9 Vintage Watch Brands You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Interestingly, Nivada faced legal issues in the US because the name was phonetically similar to Movado Watches, so Nivada watches were often distributed in the US with the brand name “Nivada Grenchen” or distributed as Croton watches.

The brand would continue to build tool watches until it shuttered in the midst of the Quartz Crisis. Now in the 2020s, Nivada Grenchen has been resurrected as a modern brand to produce many of its classics (so check carefully when shopping whether it’s an actual vintage or modern remake you’re looking at), but you can still also find vintage pieces worth collecting.

7. Smiths

Smiths (today Smiths Group) started as S. Smith & Sons, a jewelry shop and clockmaker in South London. Founded in 1851, the business evolved over the years; by the turn of the century, Smiths was making instruments for cars and aircraft (in fact, Smiths instruments were fitted on the first trans-Atlantic flight in 1919 and the first commercial jet in 1952). While the brand was famous for its instruments, its clock production accounted for half of the UK market at the onset of WWII.

It wasn’t until after WWII that Smiths started making wristwatches in England. Its watches were relatively simple, but the watchmaker’s biggest moment came in 1953 when Sir Edmond Hillary took a Smiths Deluxe to the top of Everest (along with a Rolex Explorer). By Hillary’s account, the watch worked perfectly.

Smiths’ popularity grew, but with the introduction of quartz watches, Smiths decided to stop producing watches to focus on aerospace and medical industries. Today, Timefactors produces a handful of watches under the Smiths name, but they are in no way related to Smiths watches of the mid-20th century. Vintage Smiths watches, despite their historical significance, are fairly cheap today, save for the military-spec W10, which typically sells for well over $1,000.