Route du Rhum 2026: Alpina sets sail with two limited editions

Official Timekeeper of the 13th Route du Rhum, Destination Guadeloupe, Alpina turns its partnership into two very different watches driven by a single idea: to accompany the adventure. On one side, a Seastrong Diver Extreme Automatic designed to take on the ocean. On the other, an Alpiner Extreme Solarmetre whose solar autonomy seems almost to have been imagined for those who never want to stop.

There are watch partnerships that come down to a logo. And then there are those for which the playing field naturally gives the watch its meaning. When the 118 sailors currently announced leave Saint-Malo on November 1, 2026 at 1:02 pm, they will have 3,543 nautical miles ahead of them to reach Pointe-à-Pitre. A solo crossing of the Atlantic during which every choice, every weather window and, inevitably, every minute will count. The benchmark time remains the one set in 2022 by Charles Caudrelier: 6 days, 19 hours, 47 minutes and 25 seconds.

In this context, seeing a watch house take on the role of Official Timekeeper feels quite natural. Passion Horlogère had in fact already presented last May the commitment of Alpina as Official Timekeeper of this 13th Route du Rhum, Destination Guadeloupe. Two months before the start, the Swiss manufacture now gives this partnership a horological expression with two limited series: the Seastrong Diver Extreme Automatic x Route du Rhum and the Alpiner Extreme Solarmetre x Route du Rhum.

The sea as natural terrain

You only have to look at Alpina’s recent history to understand that the association with offshore racing is not entirely opportunistic. The roots of its family of diving watches go back to the 1960s. Passion Horlogère notably mentioned in 2019 the Seastrong 10 Super Compressor of 1969, whose contemporary collection retains part of the spirit: robustness, legibility and a sporting vocation.

For the Route du Rhum, Alpina therefore turned to its Seastrong Diver Extreme Automatic. But rather than simply placing the name of the race on the dial, the brand multiplied the references to sailing. And that is probably what makes this special edition interesting.

Seastrong Diver Extreme Automatic: the Atlantic on the wrist

The first element that catches the eye is obviously its color. For the first time on this version, Alpina adopts a grained turquoise dial, on which appears a motif representing the currents of the Atlantic Ocean. A rather clever way to recall that the shortest path between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre is not necessarily the one the boats will follow. The skippers will have to read the weather, anticipate the low-pressure systems, deal with the wind and the sea. The watch graphically translates this shifting environment.

Around the dial sits a bidirectional bezel with a carbon fiber insert graduated like a compass, with cardinal points and a scale over 360 degrees. So we are not dealing here with the classic rotating bezel used to measure a dive time, but with a display that refers explicitly to navigation instruments.

The case back continues the story with the engraving of the route between Saint-Malo and Guadeloupe, while a particularly charming little detail awaits the owner once a month: the number 13 of the date appears in red, a nod to this 13th edition of the Route du Rhum.

The whole is housed in a steel case with relatively contained proportions for a watch of this temperament: 39 x 40,5 mm, and 13,40 mm thick. Good news at a time when many sports watches are returning to more reasonable dimensions. The nautical vocation obviously does not stop at the design. The crown is screw-down, the sapphire crystal has an anti-reflective treatment and the water resistance reaches 300 meters. The rubber strap, for its part, picks up the dial’s color combination with a textured black center section and turquoise sides.

A familiar movement, in a far less conventional guise

Inside sits the automatic caliber AL-525. Running at 28 800 vibrations per hour, or 4 Hz, it has 198 components and 24 jewels and offers 38 hours of power reserve. On paper, then, the movement is not what seeks to create the event here. Alpina instead chose a proven mechanism to concentrate the identity of this limited edition on its styling and its ability to operate in a demanding environment. This choice is not without consistency: on the open sea, the best sophistication is often the kind that knows how to be forgotten. The Seastrong Diver Extreme Automatic x Route du Rhum will be produced in 313 pieces, a number that refers directly to the 13th edition of the race, and announced at a public price of 2 195 euros.

Alpiner Extreme Solarmetre: when endurance switches sides

The second proposition is very different. And that is precisely what makes the duo interesting. With the Alpiner Extreme Solarmetre x Route du Rhum, Alpina drops the automatic for a technology that, in the context of a long-distance adventure, has a real logic to it: solar. Its AL-140 movement, developed on a La Joux-Perret base, harvests the energy of natural or artificial light through a translucent dial. Yet that dial looks perfectly opaque when you look at the watch.

The light passes through its surface and powers a rechargeable battery. The result is quite spectacular: one minute of exposure to light is enough to produce the energy needed for a day of operation. And when the battery is fully charged, the watch can run for ten months in total darkness. If it does eventually stop, about ten seconds after its return to light are enough to put it back into service.

Alpina began rolling out this solar technology across its collections in 2025. It becomes particularly relevant here: on a boat as much as while traveling, the idea of having a watch whose energy source is all around you is quite appealing.

More compact, more discreet

Visually, the Alpiner Extreme Solarmetre is also far more understated than its mechanical sister.

Its matte black dial features the famous triangular motif associated with the Extreme collection. The link with the Route du Rhum is provided mainly by a turquoise flange, echoed by several touches of color, notably around the triangular index placed at noon. There is also the carbon bezel insert as well as, on the solid case back, the engraved outline of the transatlantic route.

The cushion case measures 37,50 x 38,90 mm, for only 10,19 mm thick. Dimensions that make it a particularly versatile and naturally unisex proposition. Its 100 meters water resistance is less spectacular than that of the Seastrong but amply sufficient for a sports watch meant to follow its owner day to day. The strap here is made entirely of black rubber.

Limited to 513 pieces, the Alpiner Extreme Solarmetre x Route du Rhum is announced at 1 095 euros. Alpina also indicates availability from October 2026, only a few weeks before the start of the transatlantic race.

Two watches, two philosophies of autonomy

It is probably in their confrontation that these two novelties take on their full interest. The Seastrong speaks to the mechanical enthusiast. Its mass, its 300 meters water resistance, its turquoise dial and its peripheral compass give a very expressive interpretation of the Route du Rhum.

The Alpiner Extreme Solarmetre answers with an almost opposite approach. Thinner, more compact and much more discreet, it replaces the charm of a mechanical movement with a conception of autonomy that seems particularly suited to the outdoor world.

38 hours of power reserve on one side. Up to ten months without light on the other. It would nonetheless be reductive to pit mechanical against quartz. In both cases, Alpina is instead seeking to answer the same question differently: which watch to take when the adventure begins?

Éric Péron, a connecting thread already well known to Passion Horlogère

Another story directly connects Alpina to this Route du Rhum: that of Éric Péron.

The Breton sailor, brand ambassador, will also be at the start of the race. He is in the Vintage Multi category, aboard French Touch Oceans Club. His name is not unknown to readers of Passion Horlogère.

In 2024, after his Arkéa Ultim Challenge, Passion Horlogère met him in Brest. He had just completed his solo round-the-world voyage aboard the maxi-trimaran Adagio, in fifth place. On his wrist was already a Seastrong Diver Extreme Automatic made especially for the event.

A watch that Éric Péron liked to point out had, itself too, sailed around the world. During that interview, the sailor also explained something interesting: whereas he had previously happily worn a connected watch for its functionality, his connection with Alpina had made him rediscover the pleasure of a traditional watch and of reading time brought back to its essentials. Two years later, the story continues on the Atlantic.

When a partnership really tells a story

This is perhaps where these two limited editions succeed in their exercise. The words “Route du Rhum” are not simply printed on a dial. The Atlantic currents, the outline of the race course, the compass, the number 13, the carbon, the rubber and even the solar energy form a coherent whole with the terrain these watches refer to.

One celebrates mechanics and the deep sea. The other prefers light and autonomy. Both will accompany the countdown to November 1 at 1:02 pm. After that, it will no longer be the watches that dictate their pace to the Route du Rhum, but the sailors, the Atlantic and that inevitable obsession shared by all competitors: making time flow a little less quickly for them than for the others. And since Charles Caudrelier’s record still stands at 6 days, 19 hours, 47 minutes and 25 seconds, Alpina will know very precisely when to stop the chronometer.

Technical specifications

Alpina Seastrong Diver Extreme Automatic x Route du Rhum

Reference: AL-525T3VE6
Case: brushed and polished stainless steel, three-part construction
Dimensions: 39 x 40,50 mm
Thickness: 13,40 mm
Bezel: bidirectional, 360° compass graduation, carbon fiber insert
Crystal: anti-reflective sapphire
Case back: screw-down steel, engraving of the Route du Rhum course
Water resistance: 300 meters / 30 ATM
Crown: screw-down
Dial: grained turquoise, Atlantic currents motif
Display: hours, minutes, seconds, date at 6 o’clock; number 13 in red
Luminescence: Grade X1 treatment
Movement: automatic Alpina AL-525
Frequency: 28 800 alt/h, 4 Hz
Components: 198
Jewels: 24
Power reserve: 38 hours
Strap: textured black rubber with turquoise sides
Limited edition: 313 pieces
Public price: 2 195 €.

Alpina Alpiner Extreme Solarmetre x Route du Rhum

Reference: AL-140BT3AE6
Case: brushed and polished stainless steel, three parts
Dimensions: 37,50 x 38,90 mm
Thickness: 10,19 mm
Bezel: carbon fiber insert
Crystal: anti-reflective sapphire
Case back: screw-down steel, engraving of the Route du Rhum course
Water resistance: 100 meters / 10 ATM
Dial: matte black translucent with triangular motif, turquoise flange
Display: hours, minutes, seconds and date at 3 o’clock
Movement: solar quartz AL-140 on a La Joux-Perret base
Autonomy: up to 10 months in total darkness
Recharge: one minute of exposure for about one day of operation
Strap: black rubber
Limited edition: 513 pieces
Public price: 1 095 €.

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