Alto refines the concept with the integrated bracelet ART 02
Russell Sheldrake- Young independent Alto releases its second model, the ART 02.
- A smaller case size at 36mm; it now also features an integrated bracelet.
- A newly developed calibre sits inside that maintains the brand’s signature anti-clockwise seconds hand.
Creating a watch brand from scratch is not an easy task. Maintaining that watch brand and developing it from the first collection to the next while ensuring a sense of continuity is even harder. Enter the ART 02 from the young brand Alto. Over the last two years, this brand has been breaking expectations with every timepiece it releases. Whether they were making us question why a seconds hand should run backwards, or showing us that stone dials don’t have to come in one piece. Now, Alto is bringing to market a watch that is arguably far more marketable given its proportions, and playing into the appetite for integrated bracelet watches.
There is more going on here than just a smaller case and a new bracelet, however. Digging into the details, you see how the partnership of CEO Thibaud Guittard and Creative Director Raphaël Abeillon has come to fruition in this watch. The redesigned rehaut that allows for easier reading of the time while simultaneously marking a seamless transition from the slatted dial to the angular case helps make this watch feel even more cohesive. This is the art of upgrading without losing sight of where the brand started from and its core DNA.
Another of those core values upon which Alto was founded is the use of a custom-developed movement from the masters at Cercle des Horlogers, and this time we have a new take on the A01 calibre from the brand’s first watch. The new A02 movement combines a titanium base plate, a high-tech tungsten alloy micro-rotor, and a fully skeletonised architecture that allows you to see how it makes the seconds hand rotate anticlockwise. This smaller movement fits snugly inside the 36mm case because both the case and movement were designed together. This is a step not many brands are willing or even able to take and demonstrates that Alto are not cutting corners. Unless you are talking about the sapphire crystal and cut edges of its angular shape.
That uniquely shaped crystal runs straight into the lines of this newly designed bracelet. Integrated into the case, the Y-shaped lugs are also cut at sharp angles, which are slightly softened by a brushed finish being applied across its entirety, but importantly done in differing directions to help it play with light better. Supple enough to drape over any wrist yet solid enough to feel secure. It tapers nicely down to the folding clasp that has 4mm of micro-adjustment integrated in so that it will feel comfortable year-round.
Very little about Alto and both of its watches play by the conventional rules. These are watches made for seasoned collectors who are ready to try something new that still plays within the rules of high horology. This is an incredibly modern expression of watchmaking which manages to bring together some of the best suppliers in the industry under one unique vision to create something that feels brand new yet reassuringly familiar in its techniques.
While the stepped dial is instantly captivating, the window through which you view only amplifies this effect. The crystal on all Alto watches is perhaps their most unique feature. The outer surface is curved from 12-6 and then the 3 and 9 sides are cut at a sharp bevel while the inner surface is softly domed so the light is made to dance as it passes through it. To most, a crystal is just there to protect the dial and make sure you get a clear view of it. Alto takes that a step further and turns it into part of the art object that this watch is.
It might sound cheesy to say, but you are getting more than a watch with this piece. It is the most wearable watch that Alto has brought out and that makes it so much more approachable when you are wrapping your head around an unfamiliar concept in watches. It is simultaneously high design and high horology and so can play to both camps. Originality in this industry can be hard to come by, but now you’re read this article, you can confidently say you’ve discovered it.
Alto ART 02 pricing and availability
The new Alto ART 02 is available now and can be ordered through our New York Discovery Studio Frontier space. Price: €15,000 (inc VAT).
| Brand | Alto |
| Model | ART 02 |
| Case Dimensions | 36mm (D) x 10.2mm (T) x 42.3mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Grade 5 titanium |
| Water Resistance | 50 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Domed and bevelled sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Black |
| Strap | Integrated bracelet, folding clasp, micro-adjust |
| Movement | A02, automatic, micro-rotor, manufacture |
| Power Reserve | 50 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, anti-clockwise seconds |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | €15,000 (inc VAT) |