Introducing Alsta Watches
Wednesday - 12 February 2020
We are incredibly excited to introduce our customers to the stunning new selection of Alsta watches now available on the Jura Watches website. This iconic brand has reawakened after lying dormant for 35 years and with their revival comes a remarkable collection of adventure, sport and diving watches.
Alsta watches had become legendary during the 1960’s and 1970’s for their beautifully-engineered timepieces for men and women in need of an instrument that could keep up with their busy lifestyles. With scientists, engineers and industrialists in mind, each Alsta watch was carefully designed with precision and robustness as priority. They believed – and continue to believe – that there is little point in following fashion and trends but instead they would create luxury watches that reflect the heritage and ethos of the brand while taking care to preserve our oceans and lands by using sustainable-sourced materials where possible.
It was because of their beliefs that Alsta watches found huge success over fifty years ago. One of their most legendary models was the Alsta Nautoscaph Superautomatic, first released in 1970. It became a huge hit both on screen and on the wrist when it appeared on the arm of Oceanographer Matt Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss, in the 1975 Jaws film. Since then, this model has been highly coveted by watch collectors around the world – and we are incredibly thankful that a new limited edition of 1975 pieces has appeared as a faithful resurgence of the original!
So why did Alsta disappear? Unfortunately, during the late 1970’s the “quartz crisis” hit the industry and sadly, along with the many other watch manufacturers that went out of business, so did Alsta. For those that are unfamiliar with the quartz crisis, it was a period during the 1970’s when the arrival of quartz technology completely shunned those engineering watches with mechanical movements. Quartz watches were marketed as being far more accurate and reliable than traditional mechanical movements despite them lacking in intricacy and craftsmanship.
Much to ours and many luxury watch enthusiast’s delight, Alsta was resurrected in 2014 and after a couple of years carefully designing and manufacturing, the first Alsta watch to be released after more than 40 years was unveiled in 2017. The Alsta Nautoscaph II was inspired by the Nautoscaph dive watch worn by Richard Dreyfuss in Jaws and found itself well received by committed Alsta enthusiasts and by new discoverers of the brand.
Since then, Alsta have unveiled three other new designs that are currently available to order on the Jura Watches website. The Alsta Nautoscaphe Superautomatic Limited Edition is their latest release and is the 21st century iteration of the classic which Matt Hooper chose as his dive companion. We also have the Alsta Surf n Ski watch targeted towards those that take on the glamorous slopes and waves of Aspen, St Moritz and the Californian surf scene. Finally the Alsta Nautoscaph III is a limited edition of 50 pieces and boasts the same technical specification of the Nautoscaph II but with a PVD coated stainless steel case.
Alsta Nautoscaphe Superautomatic Limited Edition Watch
- Case Size: 38mm
- Case Material: 316L stainless steel
- Crown: Screw down
- Bezel: Unidirectional
- Glass: Sapphire crystal
- Case Back: Stainless steel, engraved
- Water Resistance: 300 metres
- Movement: Seiko NH35A automatic winding
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Power Reserve: 41 hours
- Jewels: 24
- Frequency: 21,600bph
- Dial: Matte black with applied Superluminova hands and indexes
- Strap: Black rubber
- Limited Edition: 1,975 pieces
- RRP: £795
Alsta Surf n Ski Watch
- Case Size: 40mm
- Case Material: 316L stainless steel with black PVD coating
- Crown: Screw down
- Bezel: Unidirectional
- Glass: Hardened mineral crystal
- Case Back: Screw down
- Water Resistance: 300 metres
- Movement: Seiko NH35A automatic winding
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Power Reserve: 41 hours
- Jewels: 24
- Frequency: 21,600bph
- Dial: Matte black, orange minutes track, applied Superluminova hands and indexes
- Strap: Black leather
- RRP: £695
Alsta Nautoscaphe III Special Edition Watch
- Case Size: 40mm
- Case Material: 316L stainless steel with black PVD coating
- Crown: Screw down
- Bezel: Unidirectional
- Glass: Hardened mineral crystal
- Case Back: Screw down
- Water Resistance: 300 metres
- Movement: Seiko NH35A automatic winding
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Power Reserve: 41 hours
- Jewels: 24
- Frequency: 21,600bph
- Dial: Matte black with applied Superluminova hands and indexes
- Strap: Black leather
- Limited Edition: 50 pieces
- RRP: £675
