# bought an alpina AL750 chronograph - not working - am i stupid?



## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

This is my 6th watch. However first chronograph. 

I cant get this darn thing to work! Just received it, brand spanking new in box never worn smells fresh from the factory cant get any newer than this. Beautiful classic chronograph. Love the design. Was excited, gave it a 5 minute winding (not hand wound via crown) and nothing. Pressed the top chronometer button, nothing. Pressed the zero-out bottom button, nothing. Thinking something is stuck, adjusted the time and date randomly and still nothing. 

Any tippers? Or just call me dumb that I cant get a watch to work LOL. Thick instruction booklet tells me nothing. Cant be this hard!


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## manofrolex (Jul 9, 2012)

Should not be this hard but when winding it does it actually run at all?


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## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

Doesnt run at all. After some more tinkering and hand shaking the watch a bit, Im thinking something inside is blocking the counterweight from spinning at times. Sometimes when I give it a shake, i can hear the rotor winding nicely like my other watches, then it all of a sudden stops as if it gets stuck. The winding sound also doesnt sound smooth like my other watches. loud soft loud soft sometimes even a scraping sound. 

calling this one in. Not the priciest of watches but i sort of expected more from this brand. 

does a chronograph watch run by itself like a regular mechanical watch without having to press that upper right chronograph button?


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## Nokie (Jul 4, 2011)

I would get it replaced.


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## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

really expected a bit more from this brand. Really did. Getting it replaced!


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## KazeKei (Jan 11, 2012)

Im assuming that this is a 7750 movement. I advise not to play with the chronograph function too much. If you are not sure how it should be operated, better read up before you spoilt it. As usual, you shouldn't change the date anywhere near 10pm to 4am.

For your watch, i suggest give it a good 10 wind at the crown, if it does not run, you have to send it back cause it's damaged.


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## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

Rotor wasnt spinning so definitely something wrong. I assume a screw got loose and jammed it as I have had that happen on my other watches before too. But Im not 100% sure as i dont want to open it as its still under warranty. Sent it back. 

Come again on the 10-4PM date adjustment? Havent heard of that yet. I never care about the date on my watches but this will be good to know. Function-wise I only bought this watch for the chronograph look and couldnt care more about what its for. What about the 10-4 though? Thanks!

btw instructions dont really say much other than to how to read the telemeter and what buttons are for what.


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## KAW (Jul 15, 2012)

Most watches with a quick-set date function have a period where the date mechanism is engaged in the process of changing the date. Even though this appears to happen quite quickly from the wearer's point of view the entire process can take hours. What happens in most mechanisms is there is a small wheel with a finger that does a complete rotation every 24 hours. The date disc, which has the numbers for the days of the month, has a set of teeth (one for each day) on its inner circumference. The normal date change occurs when the finger engages with a tooth on the date disc as part of its normal rotation, which eventually advances the date disc to the next day. The quick-set mechanism involves moving the date disc manually and so this needs to happen when the wheel's finger is not in between 2 teeth; otherwise, you risk breaking the finger off or forcing the wheel out of it's correct 24 hour alignment. A common timeframe is 6 hours, e.g. do not change the date between 8pm-2am. The specific period should be specified by the manufacturer but I believe the AL750 is based on the SW500, which is engaged in the date change between 8pm and 2am.

The telemeter function is described in section 3.2 of the manual, which you can download from here.


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## manofrolex (Jul 9, 2012)

Every brand known to man has its duds so not representative of Alpina even though admittedly frustrating. I had two Alpinas and they worked flawlessly. Sh$t happens 


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## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

interesting, so a video like this would be correct (for that watch).


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## KAW (Jul 15, 2012)

Yes, for a watch with that type of date setting mechanism it's a good idea to use the time setting function to verify the watch is not engaged in the process of changing the date.


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## d-bass11 (Mar 6, 2015)

Hopefully it all works out. I have 1 alpina and I am very happy with it. I probably would have tried to hand wind it, but if the rotor was not moving, then it certainly seems like something was wrong. 

I saw a post a while ago about someone who got an Oris and could see a screw that had fallen out through the exhibition case back. Oris is widely known for quality and it does go to show that every once in a while something crappy happens.


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## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

i learn something new everyday. I usually dont care much if my date is off. So this all only applies to adjusting the date correct? I have free reign to adjust the time whenever and however with no effect to the date mechanism?

Yup this alpina I had didnt even wind when I hand wound it. Just got a RMA and a new one is being sent to me. That one I sent back was definitely a DOA. Hopefully this new one lasts a very very long time. Its been awhile for me wanting a chronograph. Finally! Goes to show that "swiss made" and or made in Geneva means nothing. Anything hand made is bound to have some errors here and there.


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## Stryder16 (Sep 11, 2016)

kaitanium said:


> Yup this alpina I had didnt even wind when I hand wound it. Just got a RMA and a new one is being sent to me. That one I sent back was definitely a DOA. Hopefully this new one lasts a very very long time. Its been awhile for me wanting a chronograph. Finally! Goes to show that "swiss made" and or made in Geneva means nothing. Anything hand made is bound to have some errors here and there.


Yea it's unfortunate. Check out what happened to the bezel insert on johnnmiller1's 'Seastrong' 300 diver. Pretty shoddy if you ask me. Hopefully your replacement runs flawlessly


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## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

back to this problem.

Have my 2nd brand new copy for 3 weeks now. Lets just say it was working when I got it.

Today giving it 20 winds with the crown and still nothing (clockwise spin the crown right??). I dont want to give it too many winds with the hand, I know its not good for the watch supposedly. I spin the watch clockwise by hand hearing the winding noise (not the rotor free spinning noise) but still the watch doesnt move.

Really am i stupid? Is this 7750 movement so temperamental? All my other watches, omega, cheaper tisells, chinese movements, ETA movements, etc all start moving with the slightest movement from a dead stop. Yes they are bidirectional winding but thats beside the point. 

The point is, why is this Alpina watch so hard to get going? What am I doing wrong? Maybe I need a dedicated watch winder? I fail to see what difference that would make unless the 7750 needs constant turning without stopping to get it juiced up. Last week it was moving just fine from a dead stop.

I started, stopped and resetted the chornograph twice since i got this watch. I didnt want to play with it much at the suggestion of the members here. I never changed the date since i dont really care about dates, I just set the time only in the 3 weeks I had this.

Seems like this movement is too temperamental to keep. I should have just went with an omega speedy which is probably what Ill do.


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## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

Yup I must be an idiot when it comes to the 7750. Hopefully I can get a refund on this thing. Im on the verge of questioning Alpina quality too. The 7750 is supposed to be "the modern workhorse"!!!


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## Stryder16 (Sep 11, 2016)

Damn sorry youre still having trouble with this


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## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

Yup confirmed 2nd watch is dead also. At least I got a full refund.

Piece of junk Alpina paperweight, never buying or looking at their watches again. Talk about a bad first impression! Speedmaster here I come.


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## UofRSpider (Sep 13, 2016)

kaitanium said:


> Yup confirmed 2nd watch is dead also. At least I got a full refund.
> 
> Piece of junk Alpina paperweight, never buying or looking at their watches again. Talk about a bad first impression! Speedmaster here I come.


The 7750 is a well proven movement and a workhorse.

I totally agree with your statement about the Speedmaster, awesome watch that has history and good resale value. I would also recommend looking at Oris.


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## kaitanium (Apr 9, 2013)

UofRSpider said:


> The 7750 is a well proven movement and a workhorse.
> 
> I totally agree with your statement about the Speedmaster, awesome watch that has history and good resale value. I would also recommend looking at Oris.


oris definitely has some cool dial and case designs but their lug design is a huge turn off for me. I cant use any aftermarket straps with those sort of lugs on the watches i like from them.

Ive been searching almost everyday, looking at every website, instagram post, facebook, etc i can get a hold of for vintage and current chronographs, and nothing really comes close to the speedmaster's balanced look. I do like the old-school-classic chronograph look of this alpina or a comparable tag heuer calibre 6 or 18 but alas if i had to choose 1 chrono, it would be the speedy moonwatch (maybe even the smaller "numbered edition").

Tried a speedy on this weekend at an AD, and that basically sealed the deal for me. Eyes on the prize. =D


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## UofRSpider (Sep 13, 2016)

Good job. Can't go wrong with the Speedy.


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