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Startimer Pilot by Alpina
Limited edition of 50 pieces for horlogerie-suisse.com

Geneva, December 8, 2011. In an unusual initiative, one of the most independent press
titles in the watchmaking sector, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, is offering its 3
million yearly visitors the chance to own a limited edition watch. The offer is in
conjunction with Alpina, one of Switzerland’s iconic watchmaking brands.

Horlogerie-suisse.com broke onto the scene in 2001. The website is a rich source of
educational, instructive and hard-hitting information and has made its mark by posting
record-breaking participation figures for its forum threads, launched and mediated by its
founder, Eric Cosandey, a watchmaking academic and now a happy convert to the joys of
webmastering. His forum-goers together comprise a mixed community of over 7,500
subscribers. The site attracts seasoned collectors, enlightened amateurs and hardcore
aficionados, all esteemed for their constructive, proactive, and above all … highly educated
comments. It is they who developed the idea that their favourite website should create its own watch. ‘Everyone made their own contribution, the discussion just took off like a rocket’, concedes Eric Cosandey, who had been dreaming of just such a concept to celebrate the site’s 10th anniversary. An academic not just of words, but of action.

Legitimacy and consistency, Swiss made… and much more besides

Totally in keeping with the values conveyed on the horlogerie-suisse.com website, Eric Cosandey approached the watchmaking brand Alpina, which, in an effort to reconnect to its aeronautical DNA, had launched the new Startimer Pilot line as part of its Aviation collection in February 2011. The line is structured around three variations on the theme: Automatic, Chronograph and, the absolute must-have, Manufacture. The latter is the choice model of the series, proposing a three-hand watch, central hoursminutes-
seconds, with the further refinement of a particularly attractive complication: a crown-adjustable, hand-type date indicator, off-centre at 6 o’clock.

The Startimer Pilot Manufacture Alpina encases within its midst the calibre AL-710 – 28,000 vibrations/hour, duly inspected in 5 different positions; Alpina’s personalised interpretation of the Frédérique Constant workshop-crafted movement, designed, developed and assembled entirely in-house at the Plan-les-Ouates workshop.

Sporting a large-diameter rotor for improved winding efficiency and a whole host of
aesthetic codes in line with the very first Alpina automatic calibre launched back in1945, the brand new iconic model is a tribute to the past of an historic brand founded in 1883, taken over and relaunched in 2002 by Peter C. and Aletta Stas, the two founders of Frédérique Constant. A limited edition of 50 pieces is thus born, boasting two eye-catching features that will appeal to collectors: the seconds hand triangular counterweight has swapped its distinctive red for green and the back of the watch case is engraved with the prestigious signature horlogerie-suisse.com.

The good thing about Internet surfers is that it doesn’t take much to get them talking. They all have something to say, opinions to share. Their very own Startimer Pilot Alpina, sporting the colours of their favourite webzine horlogerie-suisse, is sold exclusively online and is limited to 50 special owners, some of whom instigated the concept. A priceless reward for recognition of their devotion.


About Alpina

Alpina is an historic brand created in 1883, taken over in 2002 and relaunched with a bang-on-trend sporty vintage twist by Peter C. and Aleta Stas, the two founders of Frédérique Constant. Around 12,000 watches will have been scheduled for production by end 2011. In 2009, a third brand joined the group, Les Ateliers de Monaco, to secure a
foothold in this high-end niche. alpina-watches

About Horlogerie-suisse.com

3,000,000 visits in the last 12 months. Excellent listing in search engines. 2001, year of its founding by Eric Cosandey, academic and watchmaker. 3,100 subscribers to the newsletter. 7,500 + forum-goers subscribed to the various watchmaking forums. Grand 2011 competition in 10 monthly instalments, a different watch to be won every month.
10 brands (1 model to be won per brand): Ulysse Nardin, Eterna, Porsche Design, Maurice Lacroix, Boucheron, MB&F, Bulgari, Paul Picot, Corum et Ebel.

Loyal partners. Horlogerie-suisse.com, as part of a unique collaboration with JSH –. Journal Suisse de l’Horlogerie (the world’s longest-standing watchmaking journal, established in 1876), is about to shine the spotlight on a selection of historical articles from the journal’s estimable archives. Occasionally taken up in the printed press in the JSH features of the magazines Heure Suisse and Heure Schweiz, the topics covered are astonishing for their contemporary approach. Another printed journal to contribute to the website’s remarkable chest of treasures is the magazine Watch Around, a great favourite among purists, offering a plethora of in-depth features on the watchmaking industry. The celebrated auction house Christie’s also uses this platform to trumpet its finest pieces. Added to these prestigious associations is a series of watchmaking posts and in-depth articles contributed by the leading specialist journalists.