The world of luxury watches regularly comes into contact with high class sportsmen and women, but very often we talk about this association in a global context, rather than zeroing in on something at a local level. This time though, we’ve come across a story about a cricketer from Yorkshire who has recently been honoured by Alpina for his efforts in the County Championship, and so we simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to look more into a piece of news that was so close to home.
Jonny Bairstow, 24, made his Test match debut back in May 2012, during a match at Lord’s against the West Indies, and this prolific cricketer has established a sterling record as a wicket keeper and batsman for both Yorkshire and England. He’s even been named in the Ashes Squad on a number of occasions, being a part of the winning side in 2013. The son of a former Yorkshire team stalwart, David Bairstow, Jonny Bairstow has been a mainstay within the County Championship for quite some time, and had recently been an integral asset to a side that has claimed Yorkshire’s first County Championship crown for a decade.
Swiss luxury watch brand Alpina was swift to capitalise on this news. After Bairstow and his Yorkshire team played Somerset in Leeds, he was approached by Giuseppe Ferro, the managing director of Argento Fine Products Ltd, and presented with an Alpina Startimer Classic Automatic Chronograph (see below) for his effort. Argento works closely alongside Alpina to ensure that the latter’s products are marketed and distributed effectively throughout the UK, and the prominent place that Alpina occupies within the field of sports watches makes Ferro’s presentation all the more apt.
As one of the very first brands to imbue sports watches with genuinely precise timekeeping, Alpina were a pioneer in this incredibly popular area, and their standards remain demonstrably high today as well. The decision to present a Startimer timepiece to Bairstow is an especially intriguing one, given the strong connotations to the world of aviation that these particular watches possess, but of course such a timepiece has great utility in a wider sporting sense too. As a chronograph, this watch displays a staple sporting function, and the rigorous specifications applied to mechanical aviation watches also renders them extremely reliable, so when all things are considered it represents an incredibly attractive reward for a notable Yorkshire hero.
Of course, the timepiece that Bairstow received from Alpina is just one example of the complete Alpina Startimer collection, and you can peruse a wide variety of these watches right here at Banks Lyon Jewellers. One of Alpina’s most popular assemblages, many of the features upon Startimer watches – such as enhanced readability or amplified impact resistances – are just as useful within more commonplace day-to-day life, so you’ll be sure to find something that suits your tastes. To find out more about our unparalleled stock of Alpina watches, don’t hesitate to contact us now by calling 01524 38 48 58 or emailing [email protected].
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