Two sporty chronographs, the Tutima M2 Pioneer and the Alpina 4 Flyback Chronograph Manufacture, fight to see who?s king of the hill in this comparative watch test from the WatchTime archives. Original photos by Nik Schölzel.
The Tutima M2 Pioneer is a successor to Tutima?s well-known NATO pilots? chronograph, launched in 1985, and is the official service watch of German military pilots. The Alpiner 4 Flyback Chronograph Manufacture from Alpina was designed as a watch for adventurers, mountain climbers and winter-sports fans. We pitted these two tough chronos against each other to see which would carry the day.
One can immediately recognize the M2 Pioneer as a pilots? watch, but the Alpina?s sporty-elegant identity is less easy to pin down. The Tutima?s design fulfills all expectations for a modern pilots? watch: a high-contrast dial with white displays on a black background, red accents, bar-shaped markers and unadorned hands. Everything is laid out for maximum legibility. The matte, titanium case has a truly contemporary look with recessed, neoprene-inlaid pushers, a deep-set, screw-down crown and integrated lugs. The bidirectional bezel, with its minutes track and luminous dots at 5-minute intervals, gives the M2 the appearance of a sophisticated tool watch. The edge of the bezel is grooved with a combination of small notches and arched cutouts. (This bezel is what distinguishes ?Pioneer? versions of the M2 from the other models in the M2 collection.) A Kevlar strap wit...