The Chronomaster is fitted in a large 38mm waterproof and shock-resistant case with a prominent minute-hour rotating bezel, tachymeter scale, and a regatta timer in one of the registers.

Advertisements read “The Chronomaster is a Super-Chronograph” and “The Croton Nivada Grenchen CHRONOMASTER is a favorite with sports car drivers, airline pilots, skin divers, yacht race enthusiasts, engineers, navigators, scientists, business executives, and a host of others.” Now that covers pretty much all of the bases. They were also promoted as “wrist-size computers that do more than tell time.” The Chronomaster was introduced in 1961 destined for the U.S. Movado tirelessly fought another similar battle in 1953 against Nivada/Croton, preventing them from importing watch parts from Switzerland into the U.S., but the case was finally thrown out for good based on precedence from 1939. only if they attached a second name – “Grenchen” – after its name to differentiate between Movado. The judge ruled in favor of Nivada and stipulated that Nivada may proceed with its business in the U.S. In order to prevent Nivada from engaging in business with Croton, Movado claimed that Nivada’s company name sounded too similar to theirs and that it would hurt their business. Nivada was in a legal battle with Movado, which already had a presence in the U.S. Croton’s connection with Nivada started in 1939, but with a rather rocky start.

As many collectors may notice, an identical Chronomaster model was produced by Nivada, a Swiss watch company. Coincidently, in 1963 it moved its company to Croton-on-Hudson, a beautiful suburb in Westchester County, right outside of New York City. The Full StoryĬroton Watch Company’s origin goes way back to 1878, when it was started by Jacob Horton in New York.

A rare variant with a Valjoux 23 movement and a distinct dial configuration, this example is also accompanied by its original guarantee stamped in 1967 and instruction brochure. Why This Watch Matters As the model name suggests, this nifty Croton Chronomaster could cover the sky, land, and sea.

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