Introducing: The Europe-Only Alpina Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic With A Different Dial
It’s back — but only in Europe, with a limit of 100 pieces. The Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic Edition Europe exchanges the standard model’s Arabic numerals for stick indexes, creating a more sober and persuasive Art Deco look.
Alpina has been on a retro roll lately. Earlier this year, the brand released the Heritage Tropic-Proof, and even Alpina’s modern Seastrong Diver Extreme received a retro touch-up. The Alpina Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic is next. You’ve seen this model before, but in 2023, it was called the Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic 140 Years. That celebratory watch is a serial-production model with a black or silver dial.
The standard Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic 140 Years
The exclusive Alpina Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic Edition Europe is so Art Deco
The automatic watch is the more affordable and available iteration of a timepiece that Alpina introduced the same year, the Heritage Carrée Mechanical 140 Years. That €5k watch, crafted from polished sterling silver, was equipped with the caliber 490, a beautiful yet robust movement that dates back to 1938. Union Horlogère, Alpina’s original entity, produced these vintage hand-wound movements. Since there was a limited number of vintage calibers, Alpina offered just 14 pieces per dial variant.
The hand-wound Alpiner Heritage Carrée with a movement from 1938
The unlimited automatic version of the steel Carrée has a 32.5mm diameter, a 39mm lug-to-lug, and a 9.71mm thickness. It is available with either a black or a two-tone silver dial showing a minute track, small seconds at 6 o’clock (round on the black version, rectangular on the two-tone silver one), and Arabic numerals. Both colorways come on an ostrich leather strap with a pin buckle.
The new Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic Edition Europe
The Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic Edition Europe is a limited edition of 100 pieces, each with a matte black dial. Replacing the Arabic numerals are beige printed hour markers and beige graduations. To match the markings, there are beige-toned leaf-shaped hour and minute hands. The rectangular sub-seconds register (which is very Reverso-esque) helps to set the Art Deco mood. Also, instead of a brown ostrich strap, this version comes with a black one in the same type of leather (a choice that was once very Reverso-esque).
Nothing’s changed here except for one thing
Like in the standard model, inside the Europe-only one beats the Alpina AL-530 caliber. This is an alternate version of the Sellita SW200 with small seconds (SW261) and no date. That means you get a 4Hz beat rate and a 38-hour power reserve.
The lovely sculpted case also remained untouched. It consists of just two parts, with one being a steel and sapphire case back. The domed front crystal is also sapphire for optimal scratch resistance. And as you might expect from a vintage-looking dress-style watch like this, the case has a water resistance rating of 3 ATM. The standard Alpina Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic 140 Years costs €1,450, while the new Alpiner Heritage Carrée Automatic Edition Europe has a price of €1,850. I guess that’s the price you pay for exclusivity.
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