AUTOCHRON
Collection
AUTOCHRON
Collection
Collection
8 products
Autochron: From Forgotten Prototype to Modern Swiss Collection
The Nivada Grenchen Autochron is one of the most intriguing chronographs in the brand’s history. Developed in the late 1970s, the original Autochron never entered full-scale production and remained a limited prototype, with fewer than 20 known examples identified by collectors today.
Conceived as a versatile multi-sport chronograph, the Autochron was designed to bridge the worlds of motorsport and diving. Its unconventional dial layout, rotating bezel, and integrated date function reflected a bold experimental approach uncommon among Swiss sports watches of the era.
Decades later, Nivada Grenchen reintroduced the Autochron as a modern chronograph collection, preserving the distinctive design language of the original while incorporating contemporary Swiss movements. Today’s Autochron models are powered by the Valjoux-7750-ETA automatic and VK67 meca-quartz movement, offering reliability, precision, and versatility for modern use.
Jean Singer Dial Design and Its Influence on the Autochron
A defining element of the Autochron lies in its dial design, created by Jean Singer, one of the most influential dial manufacturers in Switzerland during the mid-20th century. Singer’s work is widely recognized among collectors, with iconic designs produced for legendary chronographs such as the Rolex Daytona and the Heuer Skipper.
The Autochron draws from this heritage, integrating key design principles associated with Singer’s dials while maintaining a distinctive identity of its own. This combination of historical craftsmanship and unique execution contributes to the Autochron’s appeal among knowledgeable collectors and enthusiasts of vintage-inspired Swiss chronographs.
The art of the Autochron Dial
Singer, one of the most respected Swiss dial manufacturers of the 20th century, played a key role in shaping the visual identity of the Autochron. Known for producing some of the most iconic chronograph dials in watchmaking, Singer was recognized for its precision printing, balanced layouts, and highly legible designs used by major Swiss brands.
The Autochron dial reflects many of these signature elements, including distinctive subdial typography, clear markers, and a carefully proportioned layout designed for immediate readability. High-contrast printing and finely executed details contribute to both functional clarity and visual depth.
Original vintage Autochron models featured flat dials with tachymeter scales, precise text execution, and subtle surface textures. These elements, combined with bold hour markers and characteristic fonts, made the Autochron instantly recognizable and positioned it as one of the more distinctive Swiss chronographs of the 1970s.
This attention to dial design remains central to the Autochron’s identity today, reinforcing its connection to Swiss watchmaking heritage and its appeal among collectors who value clarity, function, and historical authenticity.
Vintage Autochron models
The Autochron original dial had a flat layout with precise, fine printing, a tachymeter scale, and subtle texture variations, making it both functional and aesthetically refined. The bold markers and distinctive fonts made it instantly recognizable, further cementing its reputation as one of the more unique Autochron of the 1970s.
While most Autochron of the 1970s were primarily designed for motorsports, the Autochron was envisioned as a hybrid sports watch, capable of both land and sea applications.
Key features of vintage Autochron models:
- High-Precision Autochron: Ideal for timing races, aviation use, and endurance sports.
- Bi-Directional Rotating Bezel: A critical tool for both navigation and diving.
- Red Depth Rating on the Dial: Reinforcing its water-resistant capabilities.
- Date Function: Offering everyday practicality.
- Durable Stainless Steel Case & Bracelet: Built to endure extreme conditions.
This combination of timing functions and dive-ready features made the Autochron a rare fusion of racing chronograph and professional diving instrument, an approach that was highly unusual at the time.
How the Tachymeter
Scale Works?
Start: When the object or vehicle starts moving, start the Autochron.
Stop: Stop the Autochron after the object or vehicle has traveled a known distance (1 km or 1 mile).
Reading the Speed: Read the average speed directly on the tachymeter scale where the Autochron second hand has stopped.
For example, if a car travels one kilometer in 30 seconds, the second hand will stop at the 120 mark on the tachymeter scale, indicating an average speed of 120 km/h.
Valjoux-7750-ETA:
A Beautiful Swiss Chronograph Movement
At the heart of this watch beats the Valjoux-7750-ETA automatic movement, It offers a power reserve of approximately 42 hours and provides complete chronograph functionality, including central hours, minutes, seconds, and a date display.
The 38 mm stainless steel case is crafted from 316L steel and measures 12.7 mm in thickness (excluding the crystal). It is protected by a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, ensuring durability, legibility, and long-term resistance to wear.
The Chronosport features a bidirectional fluted rotating bezel, designed without clicks in keeping with the original vintage model. Made of aluminum and marked with a yellow dot at 12 o’clock, the bezel adds both functional clarity and a distinctive visual signature.
Equipped with a tachymeter scale, the Autochron allows the measurement of speed over a known distance. This practical feature, widely used in motorsport and aviation, remains a defining element appreciated by racing drivers and chronograph enthusiasts alike.
The Autochron Revival: A Faithful Reissue with Modern Enhancements
In 2024, Nivada Grenchen revived the Autochron, staying as true as possible to the original prototype while incorporating modern upgrades for improved wearability and durability. While the original Autochron remained a prototype, the new Autochron brings this historic design to life as a full-production model.
The revival preserves the core aesthetics of the 1970s version while enhancing materials, movement efficiency, and water resistance to meet modern standards.
Reviews & Press
"Instead of just picking a vintage model, we launched a new watch. It comes in a case with a dial that has not been made before. The inspiration came from a couple of models that the brand introduced in the 1970s. We used the case of the Nivada Autochron for our new watch. The dial, however, is inspired by another Nivada model from a bygone era.”
— Balazs Ferenczi, Fratello
FAQs
The Autochron is a Swiss chronograph originally developed in the late 1970s as a prototype that never entered full production, with fewer than 20 known original examples. It was designed as a versatile multi-sport chronograph bridging motorsport and diving, and has since been reintroduced as a modern collection that preserves the original's design language with contemporary Swiss movements.
The Autochron's dial design draws on the work of Jean Singer, one of the most influential Swiss dial manufacturers of the mid-20th century, known for creating iconic dials for chronographs such as the Rolex Daytona and Heuer Skipper. The Autochron integrates key principles from Singer's design language while keeping its own distinctive identity.
Today's Autochron models are powered by either the Valjoux 7750-ETA automatic movement or the VK67 meca-quartz movement, offering reliability, precision, and versatility depending on the model.
The Valjoux 7750-ETA automatic movement offers a power reserve of approximately 42 hours, along with complete chronograph functionality including central hours, minutes, seconds, and a date display.
The Autochron features a 38mm stainless steel case crafted from 316L steel, measuring 12.7mm in thickness (excluding the crystal).
It's fitted with a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, ensuring durability, legibility, and long-term resistance to wear.
The Autochron features a bidirectional fluted rotating bezel, designed without clicks to stay faithful to the original vintage model. It's made of aluminum and marked with a yellow dot at 12 o'clock.
The tachymeter scale lets you measure average speed over a known distance: start the chronograph as an object begins moving, stop it once the object has traveled a known distance (1 km or 1 mile), and read the average speed where the second hand stops. For example, covering 1 km in 30 seconds corresponds to 120 km/h on the scale.
Yes, the date function is a feature of both the original vintage design and today's Autochron models, adding everyday practicality alongside its chronograph and dive-oriented functions.
The modern Autochron, revived in 2024, stays as faithful as possible to the original 1970s prototype's design while incorporating modern upgrades for wearability, materials, movement efficiency, and water resistance. Unlike the original, which never left the prototype stage, today's Autochron is a full-production model.
The Nivada Grenchen Autochron is a 38 mm racing chronograph whose design comes from a 1970s Autochron prototype found in the brand's archives. Nivada Grenchen believes about 20 test pieces were made, and none was ever sold. Today's Autochron keeps the racing proportions of that prototype, with a meca-quartz or an automatic movement.
See all our chronograph watches: automatic, hand-wound and meca-quartz.
Autochron Mecaquartz and Automatic
- Meca-quartz: the Autochron Mecaquartz, Panda, Reverse Panda and Orange, on the VK67 meca-quartz chronograph with date. Quartz keeps the time, a mechanical module runs the chronograph, so the hand sweeps and resets instantly.
- Automatic: the Yellow, White and Orange Automatic, on the Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph with date. The Yellow and White quote a 42-hour power reserve.
The Panda, Reverse Panda and Orange have a vertically brushed 316L steel case, 12.65 mm thick and 44.3 mm lug to lug, and a 120-click aluminium bezel. They are water resistant to 20 ATM / 200 m, like the Yellow and White.
Autochron FAQ
What is the difference between the Autochron Mecaquartz and the Automatic?
The Mecaquartz runs on the VK67, a hybrid of quartz timekeeping and a mechanical chronograph module. The Automatic runs on the Valjoux 7750, a self-winding mechanical chronograph. Both show the date. More on meca-quartz chronographs.
Is the Autochron a vintage design?
Its design is. It comes from a late-1970s prototype that combined motorsport timing with a sturdy sports-watch build. The watches themselves are new, with a sapphire crystal over the dial.
What do Panda and Reverse Panda mean?
Panda is a white dial with black counters. Reverse Panda is a black dial with white counters. On the Autochron, both use CD-track counters, luminous indexes and red chronograph accents so every timing reads at a glance.
