I came across this watch that keeps calling me back. I have only found one other, as a comparison. The thing that I'm not sure about is the writing on the dial. I can't find enough examples to see if it's a redial or that's the way it looks. Yes, the hands have some rust but, damn, if that's not one of the things I like. Any help is appreciated.
I know nothing about it, but I would seriously doubt that is a re-dial. Possibly some re-applied lume. The hands look like they spent some time submerged in the Antarctic Sea. What movement is that?
Don't know much about these, either, but it does have a nice 'hard-edged' rusty look to it. Based on the style, my wild-guess is that it's a mid-late seventies, but I'm sure there is someone here that could give you a more accurate guess... If the price is right, you should buy it and enjoy it before it completely patinates into oblivion!
I recently found this Antarctic (with the longer name) in a small booth on 47th in NYC for dirt cheap:
NG has been using the "Antarctic" tag for various references, for quite a long while - since the late 50's. Hard to imagine it would be worth faking on of these, so I would say authentic. Those hands simply ooze wabi sabi.
The dial is correct. I sold this example to a good friend (and forum member) earlier in the year, and the model is fairly uncommon.
ETA 2472, a common movement in the day. Doxa used these in their Sub 300t models back then. Solid movements in my experience. In fact the whole package looks close enough in style to the Doxas I wonder if they are related somehow. Case, dial, hands all show a resemblance to the Doxa style. Makes me wonder if Nivada was related to Synchron back at this time, or at least maybe ordered parts from them. Anyway, I like it. Cheers, Al
I don't believe that there was a connection between those two companies, as the case and dial style were used (with some variations) by a number of manufacturers. Here's another version that I own:
This begs the question: What is the right price? The seller is asking $595, which seems high. He came back with $525. Given the condition, is that fair? I don't have anything to compare it to. I guess @Tony C. would have the best idea.
I think that the price is high. With some patience, you'll find a cleaner example for around that price. You, I, and a perhaps a few others appreciate the patina on the hands, but I doubt that anyone will pay close to the asking price.
I'm very keen on Nivadas and feel that the brand remains pretty underrated. Suggest you have a look at http://forums.watchuseek.com/f11/nivada-antarctic-gmt-production-numbers-2970114.html
