As our good friend Isaac points out in his latest Lessons in Wristory, a watch itself is only half of what makes a watch great. The other 50% is accounted for by the people, stories, and historical context that goes along with it. So, today we’re firing up the DeLorean and heading back to the 1950’s, a time when the world was still recovering from the second Great War, and the Eastern and Western Blocks were ramping up for 35 years of icy relations. We’re wading through the maze of entangled foreign relations, on the hunt for more long-lost watchmakers, and we have Nivada in our sights.
Oddly enough, during this hostile time in our world’s history, there was a period (post-Stalin, of course) where an uninhabited continent – one that provided no wealth or prominence – brought together forty nations with a common goal of exploring the unknown in the most extreme region of the world. Now, “extreme” is a term that is tossed around as often as “serviced”, or “NOS”, in sales postings on eBay, with the actual products oftentimes falling short of its descriptors. However, with a vast frozen desert, a population of precisely zero, sub-zero temperatures, and little too no animal or plant life, it’s safe to say Antarctica is certifiably “extreme”.
“Operation Deep Freeze I” was a collaborative effort prior to the International Geophysical Year (IGY), lead by the US, New Zealand, UK, France, Japan, Norway, Chile, Argentina, and the U.S.S.R. The alliance formed with goals of advancing the world’s knowledge of Antarctica’s climate, oceans, glacial movements, and marine life. Accompanying the scientists was Task Force 43, a deployment commissioned by the US Navy in 1955, which focused on logistical stability and security for housing, food, supplies, and gear for all crew and scientists. In these extreme climates, teams would wear up to six layers of clothing, and rest assured, they weren’t just trying to save room in their luggage. But most importantly (to the watch nerds, anyway), the US Navy issued teams a simple three-handed chronometer manufactured by Nivada, a Swiss dinosaur eradicated during the “Quartz Crisis”. The “Antarctic” was a simple tool watch able to withstand extreme conditions featuring a waterproof and anti-magnetic case, an almost Explorer-like dial with polished icicle markers, and a Nivada decorated manual winding movement.
In addition to their Antarctic series, Nivada released the Chronomaster, a two-register chronograph with a waterproof case designed to excel in the air, land, and sea. Powered by several movements over the years, but most notably the Valjoux 92, a gorgeous column wheel movement also found in the first execution Heuer Autavia (ref 3646). Over its tenure, the Chronomaster was outfitted with a variety of hand sets and dial configurations; however, the broad arrow hands used in the ‘60s, paired with the matte black dial, pump pushers, and Valjoux 92 are a personal favorite, and seem to hold their value quite well.
Nivada was one of the first companies to manufacture automatic bumper watches and was a leader in case style and technological advancements in 1940’s and 1950’s. Due to legal issues over name similarities with Movado, Nivada was forced to add “Grenchen”, the brand’s hometown in Switzerland. What’s more, Nivada leveraged the US brand Croton to avoid further issues, which explains Croton-branded watches that look remarkably similar to known Nivada Grenchen references.
Regardless of what the dial is branded, here we have another almost forgotten watch manufacture that was unable to stand the test of time. For the price, you can’t get a much better story or watch on the vintage market. You’ll see Nivada from time to time in our Market Watch(ing) roundups, and they’re absolutely worth looking for on eBay and the sales forums. It’s a shame brands like Nivada couldn’t stick around, but we enjoy digging up their histories and uncovering great stories.
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