Oliver van Lanschot Hubrecht, Brand Director at Alpina / Fine Swiss Watchmaking

Alpina was founded in 1883 when Swiss watch making visionary and alpinist Gottlieb Hauser founded the “Alpina Swiss Watchmakers Corporation”, and in doing so united the leading Swiss independent watchmakers, who became known as the “Alpinists”. Initially, the Corporation was developed to optimise the manufacturing of movements and watches by forming a union of manufacturers and suppliers, but Alpina soon began producing in-house calibers. In the 1920s, Alpina was already being sold in 2,000 outlets worldwide, an exceptional figure for those days. It is no exaggeration to say that Alpina was one of the first leading manufacturers of Swiss watches. More than any other watchmaker, Alpina was responsible for the sports watch as it is known today. Gottlieb Hauser was convinced that Alpina would become supremely successful worldwide for the quality, durability, precision and design of his watches. He wanted to provide sportsmen, engineers and adventurers with the ideal watch. His vision became reality in 1938 with the Alpina "4"​. In that year, Hauser revolutionised the sports watch by imposing the four essential principles for any watch to be called a true "Sport Watch."​

In this episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interview Oliver van Lanschot Hubrecht, Brand Director at Alpina about the rich history of the watch brand which launched with the aim to create sturdy timepieces to withstand the harsh environmental elements. Our host Peter Brooker and Oliver talk about designing watches for the aviation industry, what the role of Brand Director involves, using recycled materials, marketing brand stories, and what new timepieces are in the pipeline for future release. 

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