The luxury Swiss watch manufacturer Nivada has been delivering masterful timepieces for nearly 150 years. Every release is a new take on an old art, steadily improving as they go. This time around, Nivada Grenchen delivers the culmination of centuries of experience with the rerelease of the Chronoking Mecaquartz timepiece in an all-new look.
Falling back on the robust design that was widely popular back in the 70s, the Chronoking Mecaquartz wears its vintage appeal on its sleeve by showcasing all the same parts that made it popular in the first place, this time in an all-new salmon dial. It originally had subdials in the Paul Newman style on a tonneau case with a Valjoux 72 movement.
Behind this extremely unique dial was the name of Jean Singer, a renowned Swiss dial maker with headquarters in La Chaux-de-Fonds who is highly regarded for creating some of the most iconic and valuable exotic dials the watchmaking industry has ever seen. The one and only Jean Singer was responsible for creating dials like the eye-catching Speedmaster Racing, the robust Heuer Skipper, and the vividly blue Nina from Universal.
Delving deeper into the design philosophy of the dial: The tan sub-dials, which feature “Newman” typography, light up the salmon dial. Combining this with the minute track’s white gradient creates an unusual sense of depth. Underneath that is the TMI VK63A mecaquartz movement, a tried-and-tested creation from Nivada Grenchen that will always deliver precision timekeeping.
Housing all of this is a 38mm case that has been carefully crafted from stainless steel and is available in satin or polished variants. It’s fitted with a unidirectional rotating aluminium bezel as well as a screw-in caseback. On one side of the case are several crowns to help you adjust the time. Pressing the stopwatch pusher causes the chronograph hand to sweep across the dial with a smoothness unique to mechanical watches.
The watch is primarily supplied with a matching stainless steel bracelet, but there are up to thirteen different strap options available, including leather and rubber, in a variety of styles.
Chronoking Mecaquartz Salmon is open for preorder now via Nivada Grechen’s official website for US$479 (~RM2,256). The ordering window is open until 4th July, 2024.
