Stone dials continue to be popular this season, all the way from watchmaking royalty with the Audemars Piguet Flying Tourbillon to cool, accessible brands like Nivada Grenchen. When it comes to the latter, we’re talking about the new Nivada Grenchen F77 Stone Dials, which we were able to get hands-on with (very secretly) at Geneva Watch Days last month. At last, we can finally talk about them.
These were actually some of our favourite watches that we saw in Geneva. Measuring 37mm in diameter with a thickness of 12.1mm, they fall into the retro sizing that has seen a major comeback in 2025. Super comfortable on the wrist with their integrated bracelets and sporty shape inspired by classic 1970s and 80s designs, With the prominent octagonal bezel and visible screws, it’s no accident that I mentioned Audemars Piguet in the introduction. This collection of four watches is the last series to be added to the F77 MKI range, though as we’ve already seen the MKII, the MKI’s retirement was somewhat inevitable.
As for the stone dials that are central to this release, there are two tiger’s eye models (one in plain steel and the other in bicolour), a malachite edition and one in green aventurine. Malachite is one of the most traditional semi-precious stones used in watchmaking due to its intense colours and eye-catching striations, meaning that while it’s one of the most common stone dials to see, I always think it looks great.
Green aventurine is a much less common stone to see, as most brands would use jade to create a stone dial of this colour. The use of aventurine (aside from likely being much more accessible) gives the dial significantly more texture and individuality compared to jade, as it has more of a marbled appearance with veins and imperfections that add to its visual interest. It’s arguably the most striking of the four watches, as it really appears to shift and change depending on the lighting with its slight sparkle.
Tiger’s eye is personally my least favourite semi-precious stone in watchmaking. There’s something a little too plain about its brown tones (which I know is an opinion that will get me hunted down in some circles) – while I appreciate that it is semi-precious, it feels like you could polish a stone from your gravel driveway and achieve a similar effect. That’s not to say that the Nivada Grenchen F77 Stone Dials doesn’t execute on the style well though, and the bi-colour edition adds an extra layer of luxury with its golden coloured bezel and bracelet links.
Powering the watch, protected by a solid steel caseback, is the Soprod P024 automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve. It’s based on the ETA 2824, one of the most common third-party watch movements. A solid enough movement for the price, especially in combination with the semi-precious dials.
Speaking of price, all four models are £1,450, including the bicolour. They’re also each in a limited edition of 75 pieces, making them quite exclusive. They’re available to purchase starting from October 23rd, though you can register your interest in the launch now. For a well sized, daily wear integrated bracelet sports watch, the Nivada Grenchen F77 Stone Dials is tough to beat.
Price and Specs:
More details at Nivada Grenchen.
