Alpina
Alpina Comtesse 38 mm Ice 18k
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Alpina · Comtesse
Alpina Comtesse 38 mm Ice 18k
Reference 76677OR.82
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Alpina
- Collection
- Comtesse
- Model
- Alpina Comtesse 38 mm Ice 18k
- Reference number
- 76677OR.82
- Year / era
- 1999 · 1990s — mechanical revival
- Complication
- Tourbillon
- Movement
- Automatic COSC chronometer
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Ice blue
- Strap / bracelet
- Milanese mesh
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 38 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Ice blue
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Printed minute track with applied batons
- Bracelet / strap
- Milanese mesh
- Clasp / buckle
- Triple-folding clasp with safety catch
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 55B — Automatic COSC chronometer
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 45 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Tourbillon
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1999 – 2007
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Alpina Comtesse 38 mm Ice 18k sits within Alpina's Comtesse line, introduced in 1999. It carries the house codes established since 1883 — 18k white gold case, ice blue dial and automatic cosc chronometer — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
The House
Alpina
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1883
- Founder
- Gottlieb Hauser
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Affordable & Tool Watches
- Major collections
- Alpiner, Seastrong, Startimer, Comtesse
- Signature technologies
- Shock-absorbing movement mounting · Anti-magnetic silicon escapement · In-house hairspring production
- Famous movements
- Quartz · Automatic COSC chronometer · Automatic Powermatic 80 · Automatic, 38-hour reserve
- Notable watches
- Alpina Alpiner 44 mm Silvered Platinum (1955) · Alpina Alpiner 42 mm Black 18k (1966) · Alpina Alpiner 44 mm Ice Carbon (1992) · Alpina Alpiner 44 mm Salmon 18k (1961)
Brand history
Alpina has spent more than 143 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Alpiner, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Gottlieb Hauser established Alpina in 1883, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Alpina calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1883
Gottlieb Hauser founds Alpina in Switzerland.
1899
Alpina earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Alpina to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Alpina enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Alpina continues to produce Alpiner, Seastrong, Startimer and other icons in limited numbers.