Geneva, Switzerland — In our ongoing coverage of the Watches and Wonders watch fair and its surrounding events we bring you Nivada Grenchen’s latest versions of its iconic best selling stainless steel icon, the F77, and a surprise is in store: the stainless steel on two of the new versions has been traded in for lightweight titanium while the watch has been brought out with 37 mm eye-catching dials in stars of the mineral world. There is the Titanium grade 5 in Anthracite beautifully basket weaved, the stainless steel Aventurine in a beautiful, glittering hue, the stainless steel Lapis Lazuli, superbly stunning with an additional limited edition available only during the pre-order period and last but not at all least, the Titanium grade 5 Meteorite, with its sprawling face from outer space. 

These are exotic hard stones, not easy to work with and yet the watch remains one of the best value timepieces on the market. This new series of four watches, like last year’s reissue, has a case diameter of 37 mm. It, too, features extra-thick baton-shaped and faceted hour markers. Also silvered, the baton-shaped hour and minute hands echo the vibe of the titanium case. When the F77 was first introduced in 1977, its full stainless steel design with an integrated bracelet proved to be a head turner.  CEO Guillaume Laidet actively uses the products he has a hand in bringing to market and when wearing his F77 found it to be a little on the heavy side. That’s when he started to reflect on the use of light yet sturdy titanium, according to the company.

Left: The F77 from Nivada Grenchen in anthracite. Anthracite, often called dark coal, is the highest rank of coal. It is hard, brittle and lustrous and contains a high percentage of fixed carbon. Photo courtesy Nivada Grenchen. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette. Right: The F77 from Nivada Grenchen in aventurine. Aventurine is also called sparkling quartz and it contains plate-like inclusions which give it it’s glittery appearance. Photo courtesy Nivada Grenchen. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette

Nivada Grenchen timepieces have been an integral part of the Swiss watchmaking landscape since 1926, when Jacob Schneider founded the brand in Grenchen. In 1976, his son Max took over the company. In the USA, the Croton Company was the official distributor of all Nivada Grenchen watches, which explains why some timepieces bear the Croton signature or both the Croton and Nivada Grenchen logos. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. Pre-orders for the new four versions of the F77 opened on April 7th and the watches will be launched on April 25th. The F77 Titanium with the limited edition meteorite dial and a special edition of the F77 lapis lazuli dial are available by pre-order only at https://nivadagrenchenofficial.com/