Alpina Valjoux 13 "Black Forest" s/n 1392

Jun 5

Written By Bas

Collecting vintage wristwatches isn’t just a checkbox of collecting them all. The most important part for me is the treasure hunt, pushing boundaries to discover and meeting other people that are also driven by passion.

This is the story of the only glossy black dial Alpina Valjoux 13 known.

To start you have to understand my love for the brand Alpina. A brand that made industry leading chronographs in the 1930’s and 1940’s. A model that could be seen as the first iteration of the high level chronographs they made is the Valjoux 13 cushion case wrist watch.

The first good condition Valjoux 13 surfaced in 2022, found it’s way in my collection and was featured on many social media channels, Fratello and the library of VINTAGE VIEW.

1930 Alpina Valjoux 13 Chronograph Left handed — *Alpina Valjoux 13 “Leftie”,* *read more about this model.*

The Discovery

This Valjoux 13 model is probably produced in a very low production number of 50 examples. The Fratello article even joked about the rarity of finding another one. Yet, in February 2023 I received a short message on Facebook.

I get many more messages a day but this one sparked my interest. Could it be? And did the watch survive all those years in a collectible condition?

A trip to the Black Forest

After sharing images of the watch I could clearly see the outstanding condition of this rare timepiece. Luckily the watch was in good hands of a passionate owner. He found the watch after being stored for decades in a suitcase. In the weeks later we shared some of our pieces and mutual passion.

A few months went past and I suddenly got the message if I was interested in buying the watch. Ow f*ck yeah! We settled on price and I wanted to pick up the watch personally in the Black Forest of Germany. A place fitting for the deep black dial of the watch.

Alpina Valjoux 13 "Black Forest" s/n 1392

Alpina Valjoux 13 Chronograph from 1930 Black Dial

We met in a nice Italian restaurant on a Saturday morning. Very much welcomed by our host and owner of a special timepiece. We talked about our passion for watches and the crazy ways we go to get the extraordinary.

I’ve seen the photo’s of the Alpina on Facebook Messenger but some watches do so much more in real life. This one was an instant hit. Cased in a 33mm cushion case with some serious height and prominent crown, it’s not a small watch. But the absolute show stealer is the dial. A super high gloss deep black dial with enameled white hands.

The watch has the serial number 1392. The last serial known for the Valjoux 13 model.