Nivada’s Aquamar Dive Watch Lets You Choose Between White or Fauxtina Lume at the Twist of a Crown

In the crowded dive watch market, there still seems to be little room for improvement and especially innovation — at least not without disrupting the entire design language that defines the very spirit of the dive watch category. However, Nivada Grenchen appears to have gotten their cake and eaten it too, debuting a brand-new take on the Aquamar with an interesting, if not inconsequential, spin that we’ve never seen before.

An Antarctic Legacy Gets Warmer

The Aquamar name isn’t new to Nivada Grenchen’s catalog. Originally introduced in the late 1960s as part of the brand’s broader Antarctic family of professional timepieces, the model was the more casual, skin-diver cousin to the rugged Antarctic models that famously accompanied the American Navy’s Deep Freeze 1 expedition to the South Pole in the ‘50s. Where the Antarctic was built for extreme conditions, the Aquamar catered to the growing leisure diving market.

This modern revival stays true to that original spirit, getting a trio of new dial options that feature a complication we’ve never encountered. Instead of the date window that the original had, Nivada has repurposed the crown’s date adjustment mechanism to create a user-adjustable lume system that lets you switch between vintage-style patina (aka “fauxtina”) and crisp white luminescence at the twist of the finger.

The Lume Trick That Actually Works

Rather than engage in the tired fauxtina debate, Nivada Grenchen has essentially ended it by giving you both options in the same watch. The sandwich dial construction features cutout hour markers that reveal the modified date wheel beneath, which alternates between its two Super-LumiNova sections, transforming the character of the watch instantly. However, the lume pip at the top of the bezel shows its hand by leaning more vintage-style than white, but I digress.

Surprisingly, the party trick is executed through remarkably simple engineering. The brand’s team, led by CEO Guillaume Laidet, swapped out the standard date disc on the Swiss-made Soprod P024 movement for a custom wheel with alternating lume colors. 

The execution varies slightly across the three dial variants. The blue and black dials alternate every hour marker between new and aged lume styles. However, the gray version changes it up a bit, cycling between orange, black, and white segments through its smaller marker cutouts.

Classic Proportions

Beyond the lume novelty, the Aquamar keeps period-correct skin diver proportions with its 38mm stainless steel case with 12.9mm thickness despite a nice 200m of water resistance. Around the dial is a bidirectional ceramic dive bezel, while the dial itself is covered with a sturdy double-domed sapphire crystal. Nivada has kept the brushed case finishing simple, avoiding the over-polished look that can make affordable watches feel cheap. The penguin emblem on the gold-colored caseback coin ties it back to the Antarctic heritage in a subtle way — as long as you don’t actually flip the watch over. 

Speaking of options, Nivada gives you plenty of choices for the strap, including leather, both with or without stitching, racing-style leather, a tropic-style rubber, and both flat-link and beads-of-rice steel bracelets.

Spec Sheet

Pricing & Availability

The Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Diver Aquamar is available now for just $1,050 across all dial variants, which we won’t be complaining about.

Recap

Nivada Grenchen Aquamar

Reviving a ’60s dive watch, Nivada Grenchen’s new Aquamar gives you two lume options by turning the crown. It’s available in three dial variants and costs just $1k.

Learn More: Nivada Grenchen