====== Nivada ======

{{wst>author|[[Foskett, Stephen|Stephen Foskett]] ([[https://grail-watch.com/|Grail Watch]])}}

**Nivada** was a manufacturer of Swiss watches.

Nivada was founded as early as [[1879]], in [[1887]], or as late as [[1926]] in [[Grenchen]], [[Switzerland]]. The company gained traction after World War II, producing a series of successful watches before succumbing to the [[quartz crisis]].

In [[1926]], Nivada was operational in Grenchen as Wüllimann Schneider Nivada S.A. The company relied on proven movements from [[ETA]] and [[Phénix S.A.]], as was typical at the time, and the company was known for quality mass-produced watches. Nivada celebrated its 50th anniversary in [[1976]], suggesting that the company officially dates to 1926. The company was run by Max Schneider, son of the founder, at that time.

Nivada was prevented from using their name during the 1960's and 1970's due to its phonetic similarity with [[Movado]], so the products were labeled "Nivada Grenchen". In the United States, [[Croton]] was formed in [[1940]] as a distributor for Nivada products, so many were sold under the "Croton Nivada", "Croton Nivada Grenchen", and simply "Croton" names.

Today, the Nivada brand continues in some markets, notably Mexico. The brand was purchased by Salinas Pliego and Grupo Salinas restarted sales in 2000 selling entry-level watches and operating company-owned branded stores. The Nivada brand was also used in South Korea by the Kim Suk Keun Watch Company from 1985 through the 2000's but appears to be defunct now.

===== Products =====
  * Rollamatic (also "Rollador") using [[Phenix 200]] movements
  * Reglavit, a water resistant watch with a unique external regulator screw
  * [[Nivada Antarctic|Antarctic]] was a long-running series of watches initiated in [[1958]] in celebration of the [[International Geophysical Year]], and using the [[ETA 2472]] movement
  * Depthmaster was a diving watch, water resistant to 1,000 M
  * Depthomatic was another diving watch, water resistant to 200 M, and using the [[ETA 2472]] movement
  * Alertamatic was an [[alarm]] watch using the [[Lemania 2980]] movement
  * Ultramatic 36000 (1975) used the rare 36,000 A/h [[ETA 2734]] movement

Due to their close relation to Phenix/MSR, Nivada sold the [[Vulcain Cricket]] alarm watch under their own brand as the Wanderer.

===== External Links =====
  * [[http://grail-watch.com/2014/03/01/fame-fortune-vintage-watches-worth-others/|Fame and Fortune, or Why Some Vintage Watches Are Worth More Than Others]]


{{tag>Watch_brands Watch_brands_Switzerland Upscale_watch_brands Grenchen}}