The concept of a “vintage re-edition” is nothing new for the watch world. You have watch brands like Seiko throwing them out on a monthly basis and luxury names like Breitling releasing their fair share over recent years. Then you have Nivada Grenchen, who since their relaunch in 2018 have made it their vocation to recreate archived models from their past. The new Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch is no different.
Since this is a re-edition, and a rather faithful one at that, we can’t get into the nitty gritty details of the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch before reminding ourselves of its not-so-distant cousin. The original Nivada Antarctic launched in 1950 as a compact, 34.5mm-wide, durable, shock-resistant and anti-magnetic sports watch. It found success a few years later during the mid-1950’s when the United States initiated a series of missions to Antarctica.
Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm - Credit WatchGecko
The mission was dubbed Operation Deep Freeze and was conducted from 1955 to 1956 with an objective to build the first permanent base on the incredibly cold and icy landscape of the South Pole. Several members of the American Navy’s Deep Freeze 1 Task Force, including esteemed polar explorer Admiral Richard E. Byrd, opted to wear the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic for the journey, and on return noted it as a reliable and robust companion for extreme conditions. So, as you’ve guessed it, today’s Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch is an evolution of this 1950’s legend.
The Case
My initial thoughts upon unboxing the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch were about the case. I was immediately impressed by the compact size of the steel housing and the distinctive shape of the lugs. The case is crafted from 316L Stainless steel with the majority of the case and entirety of the bezel brightly polished while the case sides are brushed. For dimensions, the novelty follows in the footsteps of its predecessor measuring to 35mm wide, just 10.1mm thick (when including the domed sapphire crystal glass) with a lug-to-lug profile of 42mm.
Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm - Credit WatchGecko
From above, the lugs showcase a unique profile; they are flat on top but curved at the edges creating an almost fang-like shape. It’s a really lovely design feature and again, one of the key characteristics of the original 1950’s model. From the side, the lugs taper down quite dramatically which allows the case to lie completely flat against the wrist. The case includes the same 1957 International Geophysical gold-plated medallion on the case back just like that of the original.
While the case back is screwed down, the crown of the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch is not. This means the watch only arrives with a standard 50 metre water resistant rating. This is no doubt better than the water resistance of its 1950’s counterpart, and I can understand why with a manual-winding movement within, a standard push-pull crown makes winding the movement more user-friendly. That being said, with this being a vintage re-edition of a sports watch, this might have been an area where the brand could have improved on the spec, without losing out on any of its retro charm.
The Dial
The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch has been launched in a number of dial variations. You can choose from displays in black, white or egg-shell, the latter being the off-white variation we got hands-on with for this review. Each dial colour also comes with varying hands-sets; the black dial comes with silvered or gold hardware and all displays are available with lume in classic white or vintage beige.
Our Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch appears closest in style to the original model. It pairs the egg-white backdrop with classic silvered hands and numerals, white Super-LumiNova inserts and a blued steel seconds hand. The design of the dial is wholly indicative of the 1950’s. The font for the Arabic numerals placed at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions is very retro, as are the faceted, arrow-shaped hour markers between them.
Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm - Credit Guest Author
Other than the raised and polished hardware, the dial is kept very simple. It slopes at the very edges leading down to a printed black minutes track and presents dauphine-shaped hands for the hours and minutes. As mentioned, white Super-LumiNova inserts are inlaid down the hand’s length to match with small Super-LumiNova “hats” added to the tips of the hour markers. It’s not the brightest of lume in the world, since there’s only a small amount added to the dial, but it’s still noticeable nonetheless when glowing blue in the dark.
The Movement
The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch houses the Swiss made Landeron 21 manual-winding movement. It runs at a frequency of 28,800vph and has a power reserve of around 36 hours. Interestingly, the original 1950’s Antarctic was powered by an automatic movement. This rather drastic change is spec is something I’m happy to go along with. Vintage-inspired models like this feel suited to the tactility of a manual winding calibre, and in this instance, the Landeron 21 also helps keep the case of the watch nice and slim.
The Strap
Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm - Credit Guest Author
So far, everything about the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch has impressed me. However, my only concern for the particular model I received, was the strap. I might be entirely alone on this, but the brown perforated racing leather band does not do this vintage re-edition justice. In fact, I think it takes away from the retro aesthetic rather severely; I know it’s a sports watch, but the strap feels overly contemporary and clashes with the rest of the design.
Thankfully, the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm can be ordered on ten other strap styles, and minus another racing leather band in black, there are nine bands that look really nice on this watch. The non-perforated leather straps with stitch detailing are a personal favourite, as is the Forstner beads of rice metal bracelet. I highly recommend checking out the full range of straps available over on Nivada Grenchen’s website, because some of them completely change the personality of the watch for the better.
Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm - Credit Guest Author
Price & Availability
The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch is available to pre-order now until 23rd December 2023. It’s worth noting that pre-order numbers are limited so you may need to act fast if you are interested. The watch retails for $850 (exclusive of taxes) on all leather straps and $1,050 (exclusive of taxes) on any metal bracelet.
Conclusion
As I mentioned in the beginning, there’s no shortage of vintage re-edition watches on the market right now, but many of them, if not most of them, are not as faithful as we’d like. The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic 35mm watch on the other hand, has done a fantastic job at reviving one of the Swiss watchmaker’s most iconic models.
I’m very happy to see the dimensions, lugs and dial layout are still authentic, and while I can’t help but think they could have improved on the water resistance just slightly, this still feels like a watch that is durable enough for day-to-day life. It has plenty of vintage charm to offer and it is well-priced for a Swiss made manual-winding timepiece. I have no doubt lovers of vintage models are already considering this as their next purchase, just trust me when I say don’t judge a watch by its strap. Please go and look at the other options available if the perforated leather doesn’t appeal to you too.
Technical Specifications:
- Brand: Nivada Grenchen
- Model: Antarctic 35mm
- Price: $850 on leather and $1,050 on metal bracelet (exclusive of taxes)
- Material: Stainless steel
- Movement: Landeron 21 manual-winding
- Complications: Hours, minutes, seconds
- Crystal: Double domed sapphire crystal
- Dial: Eggshell white
- Size: 35mm
- When the reviewer would personally wear it: This is an easy to wear dress watch that would suit formal occasions just as well as day to day life.
- A friend we’d recommend it to first: Lovers of smaller, vintage-style watches
- Best characteristics of the watch: The overall look that stays faithful to the original
- The worst characteristics of the watch: Water resistance is lacking for a model inspired by a historic “sports” watch.
