On the evening of October 11th 2017, Frederique Constant, Alpina and Ateliers deMonaco hosted a Manufacture Showcase at the National Arts Club in New York City. For the occasion, the three brands partnered with watch-collecting group RedBar Crew.
Where the Alpina Extreme Diver felt like it were created by a committee intent on rehashing as numerous popular elements as you can at once, the new Alpina Seastrong Diver 300 appears to have had a fantastic editor, since it finally feels much less “wordy,” so to speak. Its new streamlined, minimized aesthetic complements the older instance with a more natural consistency and general ease, although the opinion is finally comfortable in its own skin that is moisturizing. Gone is the derived mashup of apparel and tool diver elements located on the outgoing Alpina Extreme Diver (reviewed here) version, in favour of a fresh, timeless, and confident decorative that gently lends priority to form over function — but barely at the expense of the latter, since the Alpina Seastrong Diver 300 Automatic remains a 300-meter dive watch, after all.In fact, I would also argue that the most striking design element is truly the lack thereof. Take, as an instance, the way the Alpina Extreme Diver’s sword hands are replaced by a skeletonized handset, whose reduced surface area leads to a cleaner, more discreet view of the dial. Yes, these hands tear a comparatively familiar page out of this Panerai Luminor Submersible book, but the signature isn’t exclusive to Panerai, and it works well in complementing the minimalist aesthetic.