Hodinkee, the cult-favorite media platform covering all things watches, has once again joined forces with a historic brand to bring back a classic timepiece. Teaming up with the revived Swiss watchmaker Nivada Grenchen, they’re releasing their first limited-edition collaboration: the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT Limited Edition for Hodinkee, and Maxim has the exclusive first look.
This special release takes direct inspiration from a rare 1960s Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT, a vintage piece that was recently featured and sold in the Hodinkee Shop. It’s so rare, in fact, that the one in Hodinkee’s shop is one of the only known examples to have come to market. The new watch is a modern, go-anywhere update of that classic design, featuring a subtle gray motif, upgraded sapphire crystal, and increased water resistance.
The new watch carries a thoroughly modern, Hodinkee-tweaked design, building on the motifs from the “Grey Glow” exclusives. High-contrast design changes simplify the look and make for a more robust, go-anywhere watch. At a modest 36mm in diameter and 40mm lug-to-lug, the watch is a perfect fit for a variety of wrists. What stays the same as the original is the reliable, automatic, and self-winding SOPROD C125 movement, with 42 hours of power reserve and a frequency of 4Hz. That’s where the similarities end, as Hodinkee has made some critical upgrades. The crown at 2 o’clock adjusts the 24-hour rotating inner bezel, while the crown at 4 o’clock independently adjusts the GMT hand and date in the first position, and the 12-hour time in the second.
Guillaume Laidet, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of the newly revived Nivada Grenchen, points to that vintage reference as the direct inspiration for the resurrection of the Antarctic GMT line. “For me, this limited edition represents a true milestone,” says Laidet. “The Hodinkee Shop was actually the very first retailer to carry Nivada. I am, therefore, especially proud of this limited edition and of this fruitful collaboration.”
Most importantly, the crystal has been upgraded to scratch-resistant sapphire, which doubles the water resistance from 50 to 100 meters, a feature exclusive to Hodinkee’s Limited Edition and more in line with the Antarctic’s hard-wearing history. On the dial, you’ll notice that the full Nivada Grenchen logo is on display at 12 o’clock, while a modest “AUTOMATIC GMT” completes the look on the bottom half. Forgoing the script “Antarctic” altogether, the resulting look is perfectly balanced. Nearly every part of the watch that is white, including the applied writing, the inner GMT bezel, and the handset, is finished in Super-LumiNova, which glows bright green in low light.
The case has been equally considered. The top portion is vertically brushed, as opposed to the polished finish of the mainline Antarctic GMT. This ties the Hodinkee version to the original brushed compressor case supplied by Ervin Piquerez S.A. (EPSA). The case thickness is a svelte 11.1mm, a nearly 2mm reduction from the original’s 12.75mm. The caseback offers a further nod to the vintage example, with a stainless steel penguin engraving on a steel medallion instead of gold. The watch is completed with two strap options: a hard-wearing gray NATO and an equally robust gray suede-leather strap.
This limited-edition collaboration is a true adventurer’s watch, built for extreme expeditions and equally at home on a remote glacier as it is on a weekend trail. Only 225 pieces of the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic GMT Limited Edition for Hodinkee are available for purchase starting at $1,700.
