Nivada is a Swiss watch company. It was founded in 1879 in the town of Grenchen, Switzerland. Nivada was a manufacturer of Swiss watches.
Nivada was founded as early as 1879, in 1887, or as late as 1926 in Grenchen, Switzerland. The company gained traction after World War II, producing a series of successful watches before succumbing to the quartz crisis.
In 1926, Nivada was operational in Grenchen as Wüllimann Schneider Nivada S.A. The company relied on proven movements from ETA and Phénix S.A., as was typical at the time, and the company was known for quality mass-produced watches. Nivada celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1976, suggesting that the company officially dates to 1926. The company was run by Max Schneider, son of the founder, at that time.
Nivada was prevented from using their name during the 1960s and 1970s due to its phonetic similarity with Movado, so the products were labeled "Nivada Grenchen". In the United States, Croton was formed in 1940 as a distributor for Nivada products, so many were sold under the "Croton Nivada", "Croton Nivada Grenchen", and simply "Croton" names.
In 1979 the Nivada brand was purchased by a Chinese gentleman, Hakui Sito. The watches were manufactured in rural South Korea by children helping to support their families.