The polar legend that Instagram brought back to life

A Nivada Grenchen follower shared a photograph of his original vintage Super Antarctic, the offbeat, graphic, deeply characterful tool watch from the brand's 1950s and 60s archive and the response was immediate. Thousands of messages. An unmistakable signal. The community had found something dormant in the archives that deserved to live again.
Nivada Grenchen responded the way a watch brand should by going back to the original with complete fidelity, and updating only what modern standards demanded. The result is the Super Antarctic Black Beige Luminova 35mm, a watch that carries the visual language, the proportions, and the spirit of a polar expedition timepiece from seven decades ago, powered by a Swiss manual-winding movement, protected by a double-domed sapphire crystal.

Why 35mm is exactly the right size

The conversation around watch sizing has shifted decisively over the past several years. The era of 42mm-plus sport watches as the only acceptable expression of masculinity or seriousness has passed. Across the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, and continental Europe, collectors and everyday wearers alike are rediscovering the pleasure of a properly sized watch one that fits the wrist rather than overpowering it, that reads as deliberate rather than compensatory, and that sits in the tradition of the watches that defined the category before the supersizing era began.

Black, Beige, and the Art of high-contrast vintage legibility

The dial of the Super Antarctic Black Beige Luminova is an exercise in graphic restraint that achieves maximum impact. A flat matte solid black surface provides the foundation, not the glossy lacquer black of a dress watch, but the dead, light-absorbing matte that gives tool watches their utilitarian authority. Against this, shiny silver applied indexes provide the structural legibility framework. And across both, the beige Super-LumiNova (7403C) introduces the element that makes this dial immediately recognisable: the warm, aged-lume aesthetic of a vintage watch, delivered by a modern photoluminescent compound that actually performs in darkness.

Case

35mm, Stainless steel

Glass

Double-domed sapphire crystal

Dial

Black dial with beige luminous indexes

Movement

Manual-winding Landeron 21

Crown

Standard crown (manual-wind movement)

Water resistance

5 ATM / 50 m

strap

Leather strap or Stainless Steel Bracelet

Landeron 21 and the case for manual winding

The Landeron 21 is a hand-wound Swiss movement that deserves more recognition than it typically receives. Landeron was a Swiss movement manufacturer that operated in the Jura region and produced calibres used by a range of respected Swiss brands across the mid-to-late twentieth century. The calibre inside the Super Antarctic Black Beige Luminova operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz) with a 36-hour power reserve.

Nine ways to wear the same watch

The Super Antarctic Black Beige Luminova was available with nine strap configurations, a range that reflects a serious understanding of how watch buyers in 2025 actually use their watches. The options span Black Racing, Brown Racing, Black Leather, Brown Leather, Black Leather White Stitching, Brown Leather White Stitching, Beads of Rice, Rubber Tropic, and Bracelet Flat Link.
Each configuration changes the watch's character substantially. The Rubber Tropic strap echoes the tropical rubber straps common on tool watches in the 1960s and 70s, emphasising the Super Antarctic's expedition credentials. The Bracelet Flat Link gives the watch a more formal integrated presence. The leather options with white stitching lean into a sports-casual aesthetic that suits the 35mm case perfectly. The Beads of Rice bracelet references the specific bracelet style associated with vintage Nivada Grenchen models from the Super Antarctic era.

Discover the Antarctic collection