ore than a century after the brand’s founding, the revival is led by seasoned professionals Leopoldo Celi and Yvan Ketterer, united by a shared ambition to carry Niton’s singular legacy forward.

The new creation builds upon Niton’s iconic digital jump-hour display registered in 1928, now reinterpreted with a new in-house Geneva Seal grade caliber, crafted in a strictly limited edition of two series of 19 pieces.

More than a century after its founding, Niton reawakens its heritage with an ambitious relaunch. Under the stewardship of co-owners Yvan Ketterer and Leopoldo Celi, the brand honors its roots while charting a bold future in fine watchmaking, one that celebrates meaningful objects, emotional resonance, and artistic ingenuity.

The rediscovery of Niton was both recent and serendipitous. While conducting genealogical research, Yvan Ketterer came across George Ketterer, a distant relative who had served as President of Vacheron & Constantin and was once involved in Niton. Recognizing its historical and creative potential, he took the decision to register the brand, which was no longer protected.

Yvan Ketterer soon shared this discovery with Leopoldo Celi, with whom he shares a deep curiosity and an ongoing dialogue around watchmaking. Both immediately recognized Niton as a rare gem, a brand endowed with everything required for a meaningful revival in today’s context: a rich history, a strong identity, and genuine creative potential. For over a year, the two founders engaged in open, unconstrained discussions, exploring narratives, possibilities, and creative directions before committing to the relaunch of the brand.

During this formative period, a defining moment sealed their decision: together, they acquired a rare Niton jump-hour from the 1920s. More than a collector’s acquisition, this watch became a shared commitment, a tangible link to Niton’s origins and a decisive turning point that confirmed their intent to move forward with the project. Today, this historic piece stands as the very first watch in Niton’s museum, embodying both the brand’s legacy and the beginning of its modern renaissance.

Yvan and Leopoldo agreed to approach this revival collaboratively and with a singular vision: not to break away from Niton’s heritage, nor to replicate it through re-editions, but rather to capture the spirit of the brand’s original creators, and to reinterpret their philosophy for the present day.

Each watch is conceived to surprise, move, and offer a fresh perspective on watchmaking. Guided by conviction rather than trends, the creation follows a design language guided by purity in which every detail has a purpose and where simplicity becomes a signature. Craftsmanship is never ostentatious; it serves emotion and meaning. Niton aims to builds a coherent, enduring brand, one capable of creating lasting value. This vision is realized within a close circle of trusted partners and collaborators who share the same standards and the same passion for excellence.

Marking the first chapter of the new Niton era, Prima is a strictly limited collection of 38 timepieces, 19 in platinum and 19 in rose gold, a symbolic reference to the year of the Maison’s founding. Each watch features a refined jump-hour complication, a historical hallmark of Niton and a defining expression of its creative and technical identity.

Registered in 1928, Niton’s signature jump-hour display offers a distinctive decomposition of time, blending digital and analog indications in a composition that is both artistic and precision-driven, evoking the clarity of regulator displays. The architecture is organized around a central totem structure: a digital hour aperture positioned at twelve o’clock, a rotating central disc for the minutes, and a sweeping seconds hand at six o’clock, a layout designed to maximize legibility while emphasizing mechanical rhythm.

The design of the timepiece is governed by a precise and coherent visual language encapsulated in the brand’s signature “ART+PRECISION”. Mechanical rigor defines the watch’s proportions, constraints, and chronometric performances, while artistic sensibility creates volumes and emotion.

By embracing constraints as creative drivers, the design distills multiple influences into a clear, purposeful form. While references to Bauhaus and Art Deco are perceptible in the balance of geometry, function, and proportion, the inspiration behind the new Niton extends well beyond traditional horology. The watch draws from graphic design, industrial design, and mechanical structures across eras, where machines themselves become instruments of expression.

Extending the dialogue between mechanical rigor and aesthetic expression, the movement embodies a clear “form follows function” philosophy. In line with Niton’s legacy of form calibers, the movement was developed specifically for this timepiece, adopting a rounded rectangular architecture that responds precisely to the design and proportions of the case. The result is a movement of strong visual identity, characterized by innovative bridge geometries, a clean construction free of visible bridge screws, and traditional Geneva details including a black polished blade ratchet click.

The in-house caliber NHS01 is crafted to meet the exacting standards of both the Geneva Seal and Chronometer certification ISO 3159. With this achievement, Niton becomes the first independent brand to bear both distinctions at launch, setting an exceptionally high benchmark in terms of provenance, quality, and chronometry. The manually wound caliber offers a guaranteed 72-hour power reserve and operates on a reliable Swiss lever escapement, variable-inertia balance, and Breguet overcoil hairspring.

The Geneva Seal is a state-controlled certification established in 1886 to safeguard the authenticity of local watchmaking, with exceptionally strict regulations, requiring that all components be designed, manufactured, assembled, adjusted, and registered in the Canton of Geneva, while strictly prohibiting any raw or unfinished machined parts. Every element must be fully finished according to defined criteria.

Enhancing the user experience are two discreet yet meaningful complications: a hour-striking mechanism that produces a subtle mechanical sound at each hour change, achieved by a hammer striking a hand-soldered copper gong integrated into the inner flank of the case, and a stop-to-zero mechanism that halts the seconds hand at the end of its revolution during time-setting for precise synchronization.

ABOUT

Originally established in Geneva in 1919 by watchmaker Auguste Jeannet and former Vacheron & Constantin employees Alfred Bourquin and Edouard Morel, Niton quickly became renowned for its exceptional craftsmanship and innovative movements. The company built a reputation for artistic mechanical excellence, specializing in ultra-thin calibers, form movements, and elegantly finished watches that embodied art and precision.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Niton served as a trusted movement supplier to some of the most respected names in watchmaking, including Patek Philippe, Cartier, Chopard, Van Cleef & Arpels, Gübelin and others alongside producing complete bespoke timepieces for prestigious jewelers throughout Europe and the United States, a testament to its technical pedigree and aesthetic vision.

Over the years, Niton stood among the manufactures submitting the highest number of movements to the Geneva Seal certification, proof of its commitment to precision and quality. The brand consistently ranked among the top three performers in chronometry competitions, affirming its technical excellence. In parallel, Niton began signing its own Montres de Genève, notably distinguished by a registered jump-hour display introduced in 1928, a complication that combined mechanical ingenuity with avant-garde design and would become a defining hallmark of the brand.

The Niton name itself is deeply rooted in Swiss heritage, deriving from the Pierres du Niton, iconic rocks in Geneva’s harbor that serve as a national geodetic reference point, symbolizing stability, precision, and Swiss identity.

Like many Swiss manufactures of the era, Niton faced economic headwinds during the global crises of the late 1930s and mid-century industrial shifts. In 1938, production rights were sold to Ébauches S.A., formerly known today as ETA, part of the Swatch Group. In 1957 the brand was acquired by Carlo Sarzano, founder of Sarcar S.A., who continued production of quality gold-cased watches. In 1971, Niton merged with Sarcar, leading to the brand’s quiet disappearance from the global market, yet its legacy endured among collectors and historians.

As the brand gradually receded from the market, Niton entered a long period of dormancy, its name no longer present in contemporary production yet far from forgotten. Over the decades, original Niton timepieces became increasingly rare, their presence limited to a handful of auction appearances and the private collections of the most discerning connoisseurs. Today, Niton watches are regarded as true collector’s grails, celebrated for their mechanical originality, historical significance, and aesthetic purity, preserving a sense of uniqueness and prestige that has only intensified with time.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Case

• Platinum or rose gold
• Satin and polish finish
• Dimension: 27 x 35,50 mm
• Lug-to-lug: 42mm
• Lug width: 19mm
• Thickness: 7.9mm
• Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
• Water resistance: 3 ATM

Dial and disks

• Rhodium-plated opaline dial base or rose-gold plated, with applied blue metallic hour markers
• Rhodium-plated opaline hour disc or rose-gold plated, with applied blue metallic hour numerals
• Azuré minute disc with a blue metallic applied hand
• Blue metallic seconds hand

Movement

• In-house manual wound caliber NHS01
• Striking jump hour mechanism
• Hour, minute and second indication
• Stop-to-zero time setting function
• Power reserve: Minimum 72 hours
• Variable inertia balance 8gf/cm2
• Frequency 4Hz-28’800 bph
• Breguet overcoil hairspring
• Geneva Seal and ISO 3159 Chronometer standard

Strap

• Grained calf leather
• Width: 19mm to 18mm
• Pin buckle
• Rose gold of platinum
• Width 18mm