Review: F77 made by Nivada

Context and a to-the-point and honest history lesson

From a horology standpoint, the F77 impresses no one. In 1972 AP released their unique Royal Oak. In the short years to follow, many watch manufacturers was heavily inspired by the AP RO. Five years later, in 1977, Nivada released their integrated take on the popular innovative watch design and in 2023, Nivada released their re-edition of the the brand's answer to the integrated-bracelet craze in recent years. The calibre in the 2023 edition is a Soprod P024, which is an automatic movement that is based on (i.e. a "copy of") the ETA caliber 2824-2. The funny part is that the modern F77 is indeed a "2023 copy of a 1977 copy of an original 1972 AP design - and the calibre inside the 2023 version is a copy of an ETA movement". A lot of "copying" going on - but it wears fantastic on wrist.

The models available in the line-up today, and the one I picked and why

As per April 5th Nivada offers six different models in the series. Three with a date complication and three no-date versions. In addition, you can choose a black dial, a blue dial and a brown fume dial. The latter fume option Nivada call “Smoked”. The pattern on all six variants is a basket weave pattern.

I browsed the inter webs for a brown dial and stumbled onto images of the brown fume version…and fell in love by in heartbeat. Then the difficulty started…date or no-date?

I went with the no-date brown dial version.

We all know the sound piece of advice to never, never buy a watch without trying it on your wrist before splashing out the cash. Well, I went against the grain on that one – simply because where I reside, there’s no AD for Nivada. Traveling to another country to try it on on wrist seem a (bit) excessive.

Unboxing

FedEx delivered the watch at my own doorstep and I opened all the boxes. I mean…ALL the boxes. I have seldom seen a watch that arrives in so many separate boxes. There’s one exception; gift wrap option by Cartier for online purchases. But a Cartier Santos costs almost seven times as much as the F77.

Fitting the bracelet

Jeez, the screws in the bracelet is securely fastened with some Loctite stuff. I had to use a lighter to loosen the glue – and after that the resizing went smooth. Since the clasp has six (6) micro adjustments in the thin and sleek clasp – finding the perfect fit onto my wrist was a breeze.

First impressions and how it wears on wrist

A lot of watches get pointers for being comfortable on wrist, but the F77 is just in another league of its own. It’s super comfortable. I haven’t felt the true vintage vibes since I wore my Rolex Submariner 1680 mkIV Red Sub. The weight distribution of the F77 on the steel bracelet and it’s thin case profile in height is just sublime. We all hear that a “watch should slide under the cuff”. Well, no problem here with the F77 from Nivada. My best “cuff slider” ever.

Would I recommend the F77-series to other watch geeks?

Yes.

Not any negatives to say?

Well, if you are a watch snob and can’t get passed the context section, the F77 isn’t for you then. But, let me tell you in all honesty…you’re missing out on a fantastic watch.