Nivada Grenchen F77 Blue Woven Dial Date - My initial impressions

So, I finally received my Nivada Grenchen F77 Blue Date yesterday. Pretty stoked about it and have been wearing it since. There are no shortage of mods and microbrands that are adding their share to the integrated bracelet sport watch trend that's been going on for the last 2 years at least. They are all pretty great value on the surface level. But, I really like when a revived brand like Nivada Grenchen can reissue a AP RO styled watch from it's back catalog, apparently a rather rare model as I understand it, and it feels just more genuine yet it has a lot of details that make it not a 1:1 of the AP RO. This fits very well with what I've been looking for for quite some time.

Here are some initial thoughts after getting the F77 sized to my 6.9" wrist.

1) Admittedly, the preproduction samples that were out and about of this weren't the best.. they seemed pretty beat up and hard to gauge what the final production units' finishing would actually be like. I am happy to say the finishing is quite nice. Fine brushing across the case, bezel and bracelet are well done. I see crisp edges where the surfaces are faceted and finishings are divided.

2) The overall bukd quality feels solid with just enough weight without feeling heavy. It's not super light, but feels right for the scale and proportions of the overall watch and bracelet.

3) The blue woven textured dial is a nice medium-dark blue tone. I was worried maybit might be a bit brighter in person that I'd wanted. And, the textures can get highlighted and pop at certain lighting angles. But, overall it maintains a solid textured blue look that keeps it interesting to look at versus a plain flat/smooth dial.

4) Lots of details to the applied indices and handset which create good depth and details as to not look plain and generic.

5) I like the clasp. It's not the usual Fold-Over snap lock that the other NG watches with the beads of rice bracelet have. This one has a nice dual button deployant fold-over clasp with plenty of microadjustment holes to get a good fit once you've sized down the bracelet using the screw pins to remove any extra solid links.

6) Because of the dimensional nature of most integrated bracelet sports watches, they tend to wear a bit larger than stated dimensions. So, if you're looking for something smaller to compensate for the visual up-sizing these types of watches can wear, this being 37mm might be a perfect size for such a fitment on wrist. Note, this is actually 1mm smaller than it's vintage counterpart which was 38mm.

7) The octagonal bezel is ever so slightly softened and the edges subtly curved over the vintage model which were a bit straighter. Compare images of them side by side and you might notice the difference in this area. Speaking about the bezel, the hex screws are all perfectly aligned and orientated around the center properly, just like an AP RO.

8) The boxed domed sapphire crystal is a welcomed upgrade over the vintage's acrylic.

My only negative gripe might be the female center links. They do not articulate as much as most would probably have liked. In fact, they barely articulate at all. As such, I have yet to do a 100% accurate measurement, but from a quick check with a ruler, it appears to extend the effective lug to lug to approximately 50mm. I think with my 6.9" wrist the flow of the bracelet from case around my wrist works fine. But, I think perhaps anyone with a 6.75" to 6.5" and smaller may unfortunately find the lug to lug a bit too wide to look good on wrist. The midcase is pretty slim, but, sits flat to wrist and doesn't curve a lot towards the lug ends. The bracelet can drop straight down off of that mid/center link. But, if you're wrist size is too small and/or rounded, you might find the lug ends plateau or plank off the wrist sides oddly and then the bracelet makes a sudden downturn to go around wrist. A bit hard to explain, but maybe you get my meaning. Basically, imagine there could be potential for a bit of unsightly gap between case/bracelet and wrist.