“Nivada Grenchen’s Antarctic GMT – Bringing the Jet Age Back, One Time Zone at a Time.”
Nivada Grenchen has been doing its thing since 1926, and by “thing,” we mean making watches that won’t flinch, no matter where you take them. Dive? Check. Daily reminders? Check. Extreme sports? Double check. Every Nivada watch is built with purpose—and sometimes, with two crowns.
Throughout the process of authoring the book Nivada Antarctic: “The Antarctic by Nivada Grenchen,” Nivada’s CEO, Guillaume Laidet, together with Aashdin K. Billimora, collector and historian extraordinaire recently found a gem while surfing through vintage watches on one particularly known online watch shop (hint: it rhymes with Bajonkee): a GMT model that the brand originally launched in the 1970s. Naturally, Guillaume thought, Why not bring this beauty back? Thus, the Antarctic GMT was reborn.
“Why GMT? Because Time Zones Are Still a Thing.”
The Jet Age between 1955 and 1972 had people hopping across continents like it was a casual commute, so GMT watches became the essential travel buddy for tracking multiple time zones. Nivada Grenchen joined the GMT revolution back then with a model powered by the AR-1146 movement. It wasn’t the fancy kind that lets you adjust the 24-hour hand independently—this one kept things in sync, pure pilot style.
(This is NOT the original but you’d be hard-pressed to tell the diff.)
In classic Nivada style, they upped the GMT game by placing it in a dive-ready case crafted by Ervin Piquerez S.A. (EPSA). The case was a “Super Compressor,” meaning it flexed with water pressure to improve its seal as you dove deeper. Production was short-lived due to the quartz crisis, making vintage Antarctic GMTs rarer than a unicorn’s fart.
“Built for Adventures from Pole to Pole (or Couch to Coffee Shop)”
The new Antarctic GMT brings that ’70s vibe straight to your wrist. With a brushed steel case measuring 36 mm in diameter, 11.1 mm in thickness with a lug-to-lug length of just 41 mm (give or take), it’s comfortable for your wrist and cool enough for your next red-eye.
A red-and-black GMT hand stands out on a matte black dial replete with applied silver indexes filled with SLC3 lume while an amber 24-hour bezel (actuated by the 2 o’clock crown) and retro Plexiglass crystal bring all the vintage vibes without the sapphire distortions.
There’s even a brown “Tropical” dial variant that’s limited to just 99 pieces. Bummer.
Another slightly bigger boo-boo is the fact that the watch is no longer an actual compressor watch anymore. Nivada Grenchen instead has opted for a traditional 2-part construction with a screw-down solid caseback and a frankly disappointing 50 m of water resistance.
At its heart is an automatic, 25-jeweled SOPROD C125 calibre that beats at 4 Hz with a power reserve of around 42 hours. As for strap options, there’s a perforated leather strap in either black or brown, a steel bracelet, or a Tropic rubber strap.
Last but most certainly not least, pricing and availability. The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT will be on sale from November 14 with prices beginning at $1,600 (RM7,014).
