History Alpina Watches International SA
Alpina Watches International SA is a manufacturer of wrist watches based in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland.
The company was founded in 1883 by Gottlieb Hauser, watchmaker in Winterthur, who founded the Swiss Watchmakers Corporation (“Union Horlogère Suisse”).
A number of watchmakers joined to purchase watch components and organized their manufacturing.
All representatives of Union Horlogère depended on the Association, which aimed to sell high quality watches under the Alpina brand.
Quickly, the new concept gained acceptance.
Together with qualified manufactures, the Association started to develop its own calibres and to enlarge its distribution network.
Everything ran well until the 1970s, when the quartz crises violently crushed the Swiss watch-industry.
Alpina was powerless to counter the overwhelming emergence of electronic watches.
Other major brands got together to form groups (predecessor of the Swatch Group), but Alpina tried to fight it alone without really succeeding.
In 1972, Alpina Watch International SA was incorporated with new German investors, which purchased all shares in Alpina Union Horlogère SA.
In 2002, Alpina Watch International SA was acquired by Frederique Constant SA and Alpina watches were relaunched worldwide.