SOLD - Vintage Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster "PACMAN" Extremely Rare, all Original. I recommend reading the description
SKU:
niv-100m
$5,000.00
$4,495.00
$4,495.00
On Sale
To begin, this is one of the rarest and most sought after dive watches in the world that's not a Rolex. This watch earned it's nickname among rare watch collectors due to the shape of the numerals on the dial, an Art Deco design. This watch is as pure as a vintage watch gets, 100% original, the original, never refinished dial, is fantastic...clearly better than most examples I've ever seen. The patina along with the "pacman" numerals are a cool combo as it looks more like the nickname. The black numerals around the bezel has dissipated over time. This can be easily restored without anyone knowing; however, we will leave that to your discretion and we prefer to sell as original as possible. The dial is near flawless. To begin with, in my research, I've learned there are several variations of this watch; and I do not think it is well documented as to the age of these models. This model has no "automatic" written under the manufacturer's name and no date complication like most do. It also does not say 1000m in red like some do. This is not the 1000m model; and some experts are even surprised anything else existed after a few discussions with some experts on dive watches. I've been able to legitimize these variations and they appear much later in date than this example, This watch, rated to 3000ft which is a little less than 100m is not common even among rarities. Also, the Art Deco numerals that makes this watch so famous, and clearly a cult watch, would be unusual for the 50s or 60s which almost every dealer lists them as. The Art Deco era started to end in the late 1930s and ended completely in the 1940s; before WW1. That tells me that this watch was likely produced in the 1940s instead of the evolved iterations which were made in the 50s and 60s and the company deciding to keep the popular numerals the way they were. Although I have to say, some of the examples I've seen sold, the dial looks way too busy for my taste. That said, this is certainly from what I can determine, the rarest version of the Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster. I've been through the process of examining most sales that happened and only one of these versions sold that I can find anywhere. I also noted that a substantial number of comparable sales were refinished dials; or at the very least the lume was removed and replaced. To summarize, I believe we are looking at the rarest Nivada "pacman" available and likely the very first run of the model with little surviving pieces or very low production with the icing on the cake being the extraordinary condition. This watch is way undervalued and I predict mid double digit percent growth in value over the next several years; although I cannot promise. But I can tell you that collectors have raped the market of today's high priced cult watches and that means new ones will emerge quickly like what we've seen with vintage Seiko if you've been paying attention. Anyhow, I believe this is a great watch at a great price...more pictures will be on there way soon. Measures 38mm (w/o crown) x 47.50mm x 18mm x 15.95mm high and comes on a high-end premium sand colored NATO strap.
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