While lusting over a more expensive pilot’s watch, I found the Alpina Startimer 40mm Limited Edition. It lacks the boldness of Sinn and grandeur of Breitling, but meets the one requirement for true fliegers: legibility. It may not be your grail, but it fits the mold.

The Alpina is impeccably legible. At any angle, you rarely see reflections over the large, white arabic numerals, which top a matte black dial. The dial is far from ostentatious, but has features many buyers want: a matching black date wheel, impressively lumed applied indices, 20mm lugs, and a display caseback to view the custom rotor on the Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. The dial, overall, is excellent, and so is the fit.

The 40mm case wears extremely thin, which means it wears well for its size, even on my 6.75 wrist. The Alpina Startimer 40mm Limited Edition’s lugs curve down drastically, helping fit many wrists, and have a subtle bevel, adding a bit of shine. That’s needed, since the bezel is nearly non-existent. The screw-down crown reflects aviator heritage – beautifully shaped and easy to grip.

The crown fails, though, where it meets the movement. Like many affordable automatics, the watch continues to wind as you screw it in. Similarly, while the strap is of the quality we expect, the deployant is weak. It clips using tiny contours that will grind down over time, rather than a spring-lock. A strong wrist flick can unclip the clasp.

The Alpina Startimer 40mm Limited Edition is a go-anywhere, do-anything watch. If luxury brands are not an option or a strict B-Uhr isn’t your fancy, the Startimer is an great choice that doesn’t divert far from its heritage. This option is comparable with the quintessentials – the IWC Mark XVIII in particular – but the Startimer gets you there at a fraction of the cost and respect to its raison d’etre: legibility. So, to paraphrase Stills, if you can’t wear the watch you want, love the Alpina on your wrist.