When it comes to accurately re-created vintage-style watches at a circa-$1,000 price point, Nivada Grenchen may well be in a league of its own, these days. Over the past few years, the brand has built up an impressive catalog of affordable, faithfully recreated pieces from its own vintage archives, but perhaps none of these models attract more hype (or controversy) than the Nivada Grenchen F77. As the brand’s contender in the white-hot integrated bracelet sports watch segment, it’s naturally one of its most talked-about offerings, and Nivada Grenchen is eager to expand this trendy collection in the wake of Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024. Rather than a simple new set of colorways, however, the newest batch of F77s takes things further with a two-pronged strategy — some new models are fitted with semi-precious stone dials, while others fully reimagine the F77 in titanium as well. More than just a line extension, the new Nivada Grenchen F77 stone dial models (including the Nivada Grenchen F77 Aventurine, Nivada Grenchen F77 Lapis Lazuli, Nivada Grenchen F77 Titanium Anthracite, and the limited edition Nivada Grenchen F77 Titanium Meteorite) bring an evolutionary update to the series that makes it a genuine leader in the entry-level integrated sports watch segment.
At 37mm wide and a balanced 12.6mm thick, the cases of these new Nivada Grenchen F77 models largely follow the template of previous releases. Our aventurine-dialed review sample features a case in stainless steel, while both the anthracite and meteorite dial options offer the line’s first-ever Grade 5 titanium case option. With that said, the titanium Nivada Grenchen uses here is on the paler side, so the difference in wearing experience largely comes down to weight on the wrist rather than a massively different color palette. The F77 case has been chided by some members of the enthusiast community for seemingly whole-cloth copying certain elements (namely the octagonal bezel) from more famous integrated designs, but taken as a whole this design exudes its own unique angular charm. Yes, the polished chamfers, hexagonal screws, and strong vertically brushed upper surfaces of the octagonal bezel should be familiar to most enthusiasts, but this bezel has history with Nivada Grenchen dating back to 1977 with the original F77 and the main case body is wholly original. Elements like the slim, triangular case side chamfers and uniquely squared-off integrated lugs give the F77 its own sharp, charmingly late-‘70s character on the wrist, while the tall domed sapphire crystal gives the design a bit of much-needed warmth. A rather simply engraved solid caseback completes the F77’s case design, and Nivada Grenchen rates the watch for a respectable 100 meters of water resistance.
Naturally, the major draw for these new Nivada Grenchen F77 models are their stone dials, and the brand does not disappoint on this front. Our review sample arrived with the deep, sparkling aventurine dial option, adding a more space-age edge to the design’s retrofuturistic ethos. As the process of creating aventurine is delicate and finicky, requiring the addition of powdered copper and other minerals to a batch of midnight blue glass at precise intervals in the glass-making process, not all aventurine is created equal. Nivada Grenchen’s aventurine is excellent, particularly at this price point, with glittering galaxies of royal blue, coppery orange, gold, and white flecks appearing and disappearing at various viewing angles against a base of near-black glossy midnight blue. The overall effect captures the feeling of the night sky in the wilderness, and thanks to its small dial size this dial is far from overwhelming or histrionic on the wrist. Each of the other dial options (which we were able to briefly handle in Geneva prior to the official launch) carry their own unique charm as well. The anthracite dial variant is by far the simplest and most restrained, with a matte medium gray execution of the base F77’s distinctive “woven carbon” dial texture. The top-of-the-line meteorite version offers its own uniquely textured visual drama, displaying deep striation and surface variation in a darker, moodier colorway than many competitors’ brighter meteorite dials. Lastly, the deep, richly hued royal blue of the lapis lazuli dial option features soft, dreamy color variations and an array of bright golden inclusions that fade into shadow when not exposed to direct light. Each of these dial options brings its own distinct character to the F77 formula, and given the depth and complexity of the stone materials, the brand wisely opts to keep the actual no-date dial layouts quite simple here. Striped baton hands and broadly chamfered rectangular applied indices make legibility easy here, while a relatively restrained set of printed dial text and a simple white outer minutes scale keeps visual focus squarely on the dial surfaces themselves.
Like previous iterations, Nivada Grenchen powers the stone dial F77 models with the Soprod P024 automatic movement. Over the past few years, the P024 has emerged as a dark horse challenger to the plethora of Sellita movements across the industry, and it offers broadly similar performance including a 28,800 bph beat rate and an underwhelming 38-hour power reserve. One of the F77’s most distinctive features is its unorthodox integrated bracelet, and the new stone dial iterations continue this signature element in case-matching stainless steel or Grade 5 titanium. In most integrated bracelet watch designs, a unique bracelet pattern is an intrinsic cornerstone of the design, but since its ‘70s inception, the F77 has instead paired its avant-garde angular case with a more familiar, tapering three-link oyster-style brushed bracelet design. This leads to quirky, potentially inelegant segments like the undersized, squarish integrated end links, but this blending of two very different schools of familiar watch design gives the F77 much of its unique personality.
It’s no secret that Nivada Grenchen is on something of a hot streak at the moment. The past several years since the brand’s revival have seen it grow into a variety of vintage-inspired categories and establish itself firmly as one of the most interesting, dynamic makers of vintage-styled timepieces at its price point. This winning streak shows no signs of slowing with the Nivada Grenchen F77 stone dial models, which combine the brand’s funky, idiosyncratic take on the popular integrated sports watch formula with an array of energetic, detailed dial options that lend the series a far more upscale feel. Although the F77 Titanium Meteorite is labeled as a limited-edition offering, Nivada Grenchen does not specify how many units will be produced. MSRP for the Nivada Grenchen F77 stone dial models ranges from $1,390 USD for stainless steel-cased models up to $1,690 USD for the F77 Titanium Meteorite, as of press time. This series is available for purchase now through the brand’s e-commerce platform. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
