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Nivada Grenchen Chronoking Aviator Sea Diver (Ref. 87033), 1970s — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Nivada Grenchen Chronoking Aviator Sea Diver (Ref. 87033), 1970s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Nivada Grenchen (maker)
Date
1970s
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Wristwatch
Dimensions
Case 38 mm
Stock no.
NCKASD87033
Credit line
Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (NCKASD87033)
Catalogue title (original)
1970s Nivada Grenchen Chronoking Aviator Sea Diver (Ref. 87033) (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number NCKASD87033), this is a wristwatch by Nivada Grenchen, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 38 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Craft & Tailored

While Nivada Grenchen has technically been around since 1879, it was the watches they were producing around their hundredth anniversary that were really something worth celebrating. That includes the ChronoKing, a dual-register chronograph with a smoky grey rotating bezel, and a super unique date window at 12 o’clock. All of this packed into a compact-by-today’s-standards 38mm case make this king of both the air and the sea imminently wearable and infinitely cool. SPECS Stock # NCKASD87033 Brand Nivada Grenchen Style Chronoking Aviator Sea Diver Model 87033 Serial 5XXX Size Men's Material Stainless Steel Dial Matte Black Millimeters 38 Bracelet 2pc Handmade Leather Strap CASE & BRACELET The stainless steel case with angular lugs has been gently polished in the past and thick and symmetrical lugs that still retain case geometry. The bidirectional bezel remains a deep black coloration with almost no signs of use present. The case retains its original Nivada Grenchen signed crown and dual pump pushers. The silver case back is clean with no markings. The watch will be supplied on a 2pc handmade leather strap. DIAL & HANDS The matte black dial serves as a fantastic backdrop to the chunky tritium indices at every hour, which have aged to a creamy golden color. The rectangular white hour and minute hands complement the design of the case and are in great condition with lume still intact, the lume has aged slightly lighter than the dial which is common in this era. The center chronograph hand offers a fantastic pop of red. The grey mirrored registers are ultra unique and are in excellent condition. The date window at 12 o’clock completes the view. ACCESSORIES

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

Atlas type guide

Dive and water-resistant watches

Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.

Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.

What to look for

  • Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
  • Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
  • Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
  • Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.

Dating clues

  • Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
  • Professional dive watches: from 1953.
  • Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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