It has a matte black dial with black sub-dials that have glossy black bevels which really make them stand out. This example is from the early to mid ’60’s, and is the first generation style. Other movements used include Valjoux 92, 7733, Landeron 248 and Venus 210 to name a few. The best would have to be the venerable Valjoux 23 column wheel movement, which was also found in chronographs from Heuer, Rolex and other higher-end Swiss brands. There were also a large variety of different movements to be found in the Chronomasters.
There are black dials, white dials, some with different color subdials, and some later versions with a date function at 3 o’clock or even at 12 o’clock. There were a boat load of variations made over the years it was produced. The Chronomaster can be found branded with Croton, Nivada, Nivada Grenchen, and even Croton Nivada Grenchen. Mine is signed ‘Croton’, which is the name Nivada Grenchen used for their watches sold in the US. The first generation style like my example here with the large arrow hands was made from 1963 to about 1970 when they switched over to the classic ’70’s ‘stick’ hands. Most variations are a two register chronograph with subdials at 3 and 9 o’clock, and a sixty minute elapsed time diver’s bezel.
The Chronomaster made its debut in 1963 and continued production until about 1978. This name has all the bases covered! Fortunately, it’s not just a cool name, this is one cool watch as well. What’s in a name? Sometimes a whole lot! There are some great model names in the annals of watch history like Speedmaster, Submariner, Sportsmatic and Snorkel….but there’s one that takes the cake: The Croton Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver.
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