Introducing: The 38mm Nivada Grenchen Chronosport With Either Yellow Or White Lume
Since the brand’s 2018 resurrection, Nivada Grenchen has produced some interesting, tasty, vintage-inspired watches. This month, it’s time for yet another retro timepiece to make you feel warm and nostalgic. The source of inspiration for the latest release never left the prototype phase after Nivada produced an estimated 20 examples in the 1970s. But I’d bet the fact they never went into production had nothing to do with how they looked. On the contrary, the chronograph looked great back then. And, like Jane Fonda, it still does some 50 years later. The new 38mm Nivada Grenchen Chronosport is a reborn execution that comes in two variants — one with white and one with yellow lume. Whether you pick the more modern or retro version of the modestly sized Chronosport, both versions have a trusty automatic Valjoux 7750 “workhorse” inside.
Guillaume Laidet is the guy who resurrected Nivada Grenchen back in 2018, and he came across a Chronosport prototype on an auction site. He realized the watch — one of possibly just 20 prototypes ever made — had potential after posting his find on Instagram, and the rest is history. Well, not really because the pre-ordering process of the new 38mm Nivada Grenchen Chronosport only went live very recently. Anyway, several decades after the Chronosport was conceived and put to sleep, so to speak, Laidet kissed it back to life. The production version of the Chronosport comes with either retro-styled yellow or clean and crisp white lume.
The 38mm Nivada Grenchen Chronosport: a prototype no more
Measuring 38mm wide, 44.3mm long, and 15.7mm thick (including the antireflective crystal), the new Chronosport is small but not slim. The watch’s stocky proportions and sturdy shape are further magnified by the presence of a domed sapphire crystal. I don’t want to “case-shame” it because one could describe the proportions as “cute,” but it will provoke a reaction. Some will love the watch’s chunkiness in combination with its small diameter, and some will hate it with a vengeance. I will refrain from offering a verdict on the matter until after I’ve tried the watch in the metal.
Anyway, the Chronosport is no longer a prototype, and it comes into production in two versions. For those allergic to “fauxtina,” there’s a model with white lume, and for those who don’t mind spending a bit of time traveling, there’s the very retro yellow-lume variant. The rest of the watch is the same. So both variants show a distinct dial layout with sub-dials at 9 and 12 o’clock. The design of the dial is courtesy of Jean Singer, the company that also created the dials of the Omega Speedmaster Racing and Heuer Skipper.
The embossed sub-dials for the minutes and running seconds are taupe with a hint of khaki and placed against a textured matte black background. The Chronosport also shows a date window at 3 o’clock and a tachymeter scale on the perimeter of the dial. Framing all that is a knurled unidirectional aluminum bezel measuring 37mm in diameter and bearing 60-minute and 12-hour scales. To tell time, stick hands filled with either white or yellow Super-LumiNova move past white stick markers with matching lume dots.
Standard chronograph equipment
Inside the Chronosport’s 200m-water-resistant 316L stainless steel case with polished and brushed finishes beats a movement that needs no introduction. It’s the venerable, automatic Valjoux 7750 caliber, tucked away behind an all-steel screw-in case back. You get a 42-hour power reserve from this 4Hz, 25-jewel movement. Here, it offers central hours, minutes, and sub-seconds with a 30-minute chronograph and the date.
While the Valjoux 7750 might be standard equipment for a 1970s-styled chronograph, the strap options sure aren’t. The Chronosport offers eight of them, ranging from metal to leather and rubber. From the pictures, it looks like the new Chronosport is quite the strap monster. And by the way, it “eats” 20mm-wide straps. Just like the proportions of the case, it’s also something to be fully experienced once a review sample of the watch becomes available.
The new Chronosport is available for pre-order on the Nivada Grenchen website until August 25th. It costs US$2,180 with a strap or US$2,380 with the bracelet, excluding taxes and duties. The first batch of deliveries is scheduled for late October 2024. Watches ordered by August 25th will have individual numbering. After that, they will be part of the permanent collection and won’t feature an individual number.
What do you think of the Nivada Grenchen Chronosport? Did the brand do well to give the rare prototype design a chance at commercial success? Let us know in the comments below.
