That’s exactly what makes it so charming. The Chronomaster is nothing if not true to its origins, almost to a fault. And in day to day use, the new Nivada just does fine, and looks pretty damn cool in the process. But, when it comes to jack-of-all-trades type tools, rarely do they excel at any one of them, and while that is certainly the case here, I can’t think of a situation that today’s user would put it to use for any of the aforementioned activities. Having an impromptu yacht race with your mates? There’s a yachting scale in the minute totalizer. Piloting a single prop for the afternoon? Again with the tachymeter. Heading out for a dive? The rotating bezel has you covered. Timing a race? Check out that chronograph and tachymeter. That’s the point of the watch however, to provide you with the right tools regardless of what you happen to be doing. The name is a mouthful, and sounds a bit like 3 different watches jammed into one. The unique designs and functionality of these watches struck a high note with consumers, and Nivada saw their exports go from 52,000 in 1964 to 173,000 in 1969 as a result. By the ‘60s, Nivada had hit their stride with watches like the Chronomaster, Aviator, Sea Diver, and Depthomatic – which housed a depth gauge on the dial. In 1940 Croton was formed to distribute Nivada watches to US retailers, and subsequent watches could be found bearing the name ‘Croton’, or ‘Croton Nivada’ or even ‘Croton Nivada Grenchen’. A judge ruled that adding ‘Grenchen’ to the title would suffice, and so watches sold thereafter are labeled as such, but it’s not that clear cut. Upon their attempt to enter the US market, Nivada was presented with a legal hurdle to overcome thanks to Movado, who felt that their names were too similar and would confuse consumers. Side note, the expedition was filmed by the US Navy and Disney Studios, and as a result Walt Disney was named an honorary member of the expedition. By the ‘50s, Nivada watches were being worn by the members of the American Navy’s Deep Freeze 1, dubbed Task Force 43, during their expedition to the South Pole in 1955. Their watches were early to adopt automatic movements from the likes of ETA and Phénix S.A in the ‘30s. Their aim was to create professional instruments that were practical, usable, and tough. The brand operated under the name Wüllimann Schneider Nivada S.A for its founders Otto Wüllimann, Hermand Schlindler, and Jacob Schneider. The Nivada Grenchen brand dates to 1926, and is named for the town in Switzerland that sits east of Lausanne.
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