The Graduate's Club

It's like I was playing some kind of game, but the rules don't make any sense to me. They're being made up by all the wrong people. I mean no one makes them up. They seem to make themselves up. 
Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock in the Graduate

I like NOMOS, have done so pretty much since jump street.  And while the last few years they have put out some nice pieces, I was waiting for a return to the heady days when they put out the  Wempe 100.  Some color, some whimsy, something DIFFERENT.

And NOMOS delivered on several counts this year, and for me at least proved to be one of the high points of BaselWorld.  But for today, I'm focusing on something for the entry level, something that is a very, very welcome addition - the Campus.

Courtesy of Nomos

And regular readers, fear not!  I had the steady camera of Rod Hess along to ensure that the images would live up to the watches.

Courtesy of Rod Hess

The Campus is available in 3 different versions:

The Club 38 Campus:

Courtesy of NOMOS

Case: stainless steel, bipartite; curved 
sapphire crystal glass and screwed steel 
back; diameter 38.5 mm; height 8.45 mm 

Dial: galvanized, white silver-plated
Roman and Arabic hour numerals and indexes 
with superluminova blue

Hands: rhodium-plated hour and minute hands with 
superluminova inlay; neon- orange seconds hand 

Water-resistant: to 10 atm (100 meters)  

Strap: anthracite velour leather, 
lug width
20 mm
 
Reference number: 735

The movement

α (Alpha)—in-house built NOMOS caliber
with manual winding

Diameter: 10 1⁄2 lines (23.3 mm)  

Movement height: 2.6 mm Power reserve: approx. 43 hours 

Characteristics: decentralized seconds, stop-seconds mechanism, 
Glashütte three-quarter plate, 17 rubies, Glashütte stopwork, 
Incabloc shock protection, balance spring from Nivarox 1A, 
adjusted in six positions, tempered blue screws, rhodium-plated 
movement surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and NOMOS perlage, 
ratchet and crown wheel with Glashütte sunburst decoration

$1,650


The Club 38 Campus Nacht:

Courtesy of NOMOS

Case: stainless steel, bipartite; curved 
sapphire crystal glass and screwed steel 
back; diameter 38.5 mm; height 8.45 mm 

Dial: galvanized, rhuthenium-plated; 
Roman and Arabic hour numerals and 
indexes with superluminova beige

Hands: rhodium-plated hour and minute 
hands with superluminova inlay; neon- 
orange seconds hand

Water-resistant: to 10 atm (100 meters)  

Strap: anthracite velour leather, lug width
20 mm
 
Reference number: 736

 

The movement
 
α (Alpha)—in-house built NOMOS caliber
with manual winding

Diameter: 10 1⁄2 lines (23.3 mm)  

Movement height: 2.6 mm  

Power reserve: approx. 43 hours 

Characteristics: decentralized seconds, 
stop-seconds mechanism, Glashütte 
three-quarter plate, 17 rubies, Glas-
hütte stopwork, Incabloc shock protec-
tion, balance spring from Nivarox 1A, 
adjusted in six positions, tempered blue 
screws, rhodium-plated movement 
surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and 
NOMOS perlage, ratchet and crown 
wheel with Glashütte sunburst decoration 

$1,650

And my personal favorite - 

The Club Campus:

Courtesy of NOMOS

Case: stainless steel, bipartite; curved 
sapphire crystal glass and screwed steel 
back; diameter 36 mm; height 8.17 mm 

Dial: galvanized, white silver-plated; Ro- 
man and Arabic hour numerals and in- 
dexes with superluminova gray 

Hands: rhodium-plated hour and minute 
hands with superluminova inlay; neon- 
orange seconds hand 

Water-resistant: to 10 atm (100 meters)  

Strap: gray velour leather, lug width
18 mm
 
Reference number: 708

The movement

α (Alpha)—in-house built NOMOS caliber
with manual winding

Diameter: 10 1⁄2 lines (23.3 mm)  

Movement height: 2.6 mm Power reserve: approx. 43 hours

Characteristics: decentralized seconds, 
stop-seconds mechanism, Glashütte 
three-quarter plate, 17 rubies, Glas- 
hütte stopwork, Incabloc shock protec- 
tion, balance spring from Nivarox 1A, 
adjusted in six positions, tempered blue 
screws, rhodium-plated movement 
surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and 
NOMOS perlage, ratchet and crown 
wheel with Glashütte sunburst decoration

And the price?  $1,500!!!

Each one has a solid case back so that it can be engraved - something I really love!

Courtesy of NOMOS

Now I'm not entirely sure who Max is, but I do appreciate the opportunity for sentimentality.  Ultimately, when you give someone a watch, or when they buy it to mark a milestone, shouldn't they want to add that little touch that underscores the connection, the feelings attached to it?

 
Interesting to relate, the 36 mm version is, in fact, plenty big, even on my paw, thanks to the design of the case and the length of the lugs -

 And no, Rod Hess (sadly) did not take this photo ; )

And about that California dial?  Well, NOMOS wouldn't be NOMOS if they did things the same way as everyone else.  Lower section, alternating with indices.  It is different, and it is clever.


More to come!