Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Alpina Oversized Pilot's Chronograph, 1930s
- Maker / attribution
- Alpina (maker)
- Date
- 1930s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 40 mm
- Stock no.
- Product 6964286357591
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 6964286357591)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Alpina Oversized Pilot's Chronograph (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 6964286357591), this is a wristwatch by Alpina, dated 1930s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 40 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — S.Song Watches
To be completely frank with you, vintage Alpina is a territory I've never extensively explored. But that’s the thing with vintage, right? There is always more to learn, and this example of an Alpina is one of those moments for me. While I've always acknowledged Alpina as a somewhat underrated source for compelling vintage watches, the existence of an example like this has been quite a revelation for me, to say the least. Featuring a massively-sized 40mm nickel chrome case, a substantial case dimension for its era, it boasts a hunter-style case back, providing the user a glimpse into the intricate manual-winding, modified Minerva 17-29 calibre powering it from within. For me, the true standout feature of this vintage example is the usage of Breguet-style numerals on the dial, a design element which I find quite intriguing as it pairs wonderfully well with its intricate multi-scale chronograph layout, creating a visually compelling combination. All I can say is that I personally quite like the way it looks and sits on my wrist. It exudes a certain charm reminiscent of a wristwatch converted from a pocket watch, and that onion crown? Absolutely, I adore it. While acknowledging that this type of watch might not appeal to everyone, but for enthusiasts who appreciate an oversized vintage watch with a hunter-style case back and perhaps, a hint of patina, this might be the piece to look at.
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
The wristwatch overtook the pocket watch. Military use in the First World War, aviation, water-resistant cases (1926), automatic winding (1923–31), rectangular Art Deco designs and early chronographs and calendars defined the period.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Chronographs and split-seconds watches
A chronograph is a watch with an additional seconds hand that can be started, stopped and returned to zero independently of the timekeeping. Louis Moinet built an early example in 1816 and Nicolas Rieussec a recording 'chronographe' in 1821; Adolphe Nicole's heart-shaped reset cam (patented 1862) made the modern return-to-zero possible. Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronographs add a second hand that can be stopped for intermediate times; flyback chronographs restart instantly.
Chronographs were essential tools for doctors (pulsometer scales), artillery (telemeter), engineers and sport. In wristwatches, Valjoux, Venus, Lemania and later the automatic chronographs of 1969 (Zenith El Primero, the Chronomatic Calibre 11 group and Seiko 6139) are milestones.
What to look for
- Push-pieces on the case band or a single button in the crown (monopusher).
- Subsidiary registers for minutes and hours; tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scales.
- Column wheel versus cam control visible in the movement.
- Calibre markings of specialist makers (Valjoux, Lemania, Venus, Landeron).
Dating clues
- Pocket chronographs with heart cam reset: after 1862.
- Wrist chronographs: from c. 1910; two-button designs from the 1930s.
- Automatic chronographs: from 1969.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
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