Panda and Reverse Panda Chronographs Explained
A reverse panda is a chronograph with a black dial and white sub-dials, the opposite of a panda dial, which is white with black sub-dials. Both layouts use contrast so the counters read at a glance. Nivada Grenchen makes them with three types of movement: the hand-wound Valjoux 23 in The Reverse Panda, the Landeron 70 and 72 in the Chronomaster Panda, and the VK67 meca-quartz in the Autochron Panda and Reverse Panda.
In short
- Panda: white dial, black sub-dials.
- Reverse panda: black dial, white sub-dials.
- At Nivada Grenchen: a vintage Valjoux 23, hand-wound or automatic Landeron, or a VK67 meca-quartz with date.
In this guide
Panda vs reverse panda: what is the difference?
The difference is only the colour of the dial and the counters. The layout and the way you read the chronograph stay the same.
The point of both is contrast. When you time something, your eyes go straight to the counters, so the elapsed minutes read at a glance.
The Nivada Grenchen panda chronographs
The Reverse Panda
- Dial
- Black, white sub-dials
- Movement
- Valjoux 23, hand-wound
- Case
- 38 mm, 13.75 mm thick, 46.5 mm lug to lug
Chronomaster Panda 38 mm
- Dial
- White, black sub-dials
- Movement
- Landeron 70, hand-wound
- Case
- 38 mm, interchangeable bezels
Chronomaster Panda 41 mm
- Dial
- White, black sub-dials
- Movement
- Landeron 72, automatic
- Case
- 41 mm, 48.5 mm lug to lug
Autochron Panda
- Dial
- White, black sub-dials
- Movement
- VK67 meca-quartz, with date
- Case
- 38 mm, 44.3 mm lug to lug, 20 ATM
Autochron Reverse Panda
- Dial
- Black, white sub-dials
- Movement
- VK67 meca-quartz, with date
- Case
- 38 mm, 44.3 mm lug to lug, 20 ATM
The Reverse Panda: a Valjoux 23 chronograph
The Reverse Panda pairs a black dial and white sub-registers with the Valjoux 23, a hand-wound chronograph calibre. It is a re-edition of the 1960s Reverse Panda chronograph, in a 38 mm stainless steel case, 13.75 mm thick and 46.5 mm lug to lug, on a black leather strap.
Being hand-wound, it needs a few turns of the crown each day. More Valjoux editions are in the Valjoux 23 collection.
Chronomaster Panda: 38 or 41 mm
The Chronomaster Panda 38 mm uses the hand-wound Landeron 70 chronograph and the Nivada Grenchen interchangeable bezel system: the bezels snap on and off with your fingers, without tools. The White Panda INTER.BEZEL follows the same idea, with a matt white dial and a black aluminium bezel inlay.
For a larger case and automatic winding, the Chronomaster Panda 41 mm uses the Landeron 72 automatic chronograph, in a 41 mm case, 15.85 mm thick, with a bi-directional bezel. All Chronomaster Panda models are water resistant to 10 ATM.
Autochron Panda and Reverse Panda: no winding
The Autochron Mecaquartz exists in both versions. Its VK67 movement keeps time with quartz and runs the chronograph through a mechanical module, so the hand sweeps and resets instantly, and the battery lasts about three years. The three counters (small seconds, 30 minutes, 12 hours) and the date sit in a 38 mm steel case, 12.65 mm thick and water resistant to 20 ATM. The design traces back to a 1970s Autochron prototype from the Nivada Grenchen archives. Learn more in What Is a Meca-Quartz Chronograph?
Which one should you choose?
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