NOMOS Lambda Roségold

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashutte 

And Now for Something Completely Different - Lux Weißgold

This just announced from NOMOS Glashütte -

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashutte 

I WANT ONE!

NOMOS' Zürich watch awarded Good Design Award

Courtesy of NOMOS

Glashütte, January 2012. NOMOS Glashütte is proud to have been awarded the Good Design Award 2011 by the Chicago Athenaeum for NOMOS' Zürich watch. The Swiss design legend Hannes Wettstein created this watch for the independent German manufactory as one of his last projects before he died.

"The Good Design Award is an internationally recognized prize with a long history. We are very pleased about it and about the American design scene's appreciation of beautiful and well made watches, " states Simon Husslein, Studio Wettstein chief designer.
While it is not its first recognition, the Good Design Award is a very special prize for the Zürich watch, which also won the Red Dot Design Award 2010 and the iF Product Design Award 2011.  This underlines NOMOS' aim to combine traditional watchmaking skills at the German watchmaking mecca Glashütte with a timeless modern design.The Good Design Award's legacy dates back to 1950, when the prize was created by Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., in Chicago.  Today it is awarded by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, and the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies in Dublin.

Junghans, Max Bill and the Bauhaus

Over the past few weeks I've been catching up on some reading. About a year ago I received a biography on Charles-Édouard Jeanneret - also known professionally as Le Corbusier. What was interesting to learn was that his father made watch cases for, among others, Longines.

I then moved onto a relatively new book on some of the founding members of the Bauhaus and there was Max Bill who later went on to lead a group of Swiss artists that came to be known as the Allianz.

Of course I am also thinking about the Max Bill watch that Wendy gave me for Christmas in 2002.

This is the more "classic" size, hand wound (and would you really want it any other way?) and perhaps one of my all time favorite designs.

DEFAKTO - Feedback from Wendy

And now, a word from the lady of the house…

James has kindly allowed me to contribute to the blog, after wearing the Defakto for the day yesterday. 

First impression—cool watch (but wait, how can I tell the time?)!  Actually, I have to say that telling the time is really quite simple and I seemed to manage to estimate the time within 3 minutes of accuracy. For someone sitting behind a desk most of the time (and ample access to phone/ computer/ wall clocks), not being able to see the time down to the exact minute or second on my wrist was not an issue at all.  The watch face is incredibly clear and legible and I personally really like the red dot as a small splash of color.

Second impression- really comfortable, surprisingly so…. The watch strap felt a little ‘thick’ when I first put it on but after it was on, I pretty much forgot it was there. The case is really flat and smooth so it sat on my wrist really well—no hanging or bulging out. Yes it’s a big-ish watch (this is, after all, meant to be a man’s watch and my wrists are somewhat small) but the strap is fairly thick so it feels really uniform between the watch case and the watch strap and I, personally, really like the look of a man’s watch on a woman (and James seems partial to the look too, thankfully, since I’m not one for small, delicate timepieces!)  The other great thing is that while the watch doesn’t feel insubstantial, once it’s on, it doesn’t weigh down your hand. The other great thing is that because it fit so flush on my arm, I didn’t have any issue with ‘bashing’ it on my desk or other surfaces—sometimes a big watch sort of gets in the way and I’m aware of it hitting hard surfaces (unintentionally, of course!); this one doesn’t present the risk at all!

Third impression—I showed the watch to a colleague and he was obviously smitten from the moment he saw it. The design is simple but really appealing and it was this aesthetic which I think drew him most of all (and this is someone whose father worked under Frank Lloyd Wright, so knows a little ‘something something’ about design!)  He too remarked on the weight—not too heavy but no lightweight, a watch that lets you know it’s there but then sits quietly in the background until called into action…

From the ‘fashionista’ perspective, it’s the kind of watch that goes with pretty much anything (OK, perhaps not the Dior gown!); is dressy enough for work but cool enough for play; is a conversation piece; is functional; and, most importantly (for me at least) a lot of fun!

James can always tell when I particularly like something he’s got, be it a sweater, a pen or a watch, since it won’t be too long after he has it before I (sweetly, of course) ask if I could “just borrow it for the day”. My intention is always to return it immediately and yet, certain items just somehow, mysteriously, inevitably, move to my side of the closet or on my desk or, yep, into my jewelry case… at that moment, James knows he’s a goner and accepts that he’ll never use that pen again, the sweater will never hang on his shoulders and if he’s lucky, maybe, just maybe I’ll let him wear the watch again for a day or two. I somehow suspect that if the Defakto ever made it into his ‘permanent’ collection, I’d be one happy camper. And yes, if he asked nicely, he could borrow it from time to time…

Something a bit whimsical from Glashutte

As you have probably figured out by now, I have a tough time going more than a week without talking about NOMOS.  David has been kind enough to keep feeding me with great bits of information and has gone well above and beyond the normal scope of what a PR guy would usually do - or at least above and beyond what I used to do!  This is the greeting card you get when you receive a communication from the folks at NOMOS.  Think about this for a moment.  Usually the image and message you are receiving from a watch company is all about the history, the beauty, style, strength, accuracy, etc.  and as the guy who sometimes writes these messages - I am not necessarily disagreeing.  BUT - what happens when you take a classic watch from a company making their own movements, operating in one of the most famous sites in the world of horology... and let them really communicate with you?  You get the NOMOS Encyclopaedia.  And unless you are just a boring person - you smile!

This is 300 PLUS pages of pure fun!  Yes, there is a lot of information about NOMOS, watches, movements, etc., but there is more!  So this will begin my examination of the ENCYCLOPAEDIA and I will be sharing a weekly entry.  All credit for text goes to NOMOS Glashutte.  Today's topic is - 

Kissing with NOMOS - and why NOMOS is called "NOMOS"

From 1906 to 1910 there was already a company in Glashutte with the name NOMOS, founded by Guido Muller, and advertising specialist from Dresden.  He produced only pocket watches.  They were beautiful, tasteful models that very quickly became cult objects of the intellectual scene.  However, they were watches with a catch: the ebauche that ticked in them was very good - but it came from Switzerland.  So, after a few years, Muller had to shut his workshop.  A. Lange & Sohne had started proceedings against NOMOS, which ended with a settlement.  The company was no longer allowed to distribute its products from Dresden either because it did not submit to the rules that the court imposed.  

What had caused outrage in 1910 was necessary in 1990, when Roland Schwertner came to Glashutte.  Everyone who, like him, started making watches in Glashutte again, initially obtained components from Switzerland.  So too did the newly founded company NOMOS, which had nothing in common with the old company except for the name.  Schwertner, the managing director, simply liked the name.  Firstly because of what it actually stands for - "NOMOS" is Greek and means law, convention and just distribution.  Secondly, because Bruce Chatwin wrote about NOMOS in his book "The Songlines" and Schwertner likes Chatwin a lot.  And thirdly, "when you say NOMOS, your mouth forms a beautiful kiss."

From:  NOMOS Glashutte - The Great Universal ENCYCLOPAEDIA, copyright Kommunikationsverein, Berlin, 2006

   

And of course there has to be some watches!  These are three different versions of the NOMOS CLUB.

A Classic Design

With all of the new innovations out there - and there are plenty - it is nice to see something classic - and reasonably priced! This is the Limes Pharo Hand/Wound Power Reserve, truly a beautiful watch.

The Limes watch company is owned by the Ickler family Pforzheim, Germany. Limes was one of the first companies to utilize the direct sales model - connecting to customers around the world via the internet.



And for US customers there is an added bonus, Limes watches are sold with the shipping charges included!

Visit the folks at Limes here for more information on this hand wound classic:

http://www.limes-uhren.de



Limes combines their own beautifully finished cases with Swiss made movements. The results speak for themselves.

Limes hosts a lively discussion forum where owners and owners to be hold forth on their favorite watch:

http://www.watchandclockforum.com/viewforum.php?f=110

Not just Black or White

On the surface of things, it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that NOMOS makes either white or black watches. But the great thing about NOMOS is that nothing is as obvious or "standard" as that.

To quote the NOMOS press release regarding these watches -

Exciting, Colorful Gray

Gray dominates, reigns, but in the most beautiful way. There is a limited edition of 20 Orion models - "Unification -NOMOS" - twenty years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Each one in gray and each one carries the name of a town.

These were released last year 2009, and I got to view a few up close and personal while in Europe for BaselWorld.

For more information on this collection, please visit the NOMOS website:

http://www.glashuette.com/index.php?id=315&L=1

I would like to thank my contact at NOMOS - David, for his support and providing us with images and information.