Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
It’s the 1950s and the technological boom of the post-war era has led to a new age of exploration. One intrepid explorer has set a new benchmark by being the first conquer one of nature’s greatest feats, and part of his kit is an experimental tool watch built to withstand the harshest environments on Earth.
Your mind probably went to Sir Edmund Hillary’s summit of Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay in 1953, and the famous Rolex Explorer prototype that accompanied them.
But I was actually describing Nivada Grenchen and its own purpose-built 1950s adventure watch, the Antarctic. The 34mm watch became the first wristwatch worn in the southernmost continent in 1956 when it was issued to Admiral Richard E. Byrd during Operation Deep Freeze I, the United States’ mission to set up a permanent base on the continent.
Nivada GrenchenThe reborn Nivada brand has been making modern Antarctic watches for a few years now, offering buyers a budget alternative to the Rolex Explorer that is not an homage and that has similar historical significance behind it.
Today, the brand’s Antarctic offerings have improved further, as Nivada is now offering both the Super Antarctic and Antarctic Spider — both previously only available in a 38mm size — in a new, more period-correct 35mm case.
Nivada Grenchen