Nivada Grenchen Aquamar Diver

Among the vast world of vintage timepieces, there is no doubt that vintage dive watches hold a special place in the hearts of many collectors, ourselves included. With their simple, clean designs and reliable, robust movements, the tool watches of the 1960s and 1970s were built to accompany the adventurer across the globe and to keep time at its great heights as well as its dark depths. Nivada (or Nivada Grenchen) should be a familiar name to vintage watch collectors. Their sporty diver's chronograph, the Chronomaster (or sometimes the Chronoking) Aviator Sea Diver, has been gaining well-deserved traction on the vintage chronograph circuit. But in the 1960s the brand was also a trailblazer in the realm of dive watches, producing handsome examples such as this handsome and simple skin diver, the Aquamar. While there are myriad executions of this simple diver, this particular example is a late '60s or 1970s cushion-cased variant. Measuring 35mm and with an outer plating, it features short, integrated lugs; an unsigned crown; a cool bi-color bezel insert with an elapsed time scale in silver and blue; and an acrylic crystal. Its grey sector dial is pure midcentury fun: With an outer minute track in white; prominent orange indices; a luminous white 'baton' handset with an orange sweep seconds hand; and a 3 o'clock date window, this highly legible diver is ready for everyday wear. Powered by a Swiss-made, hand-wound movement and paired to one of our Analog:Shift straps, this Aquamar is more than just a vintage watch — rather, it's a conversation piece and a historical artifact from a wonderful era in industrial design. And while Nivada-Grenchen makes a reissued Aquamar, why not spring for the real McCoy?