Alsta Nautoscaph Superautomatic 50th Anniversary Edition

We thought the golden anniversary deserved a gilt dial...

Although you probably know this by now, the Alsta Nautoscaph Superautomatic was first released in 1970 and was immortalised by the 1975 blockbuster movie ‘JAWS’. In 2019, Alsta released a faithful re-edition of the watch worn by Oceanographer Matt Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss, in the movie.

Now, to kick off 2021, we are releasing a limited number of 50th Anniversary pieces featuring a gilt dial, hands and bezel. The model is manufactured and assembled entirely in Switzerland including a Sellita SW200 movement, one of the most trusted and precise movements in the world.

Like all of our Nautoscaph releases, we make all possible technical, safety and performance improvements while retaining as much of the original designs as possible. Your beautifully-styled Alsta timepieces ooze the same romance and charm of the originals. The main differences being; modern-day materials and technology. Like the originals, they are powered by quality automatic movements.

nautoscaph-superautomatic-50th-anniversary

Hooper was wealthy but was also a man of science. He demanded truth and relied upon quality of information and methodology in all his findings as opposed to hearsay or taking things at face value. It is no surprise that this man, who could have afforded any brand, chose quality as opposed to brand recognition in all of his diving and research equipment. This included a discerning choice of timepiece.

It was also the obvious choice for us to bring Alsta out of the archives and back onto the wrist.

The Alsta Nautoscaph was immortalised in the 1975 classic movie Jaws when it was the timepiece of choice of oceanographer Matt Hooper played by Richard Dreyfuss.

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Technical

Alsta timepieces are made to be robust and withstand the pressures of the oceans, the mountains and all in-between.

In addition to being manufactured and tested to withstand the toughest conditions, Alsta timepieces are made to be beautiful and elegant in appearance. They can be worn for any occasion from the workplace to when you are dressed that bit smarter.

The Nautoscaph is a dive watch that is styled to be worn on any occasion. It has a unidirectional bezel which removes the risk of it being accidentally turned while underwater which could result in a fatal miscalculation of dive time. It is manufactured and tested to withstand the pressure of depths of 999ft which is 300m or 29atm. The original Nautoscaph had 999ft on its dial which is a touch we loved and therefore kept. We told you that we don’t just follow the herd! The Surf n Ski is also tested to the same limits.

The Nautoscaphs and the Surf n Ski are manufactured and tested to be anti-magnetic to a field strength of 4,800 A/m (ISO 764 compliant) and shock-resistant to ISO 1413 standard.

Case

This 50th edition watch case is cast from 316L marine grade Stainless Steel. Grade 316L is the standard molybdenum bearing grade which means it has high corrosion resistant properties and particularly high resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion in chloride environments. It is also anti-magnetic. We do recommend that if you submerge your watch in saltwater regularly or for long periods of time that you give it a rinse under fresh water after submersion.

A Gilt Dial for the Golden Anniversary

Gilt dials on sports watches are, to us, one of the quintessential features of true watch romance. More commonly found in the 1950s and 1960s when Rolex used them on their early sports watches, they became much less common in the decades that followed. Due to their rarity, gilt dials are among the most sought-after and valuable among the different types of vintage sport watches.

Crown

The Alsta crown forms part of a triple-lock mechanism that ensures the water resistance of the watch. The crown on the Nautoscaph has distinctive crosshatch engraving which can often be found on the crowns of super-compressor divers’ watches of the 1960s and 1970s. Our nod to the style and panache of watchmaking in that golden period. Please note that to set the time on the 50th it is recommended to turn the crown anti-clockwise (unlike our other models), due to the Sellita movement.

Glass

The domed glass in the Nautoscaph and the Surf n Ski is a hardened mineral crystal that may scratch easier than sapphire crystal, however, we chose mineral crystal for these watches as it is generally more resilient and less brittle than sapphire and therefore is less likely to shatter and let water in. Light scratches are relatively easy to remove by polishing and if the scratches are deeper you can replace the crystal. Our crystals are tested for toughness and contain an anti-reflective coating on the inside to aid clear vision.

We wanted our watches to follow their predecessors by having lovely domed crystals therefore we designed and manufactured them especially in order that they were true to their heritage in design terms. Performance improvements resulted in that the original Nautoscaph contained plexiglass which is more prone to scratching. Also, we decided to remove the magnifying window or “cyclops” above the date in order to reduce the risk of damage to the crystal.

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