Nivada Grenchen F77 - an in-depth review

Overview

As many of you gaze at the images in this review, you would be right to think to yourself - gee whiz, that looks rather Royal Oak-ey. To address the elephant in the room, and to a significant extent, the Genta-esque touches are undeniable: octagonal “porthole-style” bezel replete with hexagonal bolt details, textured dial, integrated bracelet (aren’t we all tired of this already?), and of course, the 37mm case diameter.

The aesthetics of the Nevada Grenchen F77, however, go beyond the AP homage category that we would too easily be tempted to pigeonhole the watch within. The F77 we see here today was released back in April 2023, and is a reissue of a piece from 1977 that has its roots in taking inspiration from sporty automotive styling, while of course being a by-product of its mid-70s era and contemporaries.

History aside, we must address the topic of the integrated bracelet trend that has overtaken the watch industry zeitgeist ever since Tissot released its PRX, which let us not forget, is also a reissue of sorts.

We can bemoan seemingly-invasive trends that can turn what was initially a curious phenomenon into a yawn-fest (bronze cases, light blue dials, anyone?). I assume many who dismiss the F77 see it either as part of a broader “cash grab” by watch companies, or a lack of imagination on the part of the designers.

I will point out that the wider approach by Nivada Grenchen, since its recent revival, has broadly been to capitalise on its cache of historically unique pieces - for better or worse.

Visiting the Nevada Grenchen website, you will be regaled with a slew of vintage-inspired pieces which cater to a demographic who desire a vintage aesthetic that comes without the downsides of going down the vintage watch collecting pathway - namely water resistance, reliability, and of course, aging components.

That said, let us now turn our attention to the F77’s tangible aspects, park our preconceptions to one side, and see what we actually get for USD1150.

First Impressions

The F77 is a fully stainless steel watch that sits firmly in the “sports” category - think Omega Aqua Terra, Tudor Royal, Rolex Oyster Perpetual; the 3-part 10ATM water-resistant case consists of firstly that aforementioned octagonal bezel, featuring vertical brushing on the top surface, and high polish on the chamfers and side. Case sides and corner chamfers are highly polished, while the main case top surfaces feature the same vertical brushing to tie-in nicely with the bezel top surface.

The case build seems solid, with a screw-in case back featuring the F77 branding and “N” shield logo engraved. We also see a ridged, 5.8mm diameter screw-in crown signed with the "N” shield logo providing excellent grip while winding up the watch.

Covering the black basket-weave dial is a double-domed sapphire crystal with AR coating on the inside that has plenty of height - protruding 3mm from the case by my estimates, while my example has a total watch thickness of 11.9mm - coming with that characteristic “bubble” distortion from the way the crystal has been shaped.

It must be mentioned that as of writing, only two dial colours have been released: black and blue. 

The glossy dial features rather tall applied indices - double batons at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 hours, and single batons elsewhere - which are true to the original. Small pips of lume top off each faceted and polished hour marker that elevate beyond the dial surface in a good way, with a warmer sheen (almost like nickel) compared to the coldness of stainless steel.

Moving on, the shield logo and applied text offset the dial nicely without cluttering the dial. The balance of textural intrigue, prominent indices and the “sandwich baton” handset mean that this dial retains fantastic legibility while allowing the both in the sun as well as when the sun sets. The seconds hand is comparatively simple: a single plain stalk with a small rectangular window filled with lume.

Tick Tock, New (old) Kid on the Block

The “Mollusc-style” 3-part links that form the bracelet come together nicely - brushed top and bottom surfaces and high polished sides; they taper from 21.6mm at the case to 15.3mm at the clasp. The bracelet mercifully features screw-in links to get that fit on the wrist. To further help individual fitting, Nevada Grenchen has included not one, not two, not FIVE but SEVEN adjustment holes on the clasp, giving us 19mm worth of “fine adjustment”; take that, ya clasp whiners!

To further allow us to collectively sleep ever more soundly at night, the clasp is a completely milled affair, albeit chunky at 11.4mm thick. To round things out, there is a two-button release mechanism that has some lovely tactility to it.

The bracelet being a triumph, we have to come back to earth with the bracelet-to-case connection. In this regard, Nevada Gretchen dropped the ball; even though the case length is measured at 49.8mm, the protruding “male” connecting link makes the lug-to-lug distance effectively 50.5mm.

That is the same issue that plagues the Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 40mm model, which has a comparatively effective lug-to-lug distance of 51mm. Thus, even for someone like myself who has a 7.25" wrist, and normally favours watches of 40mm diameter and upwards, this 37mm case sits pretty nicely on my wrist. I believe these dimensions will, however, alienate members of the #IBWC (itty bitty wrist club).

The F77 houses a Soprod P024 - no date for the one I have to hand, although date options do exist. This Soprod movement is widely documented, and thus the reader can dig up more info beyond the fact that this movement is a cousin of the ETA-2824, also featuring the same 38-hour power reserve. When winding up via crown, you feel a smooth but slightly resistive sensation. The 4 Hz movement does have a familiar sweep due to its heritage.

The Brand Experience

This writer’s experience in the first round of this model’s release in April involved a confirmation email following the purchase. This included a sentence that said “The second batch coming out in September will come with even more features and improvements", thereby causing a bit of mild panic and almost immediate buyer’s remorse. An email exchange to clarify this eventually concluded with Nivada Grenchen indicating that a second round of releases due at the end of the year will simply involve more dial colour options being a part of that second tranche.

Nevada Gretchen did not provide a follow-up on when the watch would be shipped; although an email did confirm shipping from 19 June onwards. The only notification I got was from FedEx requiring payment of local tax on the item coming in from abroad. I did wonder why the watch seems to ship from Hong Kong. That’s one for you “Swiss Made” conspiracy theorists to chew over.

At this stage, a number of us might have looked at the watch’s overall design and begun to ask ourselves - another textured dial on a sports watch with an integrated bracelet? Again? It is this notion, that somehow a textured dial is dangerously veering too close into the homage lane, is when I feel we all need to take a collective step back.

We need to remember that design is, after all, a series of attempts at being original while taking inspiration from all of the existing precedents. As a product & industrial design educator, I know this all too well.

I believe that no new product in its totality can be truly original, not least in this day and age where we have far too much historical precedence for watch designers to swing and hit it out of the park.

In this case, the F77’s many features is once again taking a direct “Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V” from its 70s ancestor. We certainly cannot ignore the slew of recent releases from Christopher Ward (Twelve), Citizen (Tsuyosa and Series 8 GMT) and of course the Tissot 35mm PRX as cause for being jaded with the integrated bracelet movement; but it would be remiss to quantify and qualify the F77 in lieu of the wider trends instead of its own merits.

Conclusion

Where does the F77 leave us? To my (industrial designer’s) eye, there is absolutely nothing wrong with how Nevada Grenchen has chosen to deliver the reissue - the build quality is solid, the movement is reputable, the dial execution is commendable, and the overall proportions magically suit my larger wrist size.

The main niggles are how those with slimmer wrists are left sh*t outta luck once more. As mentioned, Nevada Grenchen did not execute the bracelet-to-case linkage to fit those with wrists measuring 7 inches and lower, also that chunky clasp will get in the way of your shirt cuffs. Better luck next time, perhaps.

To the readers who might think an octagonal bezel makes this an AP homage - or worse, a poor man’s attempt at an AP homage - I humbly believe there is more to the F77 beyond this sort of surface-level judgment. At USD1150, the F77 is an affordable watch with certain aesthetic nods yet suitable design departures where a discerning individual would acknowledge the F77 would stand on its own.

I believe we can all appreciate what the F77 brings to the table, warts and all. If you own an F77 do chime in on your own impressions; likewise, I hope the photos provided give you all as close to a hands-on experience as possible.