One of the pioneers in pilot watches introduced its new Startimer Pilot Automatic at Baselworld. It’s well executed, but how does it fare in terms of accessibility?

Alpina has a rich history spanning over 130, and for a significant chunk of that time, the Swiss watchmaker was known as one of the go-to brands for professional pilot watches. That’s not taking anything away from the Alpina 4, which was introduced in 1938 and the brand claims to be the very first “Swiss sport watch, as we know it today.”

But around the same time, the watchmaker was perhaps more known for its pilot watches – times of war might do that for a neutral Swiss watchmaker. Since the days of early aviation pioneers, Alpina’s watches were known for their instant readability thanks to highly contrasting dials with oversized luminous numerals and luminous hands.

Reverting back to those good old days, the brand launched in 2011 the Startimer Pilot Collection, which has since become the most successful collection for the watchmaker. At Baselworld 2017 we now see the newest Startimer Pilot Automatic.

The original was a solid timepiece and as a result this version maintains all the features that have made the Startimer Collection a hit. Most importantly, this collection is defined by a clean and very straightforward design that boasts excellent balance and readability.

We have four news models as part of the collection: one features a titanium-coloured stainless steel 44 mm case contrasted with a matte grey dial, while the other three come in either stainless steel or rose gold-plated cases paired with either a matte dark blue or a matte white dial. Each is powered by the AL-525 automatic movement, which delivers 38h power reserve and 100m water resistance.

The familiar red Alpina triangle is featured at 12 o’clock and on the seconds hand, and the logo is engraved on the case back. We also get a date indicator at the 3 o’clock, which is quite frankly overshadowed by the oversized indexes and hands.

In terms of price, the Startimer Pilot Automatic is well positioned in the so-called “accessible luxury” market. It can be had for a reasonable entry-level price under 900€, which translates to about $1,000 USD. For that money you’re paying for a solid pilot watch and a lot of that heritage we spoke about earlier.

It’s true that this watch is affordable luxury because we’re dealing with Swiss luxury watchmaking standards, after all. But let’s not forget that comparable models with similar specs from Alpina’s Japanese competitors can be had for a fifth of the Startimer Pilot Automatic starting price.