Nivada Grenchen Just Upgraded Its Cult Royal Oak Alternative for Its 100th Year

Nivada Grenchen has spent the last few years turning itself into shorthand for a specific kind of watch-nerd flex: an integrated-bracelet sports watch with an octagonal, screw-studded bezel, at a fraction of what Audemars Piguet charges for the real thing. The F77 has carried that argument since the brand revived it a few years ago, and this month Nivada Grenchen updated it for its own 100th anniversary — not with a redesign, but with the kind of mechanical upgrade that actually matters to the people who buy these watches.

The new F77 MKII 100 Years keeps the same case shape and dial layout that made the original a sleeper hit, but swaps in a stronger movement and shaves down the case. Where the outgoing model ran a Soprod Cal. P024, the new watch uses a La Joux-Perret G101 automatic, built by the same Swiss manufacturer that supplies movements to brands several price tiers up. It runs at 4 Hz, holds 24 jewels and stores 68 hours of power reserve — about 30 hours more than before — while case thickness drops from 12.2mm to 11.5mm. The 38mm diameter and 46.2mm lug-to-lug are unchanged, so it should still wear close to the wrist, and a sapphire exhibition caseback, engraved "Celebrating 100 Years," shows off the new movement.

The bigger change is on the dial. Instead of one or two standard colorways, the 100 Years collection launches with seven natural stone dials: Jade, Smoky Quartz, Shungite Black, Azurite, Labradorite, Black Opal and a 100-piece Ice Agate limited edition. Stone dials aren't new to watchmaking, but putting one under $2,000 is unusual, and each slab of mineral gives the F77 a depth and grain that a standard sunburst dial can't fake. Several launch colors — Azurite, Jade, Black Opal and Labradorite — sold out almost immediately; Smoky Quartz and Shungite Black remain listed as available at the time of writing.

Why an "affordable Royal Oak alternative" is worth caring about

Integrated-bracelet sports watches are one of the few genuine trends left in men's watches right now, and demand has completely outrun supply. A steel Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet, when you can even find one, routinely trades well above its retail price on the secondary market, and Patek Philippe's Nautilus is no easier to get. That gap is what created an entire category of watches — Nivada Grenchen's F77 chief among them — built around the same octagonal bezel, exposed screws and bracelet-integrated case, at a price a normal person can pay without a waitlist or a relationship with a boutique manager. It's the same instinct that put chunky boots and pleated trousers back in style this fall: people want the silhouette of something exclusive, worn with none of the friction.

Nivada Grenchen isn't hiding from the comparison, either. The brand's own history gives it a legitimate claim: the original F77 launched in 1977, five years after the first Royal Oak, wearing a strikingly similar Tapisserie-pattern dial and integrated-bracelet case. It reads less like an homage and more like a watch that was making this argument before "affordable alternative" was its own marketing category.

Price, availability and who it's for

The F77 MKII 100 Years starts at ~$1,590 on a canvas or rubber strap and ~$1,790 with the integrated steel bracelet, sold directly through Nivada Grenchen's own site with shipping currently estimated for early November. That's real money for a watch most people haven't heard of, but it undercuts the closest steel sports-watch alternatives from bigger brands by a wide margin, and the specs — a genuine Swiss automatic movement, sapphire crystal and caseback, 100m water resistance — hold up on paper next to watches costing two or three times as much.

This isn't a watch for someone who wants the safest, most recognizable option; that's still a steel diver from our guide to the best luxury dive watches. It's for a guy who's tracked the Royal Oak's prices for a while, given up on ever owning one, and wants the same design language on his wrist without financing it. Wear it with a stripped-back outfit that lets the case do the talking — a plain knit or oxford shirt and dark trousers, maybe a leather jacket once the weather turns — and it reads far more expensive than its price tag suggests. We'll keep adding picks like it to our affordable luxury archive; for everything else in the category, start at Watches.