Hands-On with the Nivada Grenchen Chronosport

Nivada Grenchen was originally established in Grenchen, Switzerland back in 1926. Now led by helmsmen and makeover master Guillaume Laidet, the brand, as well as everything else Laidet touches, has since turned to gold. The 38-year-old Frenchman has been responsible for successful resurrection projects such as Excelsior Park and Vulcain, as well as having the time to dream up SpaceOne, an avante-garde, futuristic watch brand inspired by his self-confessed “geeky” fascination with space exploration and space-age design.

Known for his knack of reviving vintage watch brands to their former glory and beyond, Guillaume acquired Nivada Grenchen in 2018 and, interestingly enough, this release is yet another of his infamous revivals. Having discovered a rare and unreleased 70s prototype of Nivada Grenchen’s Chronosport model at auction, Laidet took to social media (@guillaume_2406) with his newfound treasure and was responsible for a pretty viral Instagram post. Fans and collectors clamoured for a piece of the action, demanding that the revitalised Nivada Grenchen brand re-release the design which had previously never been commercialised.

And the rest, they say, is history. The Swiss brand announced the release of the refreshed Nivada Grenchen Chronosport a few weeks ago now and the hype among fans is still yet to die down. Pre-orders have been underway for collector’s keen to get their hands on individually numbered pieces, but the standard edition chronograph will join Nivada’s permanent line-up from today.

Lucky for me, the Nivada Grenchen Chronosport landed on my desk earlier this week and having wrangled it away from my equally eager colleagues, it was about time I gave it a test drive.

The dial of the Nivada Grenchen Chronosport comes in two versions, Chronosport White (77002A45) and Chronosport Yellow (77001A45), which is the version I have sitting on my desk right now. The yellow version is characterised by coloured accents on the indexes, bezel and hands and both are finished with a generous helping of white Super Luminova.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the dial of the Nivada Grenchen Chronosport is more than a little familiar. Presented with Paul Newman Art Deco typography, it’s almost impossible to ignore the similarity between the Chronosport and the Rolex Daytona Paul Newman. The rare and extremely valuable collectors’ watches go for six figures at their most affordable and up to a record $17.8 million in the case of the legendary actor’s personal Daytona watch, which was sold at auction in the same year that Laidet took over at Nivada. Put it this way, accessible isn’t a word you or I would ever use to describe many of Rolex’s models, let alone a Paul Newman Daytona.

Despite the stark difference in price, the Chronosport is similar in its design to more than a few luxury chronograph options, thanks to its renowned Swiss designer, Jean Singer. Conceived by the same mind who brought us the Omega Speedmaster Racing as well as the Heuer Skipper, it’s safe to say the Chronosport is in good company. Presented with a striking textured matte black dial and two embossed sub-dials (minutes and seconds) standing out nicely at a slightly rare 12 and 9 o’clock position, the Chronosport manages to captivate the iconic style of the timepieces that came before it, whilst maintaining its own distinct flair. 

The re-release stays true to the original vintage racing style in a 38mm 3816L stainless steel case with a thickness of 15.7mm and at the heart there beats the automatic Valjoux-7750-ETA movement which offers a 42-hour power reserve as well as some capable functionality. The Chronosport is equipped with central hours, minutes, seconds, date, as well as a tachymeter scale that allows the speed junkies amongst us to measure speed over a known distance. It’s perhaps not something I’d personally use, but either way it’s a cool function that adds a lot to not only the aesthetics of the watch but also the practicality for those who need it.

Protected by a durable domed sapphire crystal, the Chronosport boasts a stunning fluted unidirectional rotating aluminium bezel with yellow or white accents (reference dependent) as well as 200 meters of water resistance. Despite this, it’s versatile enough to suit a wide range of wrist sizes, including those with smaller wrists who might not expect to pull off a chunkier, vintage inspired model with decent water resistance.

Quite the “strap monster”, the Chronosport comes with a selection of 10 different strap options that range from dressy metal choices to more authentic racing leather and sporty nylon. We took it off its leather strap and swapped it out for a few options from the WatchGecko store and it’s safe to say it looks pretty good with whatever you throw at it. For the ultimate, wearable, day to night combination I’d be most likely to go for one of our Ridge Nylon straps or maybe even a colourful Tropical Rubber strap for warmer climates.

• Movement: Valjoux-7750-ETA automatic with date
• Functions: Central hours, central minutes, central seconds, date, tachymeter
• Case: 316L stainless steel
• 2 versions available: Indexes and Hands SLN off-white or white
• Finishes: Polished and brushed
• Diameter: 38 mm
• Thickness: 15.7 mm
• Crystal: Double-domed sapphire
• Dial: Black
• Bezel: Unidirectional rotating
• Case Back: Solid, screw-in
• Water Resistance: 20 ATM, equivalent to approximately 200 meters
• Retail Price: USD 2180.00 / EUR 2035.00 / CHF 1960.00 / GBP 1725.00
• Delivery: October 2024

Purchasing details can be found here.