The Nivada Grenchen and Croton Chronomasters are becoming a staple in vintage chronographs and for good reason. They’ve got the ingredients for what makes a collectible watch, a sporty case design, water resistance, a rotating bezel, and multiple documented variations featuring different dials and movements.
What we have here is the final watch in the series, which stripped the Chronomaster name away but kept the Aviator Sea Diver moniker. It's powered by the uncommon Valjoux 7765 movement, with a very unique subdial and date layout on the top half of the dial leaving only the branding for the bottom half.
Take a look at the pictures and our condition run-down below:
Case: 38mm stainless steel case in very good vintage condition. The case shows minor surface scratching and wear throughout with some small nicks and dings present as shown in the photos. The case looks to be unpolished and retains its original chamfers. The crown and pushers appear to be original as Croton used unsigned crowns compared to the signed Nivada crowns.
Bezel: 60 minute bidirectional original timer bezel with some scratching and spotting as pictured. Bezel turns freely and has developed a slightly blue tone.
Dial/Hands: Original dial and handset in very good condition as pictured. The dial has a small wear spot on the edge of the date subdial but is otherwise free from any blemishes. The tritium lume is mostly intact on the dial and fully intact on the polished hands. The paint on the center chronograph seconds hand has faded.
Caseback: Original screw down caseback with all engravings present in good vintage condition as pictured.
Crystal: Domed acrylic crystal in good condition with only minor wear. There are no major/deep scratches, cracks, or chips in the crystal.
Movement: Valjoux 7765 manual wind chronograph date movement in excellent condition. Movement is clean and all functions work as they should including the chronograph start, stop, and reset. The watch keeps very good time although the service history is unknown.
Bracelet/Strap: 20mm stainless steel Nivada signed bracelet in excellent condition as pictured. Currently sized for a 7.25" wrist with some remaining micro-extensions on the clasp.
Accessories: None, sold as watch only.
Price is $1475 shipped CONUS. Payment via wire transfer or PayPal from a verified account shipped to a verified address. Face to face deal is also welcome in the Boston area. International shipping will be at cost. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions. Not interested in any trades. Thanks for looking!