1970s Croton Aviator Sea Diver Chronograph (Ref. 9870)

The Chronomaster range of watches from Nivada Grenchen and Croton were produced in a time when adventures and exploration were at the forefront of what was happening in the world and within the pop culture of the 1960s.  Within the expansive world of vintage timepieces, there is no uncertainty that vintage tool watches hold a particular position within the minds of numerous collectors. The 1960s and 1970s were what we now know as the golden era of sports watch design where the form of a watch needed to meet its intended function to support the adventures that the watch was created for. Nivada Grenchen or Croton in the States was founded in Grenchen, Switzerland in the 1920s by Jacob Schneider, Nivada Grenchen was actually one of the first watch brands to manufacture automatic watches. Nevada encompassed another modern wristwatch innovations as well, creating waterproof and “rustless” watches that would stand up to the rigors of the outdoor adventures they were creating a watch for. 

This ref. 9870 utilizes a Valjoux 7733 chronograph movement and features broad baton-style hands more often seen on later variants of the Croton Aviator Sea Diver. The Croton ref. 9870 features a large stainless steel 38mm stainless steel case with long and angled lugs. The case is outfitted with an aluminum minute/hour bi-directional bezel that is not only unique but useful. The simple and no-nonsense dial is beautifully executed with a flash of red in the rightmost sub-dial that offers a 5-minute count down interval. The Aviator Sea Diver ref. 9870 covers all of these classic sport watch ques from this golden era of classic sports watch design. 

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