. These as you can see are not drilled making the removal of the bracelet a tricky affair. At a smidge over 10mm high this is thin in comparison to some of my other watches, but never feels slight or overly dressy and still retains a presence

The case back is deeply etched and polished to remove any sharp edges. This also shows that mine is number 1041 of 8888. Although 8888 seems a little high for a limited edition, especially from a small maker like Alpina, I couldn't be happier. My daughter was born at 10:41am and therefore this unexpected coincidence means the watch already has added meaning.



*Movement*
A Selita SW200-1 decorated and with the distinctive black Alpina rotor which has been heavily modified. It's re-badged as a AL-525, 26 Jewel, 28,800 bph and 39 hour reserve. I've not checked the reserve but I've no reason to doubt the claim.

Initially this ran at about +8 seconds a day, but has settled down to around +5. This is perfectly fine for me and I'm sure would improve with some regulation.





The movement hacks, but what I didn't know was that this is also hand winding. I initially thought that as I screwed in the crown there was a problem as I could clearly feel some resistance. It turns out I was actually winding the watch. So much for researching the watch fully.

*Crown*
This is a large diamond type with deep grooves for an easy grip and stamped with the triangle logo. It's just under 4mm x just under 7mm and gives the watch a bigger feel. The 44mm version has the same crown and left me concerned that it just wouldn't be as comfortable over time in relation to the smaller version.



The screw down action is perhaps not as refined as I'd hoped and whilst I can accept I'm winding the watch as I screw it in it does feel overly stiff and a tiny bit 'rough'. Distinctly different from the other watches I own.

*Hands*
These really look the part and stretch elegantly out over the dial. The second had includes a small red triangle, which acts as a welcome pinprick of colour against the grey, white and silver. It _almost _reaches the far edge of the minute markers with a little downward dip at the end.







They're painted white and filled with white lume. This by the way is pretty poor and won't win any competitions. This is true of the lume across the watch which fails to glow very brightly or for very long. I've included a comparison photo with my Smiths Everest.

*Dial* 
For me this is the watches tour de force. A wonderful light grey sunburst effect which lifts it above the mundane pilot watch. This really does shimmer in the right light. My only minor criticism is that occasionally the white hands can be lost against it, but this is a minor issue.









The numbers are printed, but there are applied indices which again lift the dial, as does the inverted triangle logo at 12. The indices and triangle are polished at the edges which again gives further interest to the dial.




Lume again is the issue here. It's applied to the indices and triangle, but it is as poor as the hands and loses what brightness it has very quickly.

All the text is painted on, as are the outer minute markers. I could wax lyrically about it but hopefully the pictures will show what I mean

*Crystal*
A wonderful lightly domed sapphire crystal with AR coating. I've become a real convert to domed crystals and this was one of the reason I fell for the watch. It's very subtle but it is there.





*Strap*
I've shown the watch on a few different straps to give some idea of the versatility of the watch. I've been extremely pleased with how well this adapts to a number of scenarios although I wear it mostly at work which is casual but business like.
So far the best option I think has been the pilot style black leather with grey stitching. I've avoided the rivet type because I'm not sure a 20mm strap can convincingly carry a rivet, plus I'm just not a fan.











*Summary*
Overall I'm extremely pleased with the watch and I've no plans to get rid of it. Having said that if its bigger brother had been in the same sale I would have happily bought that instead, big size and all.

I even had some money left over to put towards my new Obris Morgan, oh and I got a G-Shock for my holidays too. It seems my urge to buy is not diminished


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## Nokie

Very nice review and pictures. I like your choice of straps for it. 

I wanted one of this exact model, but am really put off by the lack of any decent lume. You would expect more from a pilot watch, especially in this price range. 

Otherwise it looks great.


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## Mediocre

Great looking watch, a contemporary contender for the traditional fliegers!


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## sea0bass

Very nice. Normally I do not like nato strap but the startimer looks great on nato


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## jason042779

That dial tho... The version with the manufacture movement has virtually the same looks, no?


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## fastfras

Good choice, I far prefer the 40mm over the 44. Wear it in good health my man.

happy holidays to all,

fraser


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## manofrolex

looks good and great pics. the dial really stands out. wear it in good health


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## Ticktocker

Fantastic looking watch. Nothing quite as beautiful as simplicity done perfectly.


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## humanboy

Thanks to everyone for the positive comments. The watch is still among my favorites although the nato strap soon lost its appeal. I'm on the look out for a new strap along the lines of the one shown on 44mm version.

Thanks Again


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## raptus

Good read, thanks! I was happy to see they've curved the seconds-hand, that's a great little detail that's pretty rare these days.


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## el_beelo

Great read, I've always been a sucker for the 44mm with the green second hand


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## Reinhard Immanuel

I really like that plane on the box, almost more than the watch


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## turbojoly

Beautiful timepiece. Classy and masculine.


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## mlankton

Great watch.


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## Hart1000

I'm new to Watch collecting...and now I have another favorite in the Alpina Lume! Excellent pics of the watch with straps. Thanks for sharing!


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## MichaelNorth

Fantastic review. The applied indicies and that grey/silver sunburst dial make watch simply stunning.


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## drbojangles

Stunning piece but I just don't understand why so many forgo the effort when it comes to lume. IT"S IMPORTANT!


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## ccm123

Beautiful watch!


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## jpd114

thanks for all the photos


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