This Affordable Chronograph Looks More Like a Paul Newman Daytona Than Ever

In 2022, Guillaume Laidet — the man responsible for reviving Swiss watchmaker Nivada Grenchen — came across an auction for a rare 1970s prototype with a very familiar dial.

It was a Nivada chronograph that never went into regular production, featuring a dial produced by Singer, the same manufacturer that provided the “exotic” dial for Rolex’s legendary Paul Newman Daytona. Laidet purchased the watch and spent two years working with his team to reproduce it.

Nivada Grenchen

The result was a reproduction so faithfully executed that it was given the same name as the original, the Autochron. Nivada’s revival was released in 2024 with a Valjoux Caliber 7750 automatic movement and a $2,180 price tag.

Because Nivada is a watch brand for the people, a far more affordable meca-quartz version of the Autocrhon was released in 2025, powered by a Seiko-made Caliber VK67 movement. This update brought it much closer to Cool Hand Luke’s iconic watch by adding a third subdial, and it dropped the price to under $1,000.

The tricomapx meca-quartz Autochron maintained the same “reverse panda” dial as the 1970s prototype, with khaki totalizers on a black dial. A limited-edition reference with salmon-colored subdials, hand inlays and pip came out at the same time.

Nivada Grenchen

A year later, Nivada has finally given fans the meca-quartz Autochron we wanted from the beginning, featuring a “panda dial” to match the color scheme of the legendary actor’s actual watch.

This long-anticipated chronograph comes courtesy of a collaboration with Santurce Watch Club, a Puerto Rican watch collector’s group founded by avid Nivada fan José Salas.

Second cousins, twice removed

It would be fair to say that Nivada’s Autochron shares a small portion of DNA with Rolex’s 1960s Daytona references, as both used Singer dials. More specifically, they used the manufacturer’s “exotic” dials, distinguished by the square lollipop-style markers on the subdial tracks and a distinct serifed typeface for the numerals.

Nivada Grenchen

Accordingly, the Autochron is no dupe. Even though it now sports the same black-and-white color scheme, the retro chronograph cuts its own path with an asymmetrical arrangement, more pronounced hour markers and a friction-fit rotating bezel with a 60-minute dive track.

The dial also stands apart with a coarse, concrete-like texture on the main dial and a slightly smoother contrasting texture on the subdials. A tachymeter scale is printed on the outer rim of the dial, unlike the Daytona’s bezel scale.

Nivada Grenchen

Santurce Watch Club’s signature Autocrhon is also equipped with a different set of hands than the standard model. The baton hour and minute hands are replaced with glossy black fencepost hands, and the seconds hand is a retro speedometer-style in traffic cone orange.

The hour markers, hour and minute hand inlays, and the pip all feature green-glowing Super-LumiNova, and the dial is topped with a double-domed sapphire crystal.

Compact and comfy

I was fortunate enough to land a limited-edition meca-quartz Autochron with salmon subdials when it launched in 2025, and it is one of the most comfortable chronographs I’ve ever worn.

Nivada Grenchen

While the dial is round, the 38mm stainless steel case is almost tonneau-shaped and lies very comfortably on my wrist.

The flat-top three-row bracelet, based on the 1970s prototype, is incredibly comfortable as well. The links are narrow, and the bracelet tapers shapely from 20mm down to 16mm, creating exceptional flexibility. Plus, the tread-like design really shimmers.

My only complaint about the physical structure of the watch is that Nivada’s folding clasp, which has a handy no-tool micro-adjustment system, has very sharp corners that are a bit hazardous.

Nivada Grenchen

The caseback of this limited-edition collaboration is signed with the Santurce Watch Club logo and slogan — “El Que Sabe, Sabe,” which translates to, “If you know, you know.”

Availability and price

As is often the case with Nivada’s coolest designs, the Autochron Panda is an extremely limited edition. Only 100 pieces were produced, with 60 going to Santurce Watch Club and 40 sold through Nivada’s online shop.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing this, Nivada’s allotment has sold out, just hours after the watch was released. Santurce Watch Club has a web store, but the Autochron Panda is not currently on there.

Anyone looking to land this gorgeous homage to 1970s auto racing watches will likely have to turn to the secondary market.

Nivada Grenchen

Nivada Grenchen Autochron Panda Santurce Collection

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	TMI Caliber VK67 meca-quartz
Water Resistance	200m

• $795 at Nivada Grenchen

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