Review Nivada Grenchen F77 Brown Smoked Dial (No Date) – Hands-on with the re-edition of Nivada’s integrated bracelet watch from 1977 ( Ref. 68002A77 )

The brand that wandered continents

Nivada Grenchen is an interesting brand. Officially started in 1926 under the name of Wüllimann Schneider Nivada SA it started building watches in Grenchen, Switzerland. They were always an accessible brand, combining components from specialized companies, not doing everything themselves. Hidden secret: rarely any watch company builds everything themself.

Source

Private seller (Chrono24)

As a watch fan, at some point you might think you’ve seen it all. You know “all brands” and their collections. And suddenly you discover the vintage models of that brand. And you realize there’s a 50-year history of models to explore. Nivada is one of those brands. If you search the usual auction portals, there are some great models out there, be it the Chronomaster, Depthmaster, Antarctic or the lovely F77, which is the star of this article.

Source

vintagepaperandsalvage (ecrater.com)

After the brand switched hands a couple of times, first to South Korea, then Mexico, it was revived in 2018 by the French entrepreneur Guillaume Laidet and Remi Chabrat, who brings in the manufacturing know-how with his company Montrichard Group.

The Nivada Grenchen we see today actually first launched their vintage-inspired models in 2020. The F77 launched last year in 2023 which first appeared during the integrated-bracelet-craze of the 1970s. This decade was also the time models like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the IWC Ingenieur appeared.

A multi-dimensional dial

The dial of the F77 has a “carbon effect”, it appears like a basketweave pattern. The outward facing fade from a tobacco beige, to dark brown and then almost black at the edges is quite strong and it appears very differently based on the light situation.

On this version there is no date window, which I think works best with this design. But there is a date version available in the same dimensions, both are 37 mm in diameter. The historic model was a “day date”, so it showed the weekday as well as the day of the month, which I personally would have liked. But maybe this is planned for later editions of the F77.

The baton-style hour markers and applied indexes have some luminescent material, for the hands its enough, the indexes only have a small dot on the outer ring of the dial. Don’t expect a glowing dive watch, but it’s something.

Dimensions that work

At a reasonable 12.6 mm in thickness, 37 mm in diameter and 45 mm lug-to-lug the F77 will fit almost every wrist.

All across the watch are some polished surfaces, some brushed surfaces. I’m a fan of as much brushing as possible, since I’m always cleaning my polished watches. But the watch is by no means a “fingerprint magnet”.

There are even aligned screw heads around the perimeter of the bezel, which surprised me. I think it fits the overall impression of quality. I can’t say if the screws are only decorative or actually screw the bezel and case together, like with the Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet. In the end, it looks great.

I think the case sits perfectly on the wrist, the short lug-to-lug width and the slightly downward faced endlinks make it sit even on my wrist with no gaps between the bracelet, case and wrist. Watches, that have the “integrated bracelet” design often look better one size smaller. This also applies here and I think 37 mm in diameter works perfectly.

Bracelet

The bracelet has a double-push release system, the fine adjustment of the bracelet can be done through holes in the clasp. Nothing special but it works well and fits the overall design.

Source

Private seller (Chrono24)

The design is somehow similar to the historic model, just a bit more usable with the half-round extension of the clasp, that makes it easier to open. The middle part is polished while the sides of the clasp are polished. The Nivada crest is embossed and not just lasered onto the surface.

A reliable Soprod

The F77 is powered by Soprod’s P024 movement. It’s based on the ETA 2824-1 and is easy to wind and set due to the hacking seconds functionality. 38-hours is nothing extraordinary, but for a no-date-watch this isn’t an issue. It runs at 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour). It does the job! I have the same movement inside one of my Serica watches and never had any issues.

The value proposition

I didn’t know what to expect, when the F77 arrived at my doorstep. Once I opened the box and took the watch out, I was quite impressed. I’ve tried on a few watches from all price categories, from microbrands all the way up to “haute horlogerie”. I kept reminding myself how much this watch costs and what you’re getting for your money.

I compared an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak to the F77 and obviously there’s a difference in how the dial is made, the polishing and shape of the hands and indexes. The sharpness of the case, the difference in brushing and polishing, the movement. Clearly the Royal Oak plays in a different league. Still I was conflicted by wondering if the Royal Oak is 20-times better executed, looking at the price of Steel version of the Royal Oak. Audemars Piguet produces around 10-times more watches than the small Nivada Grenchen that churns out around 4,000 watches each year. In terms of absolute rarity, this is a point for Nivada.

Source

audemarspiguet.com

“Steel watches are known and appreciated by almost everyone. But they are often sold for the price of gold. The F77 is a true democratizer of stainless-steel watches with an integrated bracelet.”Guillaume Laidet (Source)

If you’re not a watch investor™️ (please don’t be), and you only want a nice watch which is well proportioned and doesn’t cost a fortune, you might have eyed with something like the Tissot PRX. Instead get something special: I’d propose to have a look at the Nivada Grenchen F77 as your next watch.