Alsta was known for its sports watches but also made some beautiful chronographs in the 1960s and early 70s. Many of these came in a dressy style but there were also some racing-inspired models with black dials and red-and-white detailing similar to the Breitlings and Heuers of the day.

Alsta didn’t release many of these timepieces and not many survive today. The company focused on watches for outdoor pursuits, especially diving, with its Nautoscaph and Superautomatic lines.

In 2021, Alsta released a purpose-built timepiece for motorcyclists called the Motoscaphe 120.
Built with the same grade of stainless steel as the Nautoscaph II and IV, the Motoscaphe was engineered with motorcyclists as opposed to divers in mind. It has a bi-directional 12-hour bezel which is easy to operate and more relevant to use on the road than a uni-directional diver’s bezel.

The ‘destro’ crown (i.e. on the left side of the case), is more comfortable when riding and the high contrast superluminova on matte black dial makes for easy legibility when riding at speed.

The Motoscaphe dial playfully reinterprets the common dive watch depth rating into an equation for speed: 176ft = 53.6m / sec. That is 120mph (roughly 193kmh), said to be triggering spiritual experiences in riders who reach that speed: Space curves, time collapses, and the mind quiets.

"That's when the strange music begins…"
- Hunter S. Thompson

The Motoscaphe 120 was presented in a red leather pouch designed to double as a sunglasses case.

Alsta strives to draw on its heritage and provide best in class sports focused timepieces, focusing on thinness, mechanical precision and elegance of design. Precision and design are also coveted characteristics in motorcycles.

There are plenty of established car-and-watch collaborations but, interesting enough, not many ones in the motorcycle world. Certainly there is no other motorcycle-focused watch that is more than a logo on a dial.

The romance of the open road is very much like the romance of the sea, pulling on the urban, professional, creative, affluent, lifestyle motorcyclists who want to wear an elegant, robust and beautifully designed timepiece that fits alongside their elegant and beautifully designed motorcycles which they covet and enjoy owning.

These are not watch nerds – these are people who love beautiful things that have been designed with a purpose in mind but also with elegance and sophistication.