Is Nivada Grenchen Swiss made?

Nivada Grenchen is a Swiss brand, founded in 1926 in Grenchen, Switzerland. Most of its automatic and hand-wound models use Swiss movements from Soprod, La Joux-Perret or Landeron and are labelled Swiss Made on their product pages.

Is Nivada Grenchen a microbrand?

No. Microbrands are usually young, independent labels. Nivada Grenchen dates back to 1926, and its current Antarctic, Chronomaster and Depthmaster watches continue models from its own archive, from the 1950s and 1960s.

Is Nivada Grenchen a luxury watch?

Nivada Grenchen makes Swiss watches with Swiss automatic, hand-wound or restored vintage Valjoux movements, sapphire crystals and cases in 316L steel, Grade 5 titanium, ceramic or bronze. Every watch bought on the official website comes with a two-year warranty on the movement, hands and dial.

Nov 01, 2026

Are Nivada Grenchen Watches Good? What to Know Before Buying

Buying guide · 5 min read

Nivada Grenchen is a Swiss watch brand founded in 1926 in Grenchen, known for the Antarctic, the Chronomaster and the Depthmaster. Its current watches use Swiss movements from Soprod, La Joux-Perret and Landeron, restored vintage Valjoux calibres, or VK meca-quartz chronograph movements, under sapphire crystals. Whether one is right for you depends on what you expect from a watch. This guide goes through the points that matter.

In short

History: founded in 1926 in Grenchen, Switzerland, by Jacob Schneider.
Movements: Swiss automatics, hand-wound and chronograph calibres, restored vintage Valjoux, or meca-quartz.
Warranty: two years on the movement, hands and dial for watches bought on the official website.

In this guide

Where Nivada Grenchen comes from
The three historic lines
What is inside: the movements
How the watches are built
Warranty and service
Is a Nivada Grenchen watch right for you?

Where Nivada Grenchen comes from

Jacob Schneider founded Nivada Grenchen in 1926 in Grenchen (Granges in French), a Swiss watchmaking town. The brand built its name on watches made to be used: water resistant automatics, chronographs and dive watches.

Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 38 mm with eggshell beige dial, worn on the wrist with a leather jacket — The Antarctic 38 mm, a continuation of the 1950s Antarctic.

The best-known chapter is polar. In 1955 and 1956, members of the United States Navy's Operation Deep Freeze I expedition, which set out to build the first permanent base in Antarctica, wore the Antarctic. Today's collections continue watches from the brand's archive, rebuilt with modern movements and materials. More in our history.

The three historic lines

Antarctic

Origin: 1950s
Today: 35 and 38 mm, Antarctic Diver
Known for: Operation Deep Freeze I, 1955 to 1956

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Chronomaster

Origin: 1960s
Today: Landeron and Valjoux chronographs
Known for: Chronomaster, Aviator and Sea Diver versions

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Depthmaster

Origin: 1965
Today: 39 and 42 mm, steel and bronze
Known for: 1,000 m water resistance

Discover

What is inside: the movements

The movement is the first thing to check on any watch. Nivada Grenchen uses several families, each with a clear purpose.

Caseback of a Nivada Grenchen F77 38 mm showing the Swiss Soprod P024 automatic movement and its rotor — The Swiss Soprod P024 automatic, seen through an F77 caseback.

Soprod P024Swiss automatic, 38-hour power reserve. In the Antarctic 38 mm, F77, Antarctic Diver, Aquamar and Depthmaster.

Soprod M100BVSwiss automatic, 42-hour power reserve, with the balance wheel on show. In the F77 Titanium Meteorite Open Heart.

La Joux-Perret G101Swiss automatic, 68-hour power reserve. In the F77 100 Years editions.

Landeron 21, 70 and 72Hand-wound (21 and 70) and automatic chronograph (72). In the Antarctic 35 mm, Chronoking and Chronomaster Panda.

Valjoux 23 and 236Restored vintage hand-wound chronographs. In The Reverse Panda and the Valjoux 23 and 236 editions.

Valjoux 7750Automatic chronograph with date. In the Autochron Automatic.

VK63, VK64, VK67Meca-quartz chronographs: quartz timekeeping, mechanical chronograph module. In the Chronoking, F77 Chrono and Autochron Mecaquartz.

Most automatic and hand-wound models are labelled Swiss Made on their product pages. To learn more about the hybrid movements, read What Is a Meca-Quartz Chronograph?

How the watches are built

Cases316L stainless steel on most models, with Grade 5 titanium, black ceramic and CuAl8 bronze on some editions.

CrystalsSapphire, double-domed on many models such as the Antarctic, the F77 and the Autochron.

Water resistanceFrom 5 ATM on the Antarctic 35 mm and 10 ATM on the Antarctic 38 mm, to 20 ATM on the Antarctic Diver and Aquamar, and 100 ATM on the Depthmaster.

SizesMostly 35 to 42 mm, close to the proportions of the original watches.

Nivada Grenchen Art Deco Depthmaster with Art Deco numerals, among bubbles under water — The Art Deco Depthmaster, water resistant to 1,000 m.

Warranty and service

The two-year warranty

Who: watches bought on the Nivada Grenchen website.
What is covered: the movement, hands and dial, against defects in material or craftsmanship under normal use.
What is not covered: the battery, case, crystal, strap, buckle or bracelet, stem and crown.
How: the warranty certificate must be dated and completed. Contact Customer Service first to get a repair ticket number before sending the watch. A USD 10 fee applies for return shipping.

Full terms are on the warranty page.

Is a Nivada Grenchen watch right for you?

You want a mechanical watch with a real historyThe Antarctic or the Depthmaster, continuations of 1950s and 1960s models.

You want a vintage chronograph movementThe Valjoux 23 and 236 editions, with restored vintage calibres.

You want a chronograph with no windingThe meca-quartz models, with a battery that lasts about three years.

You want something unusual on the dialThe F77 stone and meteorite dials, where every dial is unique. See our meteorite guide.

Browse the collections:

All watches Antarctic Chronomaster Depthmaster F77