Antarctic
The Antarctic is one of Nivada’s iconic lines, beginning in the late 1950s and applied continuously to a variety of watches by the firm throughout the 20th century.
Stylish Art Deco design and eye-catching dials, coupled with a keen marketing campaign, ensured the Antarctic was a best seller for Nivada. Fortunately, it had the non-nonsense rugged features to back up the good looks, and is a favourite of mine from the brand. This page will focus on the very first Antarctic and the immediate ‘Roman Numeral’ series that accompanied it, from the late 1950s into the early 1960s. I will try and document the variations, production eccentricities and some of the key items to look out for when buying one.
There will also be a separate page for the Antarctic Chronometre, which I consider to be the other bookend to the initial ‘era’ of Antarctics, as well as the Penguin.
Inception
In the aftermath of World War II, nations sought to rebuild, recover and restart lines of communication. Global organisations including the International Council of Scientific Unions were formed, as the scientific community were keen to share the cavalcade of discoveries being made in science using new technology. As the Cold War between the East and West loomed in the 1950s, the ICSU proposed an International Geophysical Year (IGY) to run from 1957 to 58. The plan centred on cooperation and innovation in eleven key Earth science fields, and laid the groundwork for a legacy that included the World Data System that exists today.
One landmass became the focus for many nations: the Antarctic. Teams across the world setting up permanent bases, mapped the landmass in new detail and researched unknown phenomena. Our understanding of the aurora australis, geomagnetism and the ionisphere stems from the expeditions and work completed during the IGY.
Watch manufacturers realised the IGY would capture the public’s imagination, and many constructed watches in line with the spirit of exploration. Some ensured their watches were gifted to expedition members, the legacy of which is evident today in pieces such as the Rolex Explorer and Jaeger Le-Coultre Geophysic, while others simply used the ‘exploration’ trend in branding and design.
Nivada provided watches for the US Antarctic expedition during the IGY, named Operation Deep Freeze. Task Force 43, under the command of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, established a permanent research station for scientists in the region, with the US Navy forming a key part of the supply chain as studies were made in hydrography, tectonic assessment and marine life.
The three key tenets of the Antarctic range were to be waterproof, self-winding (automatic) and anti-magnetic.
National Geographic magazine’s Thomas Abercrombie, first correspondent to reach the South Pole, flies the Society’s flag from the Pole while reporting on the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58.
IGY and Operation Deep Freeze marked mail, the octogon on the left being the official symbol
Deep Freeze US mail with a Penguin, incidentally a symbol that would be associated with the Nivada Antarctic later in time
Author’s c1960 ‘tundra dial’ Antarctic, with non-original crown.
Case Design
The Antarctic built on Nivada’s Aquamatic line that was its best-seller in the early 1950s, taking the Art Deco numerals, elaborate faceted markers and dauphine hands into a distinctive waterproofcase and adding antimagnetic properties.
The bevelled lugs are the defining characteristic of the first series, flattened on the top to create a wonderful curved cutout at each corner. A thick bezel contributes to the wrist presence, a move that would be seen in the late 1950s as being distinct from the standard dress watches of the day, but likely appearing unremarkable to many now.
The case is only 35mm without the crown, 42mm lug to lug and has a 18mm lug width, so can accommodate a number of strap options. Unfortunately, the sharp bevels on the lugs tend to wear down leather straps and NATOs, worth noting if you have more expensive and delicate items in your collection.
The crown is a distinctive design that was designed to the operated with gloves on, and again contributes to the rugged style.
The caseback is dodecahedral and requires the correct tool for opening to minimise the risk of scratches, and the whole case stands only at a slim 11.5mm with the crystal.
12 sided caseback with original descriptive engraving and stamped case number
Distinctive lug shape and wide, slanted bezel clearly visible at this angle
Dials and Hands
Nivada had a talent for dial design, especially texture. The first series Antarctic was available with a 3D textured dial in addition to the flat white and black examples, a ‘tundra’ elucidating the evocative landscapes of the windswept polar region.
All first series hands were dauphine with a thin rectangular block of lume, and second hands were typically thermally blued on light dials, and painted red for the black dials.
Dial lume consisted of eight Vs over the multifaceted markers and four lines by the 3, 6, 9 and 12, though these are often absent or have turned a darker brown.
Minute markers are right at the edge of the dial, four in each hour segment, and the hour markers all applied and highly polished, catching the light and casting shadow in wonderful shapes under the crystal.
The earliest Nivada Grenchen and Antarctic fonts are different - the Antarctic is wider, with more space between the letters. The Swiss underneath the 6 is, I believe, the same font as the Nivada but just smaller, and was not accompanied by ‘T’s.
Later dials in the 1960s used the later Nivada font and the italicised Antarctic script, examples of which we look at below.
Tundra dial ripple pattern more noticeable in autumnal raking light.
ETA 2375 with balance wheel ‘spat’ and two equal-sized gears on the rotor train. Thanks to Mitka (mitka.co.uk) for getting this Antarctic up and running.
Movements
ETA movements were used for almost all of the Roman Numeral Antarctics. An ETA 1256 powered the very first examples, though production at ETA ceased around 1955 and the replacement 2375 started to be used.
All Antarctic movement in the Roman Numeral series have a distinctive copper plating to provide a modicum of antimagnetism.
The 1256 is notable for being ETA’s first automatic movement with a full rotor, and had been used to great effect in Nivada’s watches, particularly the Aquamatic, which was heavily marketed for its waterproof and self-winding properties in the early 1950s. A power reserve of 40 hours, steady beat rate of 18000 and height of under 6mm ensured it became one of ETA’s all-time best sellers, cementing the movement manufacturer for many Swiss brands as well made, reliable and easily serviceable engines. Available in 17, 21 and 25 jewel variant, it appears the Antarctic received all three variants according to availability.
The ETA 2375 arrived after 1955 as an upgrade to the venerable 1256, enhancing shock protection and general robustness while keeping the same dimensions and power reserve. Also available in variants with different jewel counts, the movement is identifiable as it has a significant bridge covering most of the balance wheel when viewed from above.
Date variants were also available, using ETA 245x and 247x movements I believe, which were available in the early 1960s.
The ETA 1256 in an Antarctic. Note the exposed balance wheel and unequal sized gears for the automatic winder. Credit to @vintagediver and Worn and Wound for this excellent photo.
Another 1256 in a gold plated case
Summary Specifications
Model: Antarctic (first execution)
Diameter (excluding crown): 35mm
Lug to lug: 42mm
Lug width: 18mm
Height: 11.5mm
Movement: Various automatic ETA 1256, 23xx, 24xx.
Power reserve: ~40 hours
Case: All stainless steel, base metal/plated, later gold plated available.
Author and @neilfrancis1 Antarctics, tundra and smooth dials
Variants
This first Antarctic was in production for about 8 years as far as I can discern, and had the longest production of any Antarctic variant. Like the original Omega Speedmaster, it outlived its successors (II, III, IV etc.) in the first era, with a number of dial and hand variations as the company evolved. It can be difficult to discern what is 100% original with Antarctics, though hopefully the library of images below and contributions from fellow Nivada collectors proves useful to those on the hunt. If you have any further information or wish to contribute, please contact me on instagram (@vintagenivada)
White dial dual branded Croton Nivada Genchen early antarctic, courtesy of @moclovflop
Superb Croton branded example from @moclovflop. Note the different hands which may be original for some Croton variants
Black dialed Aquamatic with lume reapplied later
Aquamatic black dial, a common occurrence though it is not yet know if there is any difference in the movements from Antarctic variants (credit- retrowatchguy.com)
MId period (Italic script) example in fantastic condition from @watchdork. Note the '21' for number of jewels in the movement.
@moclovflop's enviable collection
Early gold plated example with dual Croton Nivada branding
Later gold plated example with date. Note the italic Nivada font introduced somewhere in the early 1960s and Antarctic script. Note the markers have also changed from the earliest versions
Very attractive mid 1960s gold plated example with polished outer minute track
End-of-run Antarctic with several 1960s design cues: stick hands, block hour markers and date window. Note the destruction of the leather strap by the sharp lugs!
Special mention for this very rare beauty at the end of the run - an incredible ‘triangulation’ dial with offset script and lume dots.
I would love to get my hands on one of these! Credit to rarebirds.de for this example.
And finally…
If you made it this far you deserve a laugh - here’s me recreating one of the iconic Antarctic adverts.