This Affordable ’60s Dive Watch Has a Hidden Trick You’ve Never Seen

A hands-on review of the Antarctic Dive Aquamar from Nivada Grenchen, an archival dive watch updated with a brilliant dial trick.

By Brad Lanphear

Published 5 hours ago

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From creating interchangeable bezels to digging up dead stock movements, Nivada Grenchen has made a habit of creating exciting designs that no other watchmaker is even considering.

Amplifying this innovative spirit is the brand’s extensive archive, which the current owners have made good use of since reviving the brand in 2018.

a Nivada dive watch with a blue dial — The hour markers can change color by adjusting the crown like you would change the date.

Take, for example, the new Antarctic Diver Aquamar, which is based on a watch from the 1960s, but has been outfitted with a fascinating little trick.

There are two versions with distinct dials and hands, one gray dial with dash indices and two “roulette” dials in black and blue. All three watches feature an adjustable dial the likes of which I have never seen.

The sandwich dial has cutouts on the top layer for the hour markers, and the exposed colors beneath can be adjusted with a turn of the crown. Though a small detail, the ability to customize the look of a watch dial on the fly is novel and fun.

With the flick of the wrist

The engineering behind this little trick is so simple, it’s incredible that it didn’t come about a long time ago. Nivada Grenchen’s design team, led by CEO Guillaume Laidet, switched out the date wheel on a Soprod caliber P024 automatic movement for a wheel with multiple colored sections.

a Nivada dive watch — The hour markers above have been adjusted from the previous pictures.

Rather than exposing the date wheel through a single window, the hour markers are cut out of the top layer of the dial to view the different colors on the wheel.

Turning the crown at its first placement, which would typically adjust the date, moves the color wheel and adjusts the arrangement of the hour markers.

a blue Nivada dive watch — The blue dial and black dial references alternate between lume styles.

The gray dial reference rotates a sequence of orange, two black, orange, two black, orange, two white, orange, two white. The other two references alternate every hour marker between bright white “new lume” and faux patina “old lume.”

a black Nivada dive watch — The black and blue dials are based on the original Aquamar from the 1960s.

Obviously, this retrofitting of the date wheel means that the Antarctic Dive Aquamar has a three-hand dial. This is the one significant aesthetic departure from the original Nivada Aquamar from the 1960s, which had a date window.

On the wrist

The first thing I noticed about the Antarctic Diver Aquamar when I put it on was how small it felt, in a good way. The case measures 38mm and the lugs are curved to hug the wrist, so it wears more like a 37mm to 36mm.

Admittedly, this is my sweet spot for watch sizing, but some people may find it surprisingly small for a dive watch.

As far as dive watches go, the gray dial reference has everything you want in a low-key daily watch. The dial color is uncommon but demure, the narrow hands and dash hour markers are discrete and the dive bezel is understated.

a Nivada dive watch on a man's wrist — The 38mm case hugs the wrist, making it feel smaller.

That said, it is still a fully functional dive watch with a screw-down crown, screw in case back, double-domed sapphire crystal and strong lume. A 200m water resistance rating means you really never have to take it off your wrist.

After a full day with this watch, the two most impressive attributes—aside from the adjustable dial—were the finishing and the lume. The ceramic bezel insert, polished steel case, double-domed sapphire crystal and even the crown share an eye-catching luster.

the case back of a Nivada watch with a penguin on it — The case back is marked with Nivada’s Antarctic penguin coin.

The lume is powerful on the relatively small hands and covers every bezel detail. On the gray dial, only the white color on the rotating wheel shows with lume, and I was hoping the orange would as well.

My final assessment is that the Antarctic Diver Aquamar is an excellent bargain at $1,050. It runs on a respectable Soprod caliber PO24 automatic movement, and the case is very well built.

a dive watch in its box — The Antarctic Diver Aquamar comes in a padded display box.

The rotating hour marker color wheel is a fun trick that is tastefully hidden away. This is a versatile, functional and very nice-looking daily diver with an excellent conversation starter built in.

Availability and pricing

The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Diver Aquamar is available now from Nivada Grenchen for $1,050.

As with most Nivada Grenchen watches, there are 10 strap options, including the black vulcanized rubber tropical strap seen above, a steel “beads of rice” bracelet, four leather straps and two nylon NATO straps.

Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Diver Aquamar

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	Soprod caliber PO24 automatic
Water Resistance	200m

$1,050 at Nivada Grenchen

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.