In our day and age, with such high-tech watch manufacturing equipment, and with highly creative modern designers – why do we keep harking back to the watch era of the 70s, 80s, and 90s with such ease? It simply comes down to nostalgia and funky design language that our modern up to date watch offerings can’t compete with.
Today we’re taking a look at the Nivada Grenchen Chronosport, a brand new re-issue watch that at one point was in production in the 1970s – mind you only 20 units were produced back then, making this watch ultra-niche. This time around Nivada Grenchen has launched into full production mode with no special limitation on production count.
Chronosport Then and Now
One benefit of having a modern re-interpretation of a vintage classic is the fact that you get the benefit of higher quality manufacturing techniques and materials, resulting in a more robust higher-end watch. You do lose the charm of the real thing though, often much of the character of an authentic vintage watch is found in its flaws. Things like patina on the dial due to decaying lower quality lume, foggy scratched up acrylic crystals, and fading fonts are just some aspects that are going to be relegated on new production watches purchased today.
The new Chronosport we have here today is essentially a polished up improved version of the past. The case is made from 316L stainless steel, the crystal is double domed sapphire glass, and even the water resistance is superior at 20ATM. It’s hard to say no to these improvements, in this case its best to cherish them as they improve wearability and enjoyment of the watch.
There’s many aspects of the Chronosport that have remained the same though, and these are arguably the most important aspect of the watch. First and foremost, lovers of smaller fitting vintage styled watches will be impressed with the small retained case size of 38mm. This is indeed quite small for a chroronograph watch due to limited room on the dial with the sub-dials, as well as the bidirectional bezel that also does eat into the dial room. Not only is this watch small on paper, it fits small when on the wrist, and it retains impressive proportions due to the short lugs and overall chunkier look of the case. Some small watches can appear dainty on wrist, but the chronosport maintains a masculine presence due to its excellent and unique bevels on the case which also alternate from brushed to polished.
Overall, the chronosport is a remarkable re-edition of its vintage variant. It keeps the funky design language from the past, but implements elements of higher quality modern manufacturing.
The Dial and Front Facing Appearance
The blocky case shape is unique but the dial and front facing design of this watch is next-level. Rarely do you see jovial placement of sub-dials on chronographs, due to the propensity to absolutely ruin the look of the watch. Any creativity here needs to be balanced very carefully, and in my opinion Nivada Grenchen did a great job here with the unorthodox position of the rather large and contrasting sub-dials, which have been placed at 9 and 12’oclock. Another thing to note about the sub-dials is their color and material, I was puzzled on first glance thinking they were some type of off-yellow metallic looking color, perhaps bronze or copper. Upon closer inspection you’ll notice they’re actually painted on, and matte khaki in appearance, and are a little bit recessed into the dial.
The light brownish hue of the sub-dial’s does mesh well with the yellow highlights on the indices and hands. It’s a very peculiar combination that somehow works well together, kind of like those hideous 1970’s wood wall panels that look terrible on their own – but when paired with the right era specific surroundings can really augment the vibe and create a cozy appearance. What I really like about the overall color tone of the dial is the zero tolerance use of faux patina coloring, even some of our favorite brands like Omega and Patek do this, but its not found here on the chronosport – big brownie points. Instead what you get is a blend of real colors, that are not trying to be faux or vintage in look, but rather just give off more of an authentic aura of color tones used more frequently back then.
The sub-dial’s are also spread wide, touching the very outer edge of the dial instead of being constrained to the center of the dial which is a nice change of gears when compared to other re-issue watches. The indices are small, slender and white with yellow tips – easy to pickup on quick glance. The red water resistance rating text of 200m adds a nice pop of color. The more I look at this dial, the more I discover, and the more I begin to really like it – it’s unique without trying too hard.
The bezel looks like it could be ceramic due to its deep inky black appearance like on the Daytona 116500, but its actually aluminum with some kind of paint or coating. Since it’s a rotating bezel it’s sporting some knurling as well, which has rather round teeth instead of sharp coin-like teeth normally found on a bezel like this.
Final Thoughts
This is a fantastic offering at its price point of around $2000 USD, price will vary depending on features you choose like the metal bracelet or leather band. I’m very impressed with the authentic re-issue nature of this watch, as well as its overall build quality – it’s one of the best re-issues I’ve had the pleasure to review that comes from an independent brand.
One last thing to touch on is the movement choice of the watch, which is the very familiar Valjoux-7750-ETA automatic with date. Somewhat of an iconic movement, but it also has the benefit of being easily serviceable.
Leave a Reply