oh, I think they were a high precision, low production rate kind of brand.
reading up on them now I find these lines interesting:
"In true Swiss fashion, each camera was individually crafted. Thus, production was low, but quality and prices were high. Even these days, collectible Alpa cameras can fetch quite a high auction price.[1] It is estimated that as few as 40,000 cameras of all models of Alpa were made during the company's 40 year history."
"Pignons S.A. never aimed at producing cameras in large quantities, but rather at quality and they often made cameras to special order, incorporating features as requested by the customer. Lenses were subcontracted to several well-known manufactures"
"Unfortunately, Alpa didn't have the resources to keep up with the technological advances that the main stream camera companies were introducing in the 1970s and sales began to decline. There is argument about whether the lack of technological "innovation" was due to lack of money, or actually a choice made by the company about whether the automation brought about by other companies was desirable."
my guess it that they might be bought and sold more like collectibles nowadays, just because of the rarity
