Game over: how can other superdivers compete with the Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster “Pacman”?
Jamie WeissWe have a lot of different watches in the Time+Tide Watch Discovery Studio. Our retail team are amazing and boast a near-encyclopaedic knowledge of every reference we stock, but for us on the writing team, it can be hard to keep up. A few weeks ago, I was writing in the studio when our Melbourne retail manager Mitch got out a tray of Nivada Grenchen Depthmasters and passed one over to me. I didn’t realise we had them in stock, so that was a nice surprise. “They’re 1,000 metres water-resistant, too,” Mitch said as he handed me an example – which caused me to have a double take. “Really? A watch this cheap is that water-resistant?” Naturally, I had to get one on my wrist and review it, and after spending a week wearing one of these “Pacmen”, I have to say, I still don’t really know how Nivada does it for the money.
A quick note on the strap
For my review, I wore the Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster “Pacman” on a black Artem Nylon NATO strap. With a 20mm lug width, the Depthmaster is a bit of a strap monster and is available with four different strap options at retail – a Tropic-style rubber strap, a brown leather strap, a beads of rice steel bracelet and a flat-link bracelet with diver’s extension – but it looks amazing on a NATO strap too (indeed, I’m not sure why Nivada doesn’t also offer a NATO option – thankfully the aftermarket has us covered here).
Ready player one
It’s worth talking a little bit about the Depthmaster’s history, as it’s a surprisingly influential watch. First introduced in 1965, the Depthmaster was the first commercially available dive watch to be rated 1,000m water-resistant, making it the most water-resistant watch in the world – an impressive accolade when you consider most dive watches at the time were only rated to 100 or 200m. Nivada would hold that record for an astonishing 13 years, only surpassed by the 1,220m-rated Rolex Sea-Dweller ref. 16660 in 1978. Of course, its “Pacman” nickname, a nod to its distinctive jagged yellow hour markers, wouldn’t come till much later (the arcade game made its debut in 1980). Initially, this was an unofficial nickname termed by collectors, but when Nivada Grenchen relaunched in 2021, the brand embraced the moniker (ditching the dash between Pac and Man to avoid a Namco lawsuit).
Retro appeal
How does the Depthmaster rate in 2024, though? Very well, actually. Not only do I love the way it looks – it’s distinctive and playful without being gimmicky, and an exceptionally faithful reissue – it wears beautifully on the wrist, with a pleasant pebble-y form factor. The oblique lugs and lack of crown guards add to its retro vibe. Some enthusiasts have dubbed the Depthmaster the “baby Panerai” for its case shape, but I think that does the Depthmaster a mild disservice, as I think it wears better than comparably-sized Panerais.
This is another aspect of the Depthmaster that I think is very compelling: its size. At 39mm in diameter and 13mm thick, it’s perfectly average by modern watch standards (back in the day though, 39mm would’ve been pretty huge), yet by “superdiver” standards – and by “superdiver”, I mean any watch that’s rated 1,000m water-resistant or more – it’s quite petit. It begs the question: why do so many superdivers have oversized cases when this Nivada makes it work in a normal form factor? Also, the Depthmaster features an automatic helium escape valve at 9 o’clock that sits flush with its case. Again, why do watches far more expensive than this have only manual helium escape valves, or automatic valves that protrude from the case?
I mentioned earlier my incredulity around this watch’s price. Well, one corner where Nivada has saved a little money is with the Depthmaster’s movement. It’s powered by a Soprod P024 (earlier batches used Sellita SW 200-1s), which is not a bad movement by any means (it’s got hacking seconds and is prolific so servicing it is dead easy), but it only has a 38-hour power reserve – which for me is simply far too little. Another point of criticism I have for this watch is its bezel: it’s a little hard to grip, but I like its utilitarian design, as well as the notchiness of its 120 clicks.
My biggest complaint about the Depthmaster is that its lume, well, kind of sucks. The hour markers might look funky but I’ve not seen lume this weak on a new watch for a very long time. Mileage may vary, though: I mostly wore it around the house and office during my week on the wrist (yes, call me a desk diver) so perhaps if the lume was charged more, I would’ve seen greater luminescence.
Closing thoughts
It’s wild to think that almost six decades after its release, the Depthmaster’s water resistance remains impressive – it’d be like opening up a computer from the early 90s to find a 1-terabyte hard drive. To continue this technological extended metaphor, I remember when 1-gigabyte flash drives were the bee’s knees, as well as how expensive they used to be. These days, 1 GB flash drives can be had for a few bucks… Similarly, the once record-holding Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster “Pacman” can be had for less than US$1,000. It’s Moore’s law in action, just for mechanical watches.
There are certainly more refined dive watches on the market, and there are elements of the Depthmaster’s design that have not stood the test of time as well as its water-resistance rating – but I still find it wholly impressive that you can find a mechanical watch this water-resistant for such a competitive price, especially when most superdivers are double or triple the price (or beyond).
Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster “Pacman” pricing & availability
The Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster “Pacman” is available now from the Time+Tide Shop, either online or in-store at our Melbourne Discovery Studio. Two versions are available: one with yellow-coloured lume (as tested) and one with white-coloured lume. Price: A$1,760, US$965 (leather or rubber strap), A$2,100, US$1,155 (beads of rice or flat-link bracelet). Find out more about the Artem Nylon NATO strap we paired it with here. Price: A$106, US$63.
| Brand | Nivada Grenchen |
| Model | Depthmaster “Pacman” |
| Reference Number | 14105A04 |
| Case Dimensions | 39mm (D) x 13mm (T) x 47mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | 316L stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 1,000m, screw-down crown |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire |
| Dial | Matte black, “Art Deco” numerals in Super-LumiNova |
| Lug Width | 20mm |
| Strap | Tropic-style rubber Brown leather Beads of rice steel bracelet Flat-link bracelet with diver’s extension (Watch pictured on third-party Artem Nylon NATO strap) |
| Movement | Soprod P024, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 38 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, unidirectional diving bezel, helium escape valve |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | A$1,760, US$965 (leather or rubber strap) A$2,100, US$1,155 (beads of rice or flat-link bracelet) |
Made in partnership with Artem Straps. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.