Over the past handful of years, Nivada Grenchen has quickly grown from a young upstart to a genuine contender in its market segment. Throughout the brand’s speedy rise to cult favorite status among enthusiasts, perhaps the greatest factor in the brand’s success has been its ability to capture the look and feel of a vintage timepiece, but built to modern standards and a solidly competitive price point. We here at aBlogtoWatch have described this Nivada Grenchen charm before as echoing the feeling of finding a never-before-seen vintage gem in the back of a dusty shop case or watch show, but for its latest release the brand ramps up the vintage look and feel further than ever before. The new Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT is the brand’s most authentically old-school feeling watch to date, but with just enough modern amenities to make it an easy choice for daily wear.
Although it measures in at a diminutive 36mm wide on paper, the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT’s stainless steel case wears closer to 38mm on the wrist thanks to a handful of design factors. First and foremost, there’s the case finishing to consider. The cushion-style case form is fully polished, with broad, highly reflective flat surfaces throughout. Polished areas tend to make a case feel larger during wear, and the all-over polished look has the added effect of further emphasizing the watch’s vintage character on the wrist. Documentation on the original early ‘70s-era Antarctic GMT that inspired this model is scarce, so it’s difficult to say if these models were originally full-polished, but seasoned vintage collectors should be familiar with the look of a case that’s been all-over polished at some point to eliminate scratches. It’s not necessarily a bad look, but it’s one that dredges up plenty of memories for dedicated vintage watch hunters. The ultra-high-profile plexiglass crystal accentuates this old-school charm even further, bringing its distinctive warmth to the dial while adding significant height to the overall profile (even with this box crystal, however, the overall thickness is a manageable 11.1mm). As for the case form itself, there’s a handsome simplicity here, with short, notched lugs, gently arching slab case sides, and a pair of signed screw-down crowns at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock. These crowns are likely to be a point of contention among enthusiasts, though. Although the overall look definitely suggests a water-resistant super compressor-style case (sure enough, the original Antarctic GMT’s case was a legitimate EPSA-made super compressor), Nivada manages only 50 meters of water resistance out of a case with screw-down crowns and a solid caseback. This does limit the Antarctic GMT’s heavy-duty utility and potentially hampers its usefulness as an all-in-one choice for travel. That said, the caseback itself is attractively finished, with a matte blasted and polished yellow gold inlay featuring the Antarctic line’s stylized penguin logo.
Nivada Grenchen has built its modern reputation on fastidious recreations of vintage designs, and the Antarctic GMT’s dial is arguably its most faithful rendition to date. Available in either matte black or a limited-to-99-pieces tropical brown variant, this dial absolutely nails the vintage ‘70s vibe on the wrist, down to the small, faceted applied indices and shortish baton handset. The inner GMT bezel is also carried over verbatim from its ‘70s forebear with a full scale of bold serif numerals and a split black and lemon yellow color palette that adds warmth to the wearing experience. While the original model’s bezel was painted, however, here Nivada adds a new layer of depth and reflectivity by rendering this element in rounded plexiglass. This gives an almost Bakelite-esque look in most lighting conditions but remains sharp and easy to read. The other real visual standout in this layout is the GMT hand itself. This red and black checkerboard pattern stick hand is a direct carryover from the vintage model, as well, and adds a hefty dollop of personality to the overall presentation. However, both the checkerboard color scheme and the short overall length make this hand difficult to discern at a glance, which significantly impacts legibility.
Inside the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT beats the Soprod C125 automatic GMT movement. This Swiss Made powerplant is an increasingly popular alternative to both traditional Swiss GMT options from ETA and Sellita, as well as Seiko and Citizen’s more affordable GMT options. Looking at the specifications, the C125 is a solid performer, with a 42-hour power reserve and a smooth 28,800 bph beat rate. However, this is a “caller” GMT movement with an independently adjustable GMT hand, as opposed to the more desirable independent local hour hand, and that will undoubtedly be a stumbling block for some. Nivada Grenchen offers the Antarctic GMT with an extensive suite of strap options, including a beads-of-rice bracelet, as well as brown and black leather straps with or without rally-style perforations. Our review sample arrived on the brown leather rally strap, which echoes both the warmth and vintage energy of the watch excellently. We’ve seen this strap before on various Nivadas, and the thickness, flexibility, and pigskin-style texture make it a winner on the wrist.
In only a few years since its revival, Nivada Grenchen has become a master of the art of the vintage reissue, with most releases presenting an impressively faithful recreation while subtly updating things for modern audiences. The new Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT falls further onto the vintage side of the balance than its predecessors, but its warmth, charisma, and handsome presentation make it a dark horse in the increasingly crowded sub-$2,000 GMT race. The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT is available through the brand’s e-commerce platform starting November 14, 2024. The starting MSRP for the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT stands at $1,600 USD as of press time. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
