Key Highlights
- Relaunch of Manufacture des Montres Niton S.A., founded in 1919 and recognised for form calibers and Geneva Seal movements.
- Debut PRIMA collection limited to 38 pieces, 19 in platinum and 19 in rose gold.
- In-house NHS01 movement with the Geneva Seal and ISO 3159 chronometer certification, offering a 72-hour power reserve.
- Reinterpretation of Niton’s 1928 jump-hour display with digital hours, central minutes and sweeping seconds.
- Rounded rectangular NHS01 form movement mirroring the case design.
Manufacture des Montres Niton returns to Geneva after decades of silence. Founded in 1919 and respected for form calibers and Geneva Seal movements, it is now led by co-owners Leopoldo Celi and Yvan Ketterer, who position PRIMA as a contemporary continuation of the original spirit rather than a nostalgic re-edition.
The revival began when Ketterer, researching his family history, discovered a link to George Ketterer, former President of Vacheron & Constantin and once involved with Niton. He secured the dormant name and, with Celi, defined a vision rooted in Geneva tradition and centred on a historic jump-hour concept expressed through modern design.
A rare 1920s Niton jump-hour in the brand’s museum became the anchor for PRIMA and the reference for its display and proportions.
PRIMA, the inaugural collection, is limited to 38 watches, 19 in platinum and 19 in rose gold, echoing 1919. The rectangular case measures 27 x 35.50 mm, 42 mm lug-to-lug and 7.9 mm thick, with alternating satin and polished surfaces, an anti-reflective sapphire crystal and 3 ATM water resistance.
The display follows Niton’s digital jump-hour registered in 1928, with an hour aperture at twelve, a rotating central minute disc and sweeping seconds at six. Dials are rhodium-plated opaline or rose-gold plated, with applied blue metallic markers, an azuré minute disc and blue metallic hands expressing the “ART+PRECISION” credo.
This credo shapes both aesthetics and mechanics, drawing on Bauhaus, Art Deco, graphic and industrial design distilled into clear geometry. It also defines the in-house, manually wound NHS01 calibre, a rounded rectangular form movement mirroring the case.
NHS01 meets both the Geneva Seal and ISO 3159 chronometer standards, with every component designed, manufactured, assembled and finished in the Canton of Geneva. Its architecture features distinctive bridges, black polished details and no visible bridge screws.
The calibre offers a 72-hour power reserve, 4 Hz frequency, Swiss lever escapement, variable-inertia balance and Breguet overcoil hairspring. A jump hour mechanism with hammer and a hand-soldered copper gong integrated into the inner case flank produces a discreet chime at each hour change, while a stop-to-zero function halts the seconds hand during time-setting for precise synchronisation.
Historically, Niton supplied movements to Patek Philippe, Cartier, Chopard, Van Cleef & Arpels, Gübelin and other maisons, and produced bespoke watches for leading European and American jewellers. The manufacture contributed to Geneva Seal-certified movements and chronometry competitions before economic changes led to its absorption and disappearance from the market.
Today, original Niton watches appear occasionally at auction or in discreet collections, prized for mechanical originality and purity of line. PRIMA does not recreate those pieces; instead, it translates their logic into a contemporary idiom focused on coherence, restraint and technical integrity.
Why it matters
The rebirth of Niton returns a historically significant Geneva manufacture to the spotlight with a focused debut. By launching with a form movement that is both Geneva Seal certified and chronometer rated, the brand underlines a commitment to lasting watchmaking rather than short-lived novelty.
For discerning GCC collectors who value provenance, design clarity and chronometric substance, Niton PRIMA offers a way to engage with a revived Geneva name at the start of its modern story, through a watch that bridges archival inspiration and contemporary execution.
