NSFW: The New Nivada Antarctic Erotic

That just happened: Nivada announced a version of its Antarctic watch that’s somber and classic-looking from the front but, like a horological mullet, features a party ‘round back. Yes, it’s a pair of penguins boinking, and it’s actually animated — in exactly the way you imagine. And, no, the new Nivada Antarctic Erotic isn’t an April Fools prank even though it’s launching today, April 1. 

The new models are built on the platform of the brand’s existing 38mm Antarctic. These are retro and handsome-as-hell watches based on references from the 1950s, and the new Erotic versions come in six variants that introduce some new dial executions to the collection. It uses existing designs of the collection referred to as “3-6-9” and “Glacier” but also adds a dressy style with Arabic-numeral 3-6-9-12 indices and dauphine hands. 

But the most notable element here is, of course, that extra little bit of complication. The animation happens when you wind the crown, and you’ll have to do so regularly as the base movement is the manual Soprod P054 (42-hour power reserve). When you do so, the standing penguin moves up and down. According to the brand, “the ratchet wheel has been re-machined into a cam profile” to produce this simple automation.

There are even some historical nods here, as the collection’s caseback has often featured a penguin engraving. It also, however, recalls an interesting and longstanding horological tradition of erotic watches, often involving automata. (Ulysse Nardin has been among the few that are active in perpetuating erotic themes in watchmaking, but be warned: it’s often genuinely NSFW.)

It’s funny and weird, and Nivada had perhaps a little too much fun putting it all together and making the teaser videos it’s been running for a couple weeks leading up to today’s release. Brand owner Guillaume Laidet told me about the watch with great enthusiasn and guffaws when we spoke a month or so ago. It’s worth checking out Nivada’s whole marketing page and videos on it here. A brand that’s genuinely having fun doing what it’s doing goes a lot further with enthusiasts and collectors than some brand executives perhaps realize.

It’s not all silliness, though. Nivada injects an element of purpose into this release by supporting research and conservation, adopting a penguin colony through the charitable organization Oceanites. The new Nivada Antarctic Erotic watches are available now, priced at $1,569 on a strap or $1,769 on a steel bracelet. (See what they did there?)

Production isn’t limited by quantity, but rather how many orders are received in the preorder window opening April 30th, 2026, at 4pm Geneva Time. It’s only 69 minutes for the salmon dial version, 69 hours for the beige dial, and 6.9 days for the other models.

Learn more on Nivada’s website here.