Introducing: The Ace Jewelers × Nivada Grenchen Super Antarctic With A Polar-White Dial
In 2021, an Instagram post of a vintage Nivada Grenchen Super Antarctic went viral. It caught the attention of the people who revived the brand, and they soon decided to make a re-edition. This resulted in a modernized 38mm version of the Super Antarctic. Until now, it has been available with a black or tropical brown dial with numerals or triangles at each quarter and different lume colors to choose from. To celebrate the newly formed retail partnership between Nivada Grenchen and Ace Jewelers in Amsterdam, the two parties decided to launch a unique collaboration version with a matte white dial — the Super Antarctic Polar.
The white dial isn’t something the two collaborators randomly came up with themselves. In the 1950s, the United States Navy organized expeditions to the South Pole — code-named Deep Freeze — to conduct scientific research. Nivada Grenchen used to provide the US Navy with watches to use during these expeditions. The white-dial version of the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic actually shows up in some of the advertisements from that period. Let’s take a closer look at this new limited edition.
The Nivada Grenchen Super Antarctic
The vintage Nivada Grenchen Super Antarctic was a 34mm watch with a Plexiglass crystal and an automatic movement. The 2021 version of the Super Antarctic was upgraded to more modern standards. It grew to a 38mm size, got a double-domed sapphire crystal, and was fitted with a Swiss Soprod P024 automatic movement. Even though it became a little bigger, it’s still not a big watch by any means. With a 12mm thickness and just a 45mm lug-to-lug, this watch won’t likely get in your way while you’re doing your thing.
The mainly brushed case has polished facets on the top of the lugs to match the finishing on the beads-of-rice bracelet. On top, the sloped, polished bezel stands out nicely and surrounds the polar-white matte dial. At each quarter, you find large triangular applied hour markers with rectangular ones in between them. All contain a nice amount of luminous material, just like the large hands. On this limited edition, the seconds hand is orange. This refers to the color of the equipment used on those earlier polar expeditions. But it’s also a nice wink to the Dutch national color, of course. The brand and model names are printed in black at 12 and 6 o’clock, respectively.
A Swiss-made caliber
Inside the Super Antarctic is a no-date version of the Swiss-made Soprod P024 automatic movement. This movement is basically a clone of the ETA 2824-2, which works fine and keeps the costs down. It runs at a 28,800vph frequency, features 25 jewels, and has a power reserve of about 38 hours. You can operate it with the branded onion-style screw-down crown at 3 o’clock. This crown also helps to achieve water resistance to 100 meters.
So does the screw-in case back of the Super Antarctic. As you can see, it features a gold-plated medallion in the center. This is the same medallion that can also be found on some vintage Super Antarctic models. It shows a Douglas C-124 airplane nicknamed “Miss North Caroline” that landed in Antarctica during one of the first Deep Freeze missions in 1956. It also shows a representation of the permanent research station that was built. Encircling the medallion is an inscription that tells you that this watch is a limited edition in collaboration with Ace Jewelers.
Final thoughts
Unfortunately, I haven’t handled this watch myself yet. However, judging from the size and the pictures, it looks like a very nice all-arounder. Its compact size means that it’ll fit comfortably on a large variety of wrist sizes. The matte white dial is a nice addition to the otherwise dark options that were already available. Plus, that orange seconds hand makes it look just a bit more sporty than it already was. I also like how the insides of the lugs seem to taper a bit. This means the case should nicely embrace the additional orange NATO strap that comes with the watch.
The Nivada Grenchen Super Antarctic Polar is available now for €1,155 (including VAT). It’s only sold through Ace Jewelers’ physical store in Amsterdam and its online shop. As mentioned, it comes with a stainless steel beads-of-rice bracelet and an orange NATO strap. For more information, please check out the Ace Jewelers website.
What do you think of this new Polar addition to the Nivada Grenchen Super Antarctic family? Let me know in the comments below.
