Roland Schwertner established Nomos Glashütte in 1990, and it is now Germany’s largest manufacturer of mechanical timepieces. One feature that sets Nomos apart is that instead of purchasing pre-made movements, it designs and manufactures its own, which means that each stainless steel watch is made in-house, on-site in Glashütte, Germany.
NOMOS continues to thrive on the desire to discover new things. The German watchmaker continues to develop and experiment, knowing that there is always something new to discover. Even when everything appears to be in order, this label is always on the lookout for the next big thing, and it usually finds it. NOMOS produced its first in-house-built automatic movement in 2005, joining a very select group of watchmakers who manufacture their calibers. Nomos Glashütte finished its in-house swing system in 2014, making it an independent watchmaker. Here’s a selection of fascinating Nomos timepieces.
1. Nomos for Wempe Weltzeit 5th Avenue Watch
One of the most fascinating Nomos Watches is Nomos for Wempe Weltzeit 5th Avenue Watch. It has the engraving “New York” at the 3 o’clock position, which is colored in a striking red, and the inscription “Fifth Ave” at the 12 o’clock position, which is also colored in a striking red. The dial of this timepiece is galvanized and silver-plated. The hands are made of brass, rhodium-plated, and faceted. When you look closely at its dial, you’ll notice that it has four displays.
A conventional oversized seconds counter is set at 6 o’clock; the standard hour and minute hands are set in the center of the dial; a disk inscribed with city names (for second time zone indication) is visible through a circular aperture, and a smaller disk with military-style 24-hour scale is set at 3 o’clock. Its home zone (in this case, the New York time zone) can be changed using a small pusher at the 7 o’clock position, and then you can set your local time using a larger pusher at the 2 o’clock position. The name of your city should be entered against a small arrow located at 12 o’clock.
Nomos for Wempe Weltzeit 5th Avenue is enclosed in a stainless steel case measuring 40mm in diameter and 11mm in thickness. The round case is sapphire crystal-encased on both sides and has a see-through case back. The watch is built to withstand water pressure of up to 30 meters (100 feet). The watch’s beating heart is the German Nomos in-house caliber Xi automatic movement.
2. Nomos Zurich Worldtimer True Blue Watch
The Nomos Zurich Worldtimer True Blue is the second model to feature Nomos’ newly developed swing system, which provides greater accuracy, robustness, and durability. The innovative caliber DUW 5201 is at the heart of the Zurich Worldtimer True Blue. This mechanism is not new; rather, it is a pseudo-new movement because it is the same Xi caliber that was used in the original Zurich World Timer, but with a small difference – it includes the swing system with a tempered blue balance spring.
It has the same Glashütte decoration and Nomos perlage, the same 42-hour power reserve, and similar dimensions (31mm x 5.7mm). This watch has a more complex and varied appearance that matches its complication as a world timer by displaying the local time in two places at the same time, from a selection of 24 global cities/time zones.
The Worldtimer True Blue case is made of polished stainless steel and has straight lugs. The case has a diameter of 39.9mm and a thickness of 10.85mm. The watch has an eye-catching blue dial with rhodium-plated hour and minute hands. The home-time wheel at 3 o’clock has been labeled with a small red house icon. The hour and minute hands display the time in whichever city/time zone corresponds to the 12 o’clock position. The time zones can be changed simply by pushing the pusher at 2 o’clock, which rotates the disc.
3. Nomos Glashütte Tangente Sport Neomatik Watch
Nomos Glashütte has become well recognized for its trademark German Bauhaus design language, which is mostly used on casual everyday pieces and dress watches, with the Ahoi family releasing the occasional sports watch. Nomos Glashütte offers a 42mm steel case that is 10.9mm thick and rated to 1,000 feet of water resistance for the Tangente Sport Neomatik. An in-house DUW 6101 automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve, a frequency of 21,600bph, and 27 jewel powers the timepiece.
Nomos Glashütte provides a nice, chunky bracelet for this watch that is slightly bulkier and has a different clasp than the one released earlier this year in the latest wave of Campus novelties. The Tangente Sport Neomatik can be obtained in two dial colors: dark marine black and light silver or white. A domed sapphire crystal that is AR-coated from the inside out, as well as a flat sapphire display back that shows the in-house movement, complement the Tangente Sport Neomatik watch.
4. Nomos Timeless Club II Watch
The blue dial with red accents differentiates the Nomos Timeless Club II from the original model. It is the successor to the Nomos Timeless Club, which was released in 2015. It is the result of a partnership between Timeless Luxury Watches and Nomos. Except for a few key differences, edition II shares many details with its predecessor. This model shares the 38.5mm case and the blue and red colorway, but Timeless has done an excellent job of enhancing the previous model by cleaning up the dial, removing the date functionality, and introducing a new and interesting blue and yellow colorway.
This watch’s base dial color is a nice and subtle shade of blue with a matte finish. This watch’s hour markers are a combination of printed numerals and baton-style markings. The minute markers of the Nomos Timeless Club II are thin printed white lines with red numerals at 5-minute intervals. The sub-dial has also been recessed, giving the dial depth and visual dynamic.
Takeaway
Since its inception after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nomos has been regarded as the entry-level luxury watch brand, producing functional, minimalist timepieces. It has gained respect from all corners of the watch-loving community since the development of its first in-house movement in 2005. From stylish dress watches to robust waterproof summer watches, NOMOS has it all, so you’re sure to discover a watch you adore that will endure the test of time.
