Good afternoon, dear readers!

Today I’m going to tell you a very interesting story about an obscure watch that you’ve probably never even heard of: a watch from the Rivaldy brand. I was once asked about them on other resources. By and large, watches are like clocks – uninteresting, but the story that surrounds them is amusing.

Pseudo-Italian clock

Rivaldy are positioned as Italian watches , the history of which dates back to the 60s of the last century, however, the European trace is not absolutely traceable today. But they cannot be called fully Chinese, although it is there that the assembly is carried out.

All the threads actually lead to Russia, and I do not rule out that this is an ordinary OEM, which is part of the Swiss L’Duchen and the Chinese Gryon. With the latter, they generally have a common assembly place.

The Swissness of L’Duchen is also very conditional, and the appearance of this brand is associated with the work of Russian businessmen, so it’s true: we most likely have a fictitious brand with a fictitious history .

However, there were some kinks in the field.

Why did I buy this watch? Well, firstly, I was interested in the price: at the time of purchase, they cost about 4 thousand rubles at a discount, which is tolerable for a mechanical watch. Secondly, I was attracted by the instructions.

In it, in terms of calibers, there was a note on how to care for mechanisms, such as ETA …

Of course, there is no hint of a Swiss caliber inside, and this hooked me: why write about Swiss calibers ?! And, of course, I wanted to understand what, in fact, is inside.

Quite a detailed and capacious story of the origin of the watch and the history of the “Mysterious Caliber” I recorded on video. In the same place, I traditionally show how the watch sits on the hand:

Rivaldy watch caliber

At first, I went on the wrong track, carried away by Chinese mechanisms, but the chest opened very simply!

I listened to the automatic winding – it is very loud. Stones 21. Self-winding – unidirectional. The second hand skips, “stutters”. In general, a pretty good Japanese movement Miyota 8215 turned out to be inside Rivaldy!

It was awkwardly disguised with a branded rotor with a pattern, although there seems to be nothing shameful in this caliber: popular, famous, respected. Why hide?

Watch packaging

What’s inside is clear. I would like to spend some time on what is outside. Rivaldy, like Gryon , for example, comes in the same type: in metal cylinders. This also, in a certain sense, makes both brands related, suggesting that they are closely related.

Frankly, for such a prestigious positioning – quite modestly. Even the instruction is attached separately, when buying, it is given in the hands, because it does not climb inside.

Watch design

Rivaldy is a collection of the same type of designs, the style of the watch gravitates toward art deco, and the watches themselves differ in hands and case shape. I got the interpretation of syringe-shaped hands with a fairly canonical form for this design direction, which is just more often used by the Swiss, and the same Tissot, for example.

Arabic and Roman numerals alternate on the dial, the central part has a grid pattern. Quite decently turned out with the application of numbers. After all, the watch itself is quite “thick”, “chubby”, and, as it were, “inflated” figures suit them quite well.

That is, roughly speaking: it is clear that the assembly is Chinese here. It is clear that here the Swiss is desire. It is likely that it is clear that the Russian is the birthplace of watches. It is clear that the Japanese – caliber. What was italian about? Well, that’s probably “fashionable” and style. Yes, the style is not mine, such watches do not suit me, but the style is there.

Are there any misses?

There is one significant one. Markup !

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find out the exact time on such a clock. The numbers fill the dial very tightly, leaving no space between them. And the minute scale is moved close to the center. The fact is that syringe-shaped hands are good because they have the thinnest finish, which helps to avoid discrepancies.

Here we see that the minute hand overlaps the scale in such a way that several minutes fall under the hand’s canvas at once, in general, there is an absolutely incorrect arrangement of elements, it’s no good.

What is the result?

A large watch that wants to look both stylish and reliable, and impressive, and vintage. And, if you chase all the hares, then there will definitely be a puncture somewhere.

The watch is large, of an atypical shape, its case is steel, the glass is mineral.

The back cover of the watch is transparent, because under it there is another “designer” element – its own branded rotor, which was not hidden.

The watch has a leather strap with a folding clasp.

And in general – a watch for an amateur. I am almost sure that such models have their own buyer. The problem of watches is probably in marketing and poor representation: in fact, the only store that sells them is WatchPlanet, to which all threads lead to the origin of watch brands L’Duchen, Gryon, Rivaldy and some others.

It was an interesting experience for me, because I really wanted to understand why there are so many mysteries around such simple watches: Italy and Switzerland for you, but in fact: Japan, China and, possibly, Russia? But given the past price, I did not regret this amusing experience.

I also want to note that with the caliber – I determined everything quite accurately, but the origin of the brand as a Russian OEM is a matter of discussion and only my guesses.

The signature contains links to telegrams and VK: if you are interested, I will be glad.

Happy holidays!