NOMOS Glashütte is a Saxony-based German watchmaker that specializes in craftsman manual-winding and automatic mechanical timepieces. Roland Schwertner established it in January 1990, two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Susanne Günther created the designs for the first collection, drawing inspiration from the Bauhaus purist style.
The clean and modernist aesthetic of NOMOS designs is well-known. NOMOS Glashütte holds numerous patents for their calibers, including those for the in-house date mechanism, power reserve display, and the proprietary escapement, the NOMOS swing system. NOMOS Glashütte movements feature a Glashütte three-quarter plate, are rhodium-plated, and are finished with Glashütte ribbing and NOMOS perlage. Here’s a list of the best NOMOS Glashütte watches.
1. NOMOS Glashütte Club Sport Neomatik Watch
One of the best NOMOS Glashutte watches is the NOMOS Glashütte Club Sport Neomatik Watch. This watch is powered by the most recent movement from the independent Saxon manufacturer. The DUW 6101 is an in-house automatic caliber with a quick-set date mechanism that moves backward and forward, as well as a constructed safety clutch to protect movement harm if you set it during the traditional “danger zone” of 10 pm to 2 am.
The DUW 6101’s date can only be changed for about 45 minutes on either side of midnight, during which time the safety mechanism kicks in and enables the tension that would usually build up between the date-change hammer and the date-wheel teeth to escape harmlessly via a lower-level friction wheel. The gold print perfectly complements the neomatik label beneath the word marque, creating a distinctly satisfying chromatic balance.
2. NOMOS Glashütte Autobahn Watch
The NOMOS Glashütte Autobahn Watch was created through a collaboration between NOMOS and German product designer Werner Aisslinger. Werner’s work is based on incorporating modern techniques and new materials into product design, making him an excellent candidate for collaboration with the German watchmaker. NOMOS has always been a bit of an outlier, pushing the boundaries of watchmaking from the start. All of this is to say that NOMOS and Aisslinger’s collaboration resulted in the Autobahn, a study in form and display that includes NOMOS’ new Neomatik Caliber with a date function.
This watch will be available in three different styles: All white, a white dial with blue accents, and a dark blue dial with white accents. Its dimensions are 41mm, and it has a water resistance of 100m. It has an automatic movement of In-house caliber DUW 6101 and a power reserve of 42 hours. The large raised lume plots that curve around the center of the dial remind me of the lighted gauge cluster on a vintage car.
3. NOMOS Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar Rose Opaline Watch
NOMOS Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar Rose Opaline Watch attains this rosy hue by immersing the dials in a galvanic treatment that involves passing a specific electric current through it for a set amount of time. That is a technology that the Swatch Group’s high-end German brand has long mastered in its dial manufacturing facility in Pforzheim, Germany.
A huge Panorama Date has been inverted, revealing large white Arabic numerals against a deep blue background. It’s an effect that makes the dial stand out and gives the design team credit for carrying out the color concept to the nth degree. Inside this timepiece is caliber 90-02, an in-house automatic movement visible through the sapphire crystal caseback window. The 90-02 is a 28,800vph engine with a hand-engraved balance bridge that uses an eccentric oscillating weight and will run for 42 hours on full wind.
4. NOMOS Glashütte Original Senator Chronometer Blue Watch
The NOMOS Glashütte Original Senator Chronometer is made of white gold and has a blue dial. German chronometer watches must meet the testing standards of the German Calibration Service, also known as DKD, Germany’s national accreditation body, which is similar to the more well-known Swiss COSC. The prerequisites for passing the German test are very similar to those of the COSC, with the exception that testing is done on fully cased timepieces.
The COSC, on the other hand, typically tests the movements before they are assembled in a case, using a temporary dial and the attached second hand. L’argenture grainée is a historical method used to create Glashütte Original Senator Chronometer dials. The blue dial matches the dial perfectly and is distinct from their other blue grand dates. To provide precise synchronization with the seconds, the minute hand moves in exact minute intervals. There’s also a grand date complication (panorama date), a day/night indicator, and a power reserve indicator. With a diameter of 42mm, it is unquestionably on the larger side of dress watches.
5. NOMOS Glashütte Tangente 33 Duo Watch
The Tangente 33 Duo from NOMOS Glashütte boasts a basic circular design, alternating numbers and indices on the dial, and slim lugs projecting from the case. This particular model is also only 6.5mm thick, so it should be comfortable to wear on any small wrist. If you prefer a sportier model, the NOMOS Glashütte Tangente 33 Duo is the way to go.
The stainless steel case size is 7.6mm, and the lug profile has a sportier look with wider flares at the case, despite maintaining the same 17mm lug width. It has a water-resistance rating of 30m. The dial is galvanized and plated in white silver. Its strap is made of beige velour leather. It is driven by the in-house Alpha.2 movement, a hand-wound caliber with a power reserve of 43 hours.
6. NOMOS Glashütte Orion Olive Gold Watch
The Orion Olive Gold’s larger size enables the dial elements to breathe, resulting in a more spacious and atmospheric overall texture. The dial’s almost military olive green intersects playfully with the brilliant gold of the applied stick indices and hands, evoking the warm tones of autumn.
A matching date wheel makes the useful addition of a date window at 3 o’clock minimally intrusive, allowing this functional complication to maintain the overall balance of the design. It employs the DUW 6101 automatic date movement, which has a power reserve of 42 hours, striping across movement plates and bridges, and a handsomely decorated cutout rotor with gold lettering.
Takeaway
Since its inception, NOMOS has created functional, minimalist timepieces. They are of exceptional quality and style and are on par with the best Swiss watch manufacturers. NOMOS Glashutte watches are regarded as a respectable brand with a solid mechanical movement.
