Since its relaunch in 2018, Nivada Grenchen has been excellent at interpreting the trend of modern watches inspired by the past, revisiting the vintage models so beloved by enthusiasts. This is reflected both in small color references and technical details and, more often, in the overall design of the watches.
The most successful line related to this concept is undoubtedly the Chronomaster collection, which, however, due to its complex mechanical movements, is less accessible to all pockets of enthusiasts.
With the Chronoking “Paul Newman” Orange, the brand has been able to respond to this problem, managing to offer a watch with a distinctive design, inspired by the historic Rolex Paul Newman, but at an affordable price, thanks to the adoption of a meca-quartz movement.
Technical characteristics
The Nivada Grenchen Chronoking “Paul Newman” Orange features a new dial variation from the original Chronoking Mecha-Quartz. Only 100 pieces of this first Nivada interpretation were produced and released earlier this year.
It maintains a stainless steel case with polished and brushed surfaces, a diameter of 38 mm and a thickness of 13.75 mm. The crystal is sapphire, slightly domed to also recall vintage models, as is the bidirectional rotating bezel, fitted with a black aluminum insert with a tachymeter scale.
Animating this brand new “Paul Newman” is the Seiko VK64 meca-quartz chronograph movement, which combines quartz technology for the timekeeping function, with a mechanical module dedicated to the chronograph. This type of caliber, invented by Seiko in the 1980s, has been gaining increasing popularity in recent years in the segment of “more affordable” watches for enthusiasts.
An example of such success is the Furlan Marri chronographs, which are gaining considerable traction.
What makes these movements an excellent alternative to fully quartz or low-end mechanical calibres is their high precision and low maintenance costs.
The screw-down steel case back is engraved with the Nivada Grenchen logo, giving the watch a water resistance rating of 100 meters, an uncommon feature in a chronograph in this price range.
The Paul Newman-inspired dial
The real eye-catcher is the dial, inspired by a specific style adopted by Nivada on some vintage chronographs from the 1970s. The look of the watch obviously recalls the more iconic and well-known Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman.”
Most enthusiasts will actually know the reason behind these similarities, in fact in those years both Rolex and other brands, including Nivada, had as a specific supplier for dials the company Singer, which adopted a very distinctive style, which is why nowadays graphics of this kind are named after the iconic actor. Similar designs also appeared on watches of equally important brands such as the Omega Speedmaster Racing, the Heuer Skipper, and the Universal Genève “Blue Nina.”
While strongly inspired by the past, this interpretation is decidedly modern, thanks to the mix of bright yellow and orange colors that create a nice contrast with the black dial and bezel.
To further evoke the vintage style, the luminous indexes feature a slightly darker hue, a detail already seen in other models from the brand.
Availability and price
The new Nivada Grenchen Chronoking “Paul Newman” Orange was offered for a five-week period, during which interested parties could place their orders. The first models will be delivered in these very weeks, and given the huge success in the media, some examples have already appeared on the secondary market at prices several hundred euros above list value.
As it is available in different strap and bracelet configurations, the price ranges from about EUR 450 for the strap version, up to EUR 600 for the bracelet models, with both prices excluding VAT.
Our thought
Taking inspiration from the past is an increasingly popular trend among brands these days. Sometimes, however, there is a risk of going too far and ending up simply copying a successful model from the past. Nivada, however, has succeeded in this task in an exemplary manner. The bright colors, combined with the features of the 1970s dial, harmonize perfectly, resulting in a watch that is modern but with a strong character. We are confident that, given the success of this edition, Nivada will continue to be inspired by these styles in the future.
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