Some Rare Nomos Tangente Goodness

While going through my copy of the NOMOS Glashutte - The Great Universal ENCYCLOPAEDIA this morning, I looked back upon some of the great limited edition Nomos models of the past.  And one that caught my eye was the NOMOS Tangente Heisse Liebe - Wempe 100.  My trusty Google Translate lists this as "Hot Love", but in fairness, German is not one of my main languages so I welcome anyone out there to correct this ; )

Courtesy of Club NOMOS

You will notice the window between 12 o'clock and 2 o'clock.  Rather than the traditional power reserve indicator, you will note the imagery of hearts.  If I have understood the briefing correctly, the hearts "fill" with red as the power reserve is increased.  Definitely a fun way to display that function, somewhat reminiscent of Alain Silberstein.

Going by the info found at the VERY GOOD Club NOMOS site, this was limited to 100 pieces and was released in 2005.

Something new - and fun, from NOMOS!

Two new colorways for the Orion neomatik date!

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte

Nomos has done it again, with a very pleasing, subtle twist on a longtime favorite.  In this instance it is the Orion.  The model above is very aptly named as olive gold described in their own words, so I will let them do it better than I can -

And in a sumptuous shade of green that we call olive gold, paired with golden indexes and hands.

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte

And no less a burst of fresh design, is the midnight blue, pictured above.

Here are the pertinents for the Orion neomatik 41 date olive gold-

 

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte

 

CASE

stainless steel, tripartite domed sapphire crystal glass back

GLASS
domed sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating

WINDING
automatic

DIMENSIONS
diameter 40.5 mm height 9.4 mm

WATER RESISTANCE
up to 5 atm (suitable for showering)

DIAL
olive gold
stamped indexes date window at three o'clock

HANDS
gold-plated

STRAP
Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan black, remborde
lug width 20 mm

REFERENCE
364

CALIBER
DUW 6101—in-house built NOMOS neomatik caliber with automatic winding, neomatik date mechanism, and bidirectional quick correction feature

MOVEMENT HEIGHT 

3.6 mm

DIAMETER
15 1⁄2 lines (35.2 mm)

POWER RESERVE 

up to 42 hours

SPECIAL QUALITIES 

NOMOS swing system tempered blue balance spring
NOMOS balance bridge, fixed by screws on both sides
stop-seconds mechanism bidirectional winding rotor with gold-plated embossing
Glashütte three-quarter plate
DUW regulation system adjusted in six positions 27 jewels
tempered blue screws rhodium-plated surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and NOMOS perlage
golden engravings


And for the midnight blue -

Courtesy of Nomos Glashütte

CASE

stainless steel, tripartite domed sapphire crystal glass back

GLASS
domed sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating

WINDING
automatic

DIMENSIONS
diameter 40.5 mm height 9.4 mm

WATER RESISTANCE
up to 5 atm (suitable for showering)

DIAL
midnight blue
stamped indexes date window at three o'clock

HANDS

rhodium-plated

 
STRAP
Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan black, remborde
lug width 20 mm

REFERENCE
364

CALIBER
DUW 6101—in-house built NOMOS neomatik caliber with automatic winding, neomatik date mechanism, and bidirectional quick correction feature

MOVEMENT HEIGHT 

3.6 mm

DIAMETER
15 1⁄2 lines (35.2 mm)

POWER RESERVE 

up to 42 hours

SPECIAL QUALITIES 

NOMOS swing system tempered blue balance spring
NOMOS balance bridge, fixed by screws on both sides
stop-seconds mechanism bidirectional winding rotor with gold-plated embossing
Glashütte three-quarter plate
DUW regulation system adjusted in six positions 27 jewels
tempered blue screws rhodium-plated surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and NOMOS perlage
golden engravings

 

 

German Design Award 2018

For NOMOS Glashütte's neomatic Ahoy -

Courtesy of NOMOS

This is the fourth consecutive win for the folks from Glashütte.
Looks as if they might be on to something.

Back to the Future Part 2 - Wrapping Up the Nomos Club Campus

So picking up where we left off, let's have a look under the hood.  The Club Campus utilizes the in-house Alpha movement -

Courtesy of Nomos Glashutte

Hours, minutes and the seconds at 6 o'clock.  The time keeping was just what you'd expect - bang on.  The greatest deviation I experienced was +5 seconds.  Wendy's mileage may have varied, but overall it was quite impressive.

The crown was tactile and secure, the winding smooth and pleasant.

For those of you spec oriented folks, here are the specifics on the Alpha movement, straight from Nomos -
 Data
α (Alpha)—in-house built NOMOS caliber with manual winding
Diameter10 ½ lines (23.3 mm)
Movement height2.6 mm
Power reserveapprox. 43 hours
Characteristics
Decentralized seconds, stop-seconds mechanism, Glashütte three-quarter plate, 17 jewels, 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


Now unlike the majority of Nomos watches, this one does not come with a display back.  And that was very intentional.

Marked with the bare minimum of information, leaving a large blank canvas to engrave a name, a birthday or anniversary date, or even a special message.  

Courtesy of Nomos Glashutte

Now I'm a bit old fashioned, but this is something that I think has been missing for some time in the watches being offered.  I appreciate the desire to display the movement, and from a cost perspective it is sometimes less expensive for the manufacturing process (believe it or not), but what I like about this particular touch is that Nomos is encouraging people to think about this watch not just as part of a bigger collection, but rather as that one special watch that you have no intention of selling or trading.  And if you buy one of these directly from Nomos, you can take advantage of free engraving.  

I like that.

The last little flourish that caught my eye was the use of lume.  While this is a somewhat dressy watch, it is also meant for every day use.  And to that end the folks at Nomos provided a cheerfully subtle mix of lume -

But for me, the appeal of the Club Campus is not entirely quantifiable.  Sure, I could throw numbers, stats and graphs demonstrating why it is a great watch.  But as with so many things in the watch world, for me the appeal is truly visceral.  It just speaks to me on a level that is hard to articulate.  And it took me back to that Omega that I found in the flea market in Turku, Finland back the 90s -

Smaller, hand winding, classic in design, and it just speaks to you.  I haven't had that same feeling too often until recently -

So ultimately, the Club Campus asks you a pretty simple question - do you want a bunch of watches knocking around your collection, each one easily cast aside, replaced, and forgotten?  Or do you want that one special time keeper that not only marks that special occasion, but makes you smile every day thereafter as you wear and enjoy it.  After all, isn't that the point of that one special watch?
 

Back to the Future - 15 Days with the Nomos Club Campus - Part 1

One of the great things about writing a blog about watches is that you get to find out first hand what a certain watch is like IN REAL LIFE.  I got a chance to check out the new Nomos collections at BaselWorld back in March.  And sometimes the lack of sleep, poor food and beverage choices and relentless pace of appointments all combine to give you a better impression of a watch than you would normally have in the cold light of day.  This was NOT one of those times!

I saw a lot of watches, and the one that really stuck with me was the Club Campus.  It was, admittedly, the smallest of the new Club pieces on offer, but I said at the time that in many ways, this version was the perfect watch for most men (and women).  And that continued to be my opinion during the first few days of the review.  

As you can see, the Club Campus covers the space on my hairy wrist quite well.  The face is clear and easy to read, and owing to the longer lugs, it is the perfect amount of "wrist coverage" for me.  And then I thought, maybe it might not be such a bad idea to get a woman's perspective on this one.  And so, without further pause, I give you Wendy Henderson's impressions -

Many a timepiece has crossed the threshold of the Henki home over the last several years in relation to Tempus Fugit's 15-day review. All have been interesting, many simply stunning- and saying goodbye to some has been immensely difficult.  As with so many things however, when there is so much abundance, it is hard sometimes to distinguish one from the other or for one to stand out from the rest of the crowd.  This is not to cast aspersions on the brand or the piece; it's simply that unless you are a true aficionado, it's just not always easy to appreciate the movement or dial or design the same way. 

On the other hand (no pun intended)...there are those which just sing to us.  Something intangible draws us in and it's pretty much love-at-first-sight.  And so it was for me and the Nomos.  I love the clean lines (very Mid-Century Modern) and simple design,  the color scheme, the band, the weight, the look and the feel.  This is a watch for everyday, a truly elegant little piece that makes me smile every time I look at it- and I look at it often! (Poor James hasn't had much opportunity to 'review' it since it's barely left my wrist; a sure sign I am in a slight state of lust here!) Incredibly comfortable- and legible- there is nothing to distract the eye.  Just a clever little quirk of the indices and an overabundance of class.  If Hans Wegner or the Eames' were designing a timepiece, I think this would be it. And as with all things MCM, I have no doubt this little gem will stand the test of time.

 

Saying goodbye will be exceedingly hard...

 

And yes, gentle reader, I did manage to recover the Club Campus and complete the review ; )

I have already mentioned the size, and to reiterate, it is actually what I would call Goldilocks size - JUST RIGHT.  This is contrary to what most would have to say, but believe it or not, at 36 mm in diameter, the Club Campus is PLENTY big for most guys.  The one variance for some (and possibly me) is that the owner might opt for a longer strap, and I do know that these are available in the standard leather, and I am not sure if the velour straps will be offered in longer sizes.  And in fairness, I get it.  The velour straps, by and large, are more of a style preference you might expect in a watch targeted more specifically for women.  Now having said that, the velour and leather strap accommodates even my wrist passing comfortably through both loops with room to spare -

And I have to say that it is a fantastic pairing with this smaller, but mighty timekeeper. 

Courtesy of Nomos Glashutte

And now I will pause as I have students waiting for me and class begins in less than an hour!  But I will be back to wrap this up with part 2 in approximately 7 hours - stay tuned!

The TETRA CLÄRCHEN

From Nomos Glashütte

Courtesy of Nomos Glashütte

The world may indeed be round, but it is not necessarily black and white ; )

What's Wrong with Esquire's Big Black Book - 2015

So I gave it a bit more thought, and I thought about some of the watches that made Esquire's list and thought about a watch that was "not on steroids", had some real horological "bona fides", and because this is Tempus Fugit, and because I own 3thirty3 - there had to be an angle for giving!

So this is from the very, very good people at NOMOS Glashütte -

This is the Tangente 38 for Doctors Without Borders -

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte

So the watch stuff first -

Casestainless steel, bipartite; diameter 37.5 mm; sapphire crystal glass back, height 6.75 mm 

Dialgalvanized, white silver-plated 

Handssteel, black oxidized 

StrapHorween Genuine Shell Cordovan black, lug width 19 mm 

Reference number
164.S2

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte

Movement 

α (Alpha)—NOMOS caliber with manual winding

Diameter10 ½ lines (23.3 mm) 

Movement height2.6 mm 

Power reserveca. 43 hours

CharacteristicsDecentralized seconds, stop-seconds mechanism, Glashütte three-quarter plate, 17 ruby bearings, 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

And now the "WARM FUZZY" -

A limited editon Tangente 38 in support of Doctors Without Borders is also available in the United States: This timepiece alludes to the aid organization with its red twelve, the inscription “Doctors Without Borders” under the six, and a special engraving on the back. 100 dollars for each watch sold will go towards emergency aid—and so helping the helpers.

Pretty cool, huh?

So Esquire, when you're done scratching the backs of your advertisers, do some reporting on some really cool watches that your readers might actually be interested in - like this one!

Another Red Dot

for NOMOS!

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashutte

Here's the scoop, straight from the source -

The NOMOS model Metro is bringing the Red Dot Award for product design to Glashütte once again—the fifth major prize in a row for the hand-wound watch

Glashütte, April 2015. Almost 5000 products from 56 countries, a distinguished jury, 38 experts from around the world—and a birthday: The Red Dot Award is not only celebrating the best in product design this year, but also its 60^thanniversary as well.

And NOMOS Glashütte is celebrating too: The model Metro, created by the Berlin-based designer Mark Braun, has just received the Red Dot Award in the “Watches” category. It was not only the design of the hand-wound watch from Glashütte that attracted the admiration of the jury, but also its innovativeness, functionality, and sustainable production. “For me, our Metro is simply perfect,” says Judith Borowski, head of branding and design at NOMOS Glashütte. “We’re delighted with this watch—and its Red Dot Award.” With it, Metro is joining a group of eight NOMOS models that have received the Red Dot Award over the years.

A Hat Trick for Nomos

Here's the scoop, straight from the source -


Three wins for NOMOS Glashütte in the public vote for the Goldene Unruh
Metro, Lambda deep blue, and Tangomat from NOMOS Glashütte are among the best and most beautiful watches in the world—and from the only brand in the public vote for the Goldene Unruh to win in three categories
Berlin/Glashütte, February 2015. As was revealed on Thursday evening in Munich, the NOMOS models Metro, Lambda deep blue, and Tangomat count among the best and most beautiful watches in the world. NOMOS Glashütte finished first three times and by far from all the other top brands in the vote for the Goldene Unruh: Metro was first placed in the category up to 5,000 euro, Lambda deep blue in the group up to 25,000 euro, and Tangomat as well in the up to 2,500 euro category. This is a premiere in the history of the seventeen-year-old public vote competition: No other brand came first place three times at once before.
“Design, design, and once again design,” explains Thomas Wanka, editor-in-chief of the renowned German Uhren-Magazin—that is the quintessence of the watchmaking company from Glashütte. “With its minimalistic, clear design, NOMOS Glashütte creates a very high level of brand recognition.” Another important reason is the extremely high amount of in-house production, which is, according to Wanka, “outstanding for a watchmaking company this size.”

NOMOS CEO Uwe Ahrendt, who was lately announced “Entrepreneur of the Year,” is stunned: “Three first wins at one go—that’s amazing. Watch aficionados obviously seem to like our combination of timeless design and best Glashütte craftsmanship. And the fact that we’re completely producing all our movements on-site in our Glashütte workshops—we’re the watchmaking company that always gives a hundred percent.”
The publications Focus, Focus Online, and Uhren-Magazin organized the public vote, one of the most important in the watch industry, as they do every year. Since November, 20,846 readers had voted, 351 mechanical timepieces had been submitted in total. But 2015 has not only now started successfully for NOMOS Glashütte: Metro has already received the Good Design Award and the iF Product Design Award in the first weeks of the year.
Since 1998, the Goldene Unruh has been one of the most renowned awards in the German watch industry. Watches from NOMOS Glashütte have repeatedly impressed readers from Uhren-Magazin and Focus in past years—and have won a total of 24 times.
Watches from the brand have already been honored with more than 120 prizes and awards in the past. Uwe Ahrendt attributes this to all the hard work of the NOMOS employees: “Watchmakers and toolmakers, draftsmen, and the designers in Berlin: We have a fantastic team.”

The Metro 38 Datum

From NOMOS Glashütte

 

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte 

Regular readers will recall my slightly illicit love affair with the NOMOS Metro that was released last year.  That particular model  had a power reserve function and the color theme was green at the 12, 3 and 9 o'clock points of the dial.  It was also, according to the NOMOS website, 1.5 mm less in diameter at 37 mm.

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte 

This new version (as seen in the first photo), this new version of the Metro has only a date function.  Although it is named Metro 38 Datum, the specs per the press release indicate 38.5 (just in case you're counting at home).

The color theme is really fun and it's nice to see the folks at NOMOS riffing on the happier early models that made up the limited edition versions that were made in the Tangente and Orion collections for Wempe and others.  The "Picnic" in particular comes to mind.

The Metro 38 Datum also features the "Swing System" the NOMOS in house escapement that was announced to much fanfare last year.

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte 

So with luck I will get to see this "up close and personal" in a month or so and promise as an exhaustive a report as I can manage.

For now, here are the details -

Metro 38 Datum

The watch

Case: 
stainless steel, bipartite; diameter 38.5 mm; curved sapphire crystal glass; 
sapphire crystal glass back, height 7.75 mm

Dial: 
galvanized, white silver-plated; indexes blue

Hands: 
steel, oxidized black, seconds hand red lacquered

Water-resistant: 
to 3 atm


Strap: 
Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan black

Reference number - 1102

The movement

DUW 4101—NOMOS caliber with manual winding and date indicator; 
NOMOS swing system with tempered blue balance spring 

Diameter: 
32.1 mm

Movement height: 
2.8 mm 

Power reserve: approx. 
42 hours 

Characteristics: 
stop seconds mechanism, Glashütte three-quarter plate, 23 jewels, 
Glashütte stopwork, Incabloc shock protection, 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 

 

Doing Good - NOMOS Glashütte

With the current struggle going on to contain the Ebola outbreak and treat those stricken, organizations like Doctors Without Borders have found themselves at the forefront.

NOMOS Glashütte has created a special series of watches to help raise awareness and money for the invaluable work this organization does every day.

 NOMOS Glashütte

The above are the Doctors Without Borders editions for the US market.  For each piece sold,  NOMOS Glashütte will donate $100 to Doctors Without Borders.  It is available in 2 sizes:

The Tangente 33 (on the left) and the Tangente 38 (on the right).  Here are the details:

Special Edition
Tangente 33 for
Doctors Without Borders United States of America

Movement: α (Alpha)—NOMOS caliber with manual winding

Case: stainless steel, bipartite;
diameter 32.8 mm; sapphire crystal glass; sapphire crystal glass back,
height 6.55 mm

Dial: galvanized, white silver-plated, red 12, inscription Doctors Without Borders

Hands: polished, black oxidized 

Water-resistant: to 3 atm 

Strap: velour leather


Limited to: 1000 watches 

Reference number: 123.S3 

Special Edition
Tangente 38 for
Doctors Without Borders United States of America
Movement: α (Alpha)—NOMOS caliber with manual winding

Case: stainless steel, bipartite;
diameter 37.5 mm; sapphire crystal glass; sapphire crystal glass back,
height 6.75 mm

Dial: galvanized, white silver-plated, red 12, inscription Doctors Without Borders

Hands: polished, black oxidized 

Water-resistant: to 3 atm


Strap: Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan 

Limited to: 1000 watches


Reference number: 164.S2 

Why NOMOS Matters - More and More

I am, for better or worse, a prisoner of my emotions.

So one of the crazy things about leaving a full-time job in the watch industry and starting a blog - even one as small as this one - is that you suddenly have access.  You get to meet some really interesting people and you get to see some really, REALLY cool watches - first hand.

As this is the start of 2014, and I started this little exercise four years ago - I thought it about time to thank some of the people who helped make it happen.

And first on the list is NOMOS.  Now, I am under instructions to refer to them as NOMOS Glashütte, and I get that, but I need for you (and them) to understand that I have followed them since way back when - back in the earlier part of this century ; ), when they were NOMOS.  As my auntie and sisters still call me Jim, well, I will use NOMOS.

I still remember the email that I sent - essentially saying "I want to write this blog, and can I write about you?"  Well, the answer was yes, but (in fairness) "who the hell are you?"  Well, it wasn't quite that extreme, but in fairness - who the hell was I?  What the HELL was TEMPUS FUGIT?

Well, to their credit, the good folks at NOMOS were the first people to jump on board and take this ride with me, and I think (although selfishly)  that this deserves a big thank you.  I could go on and on about movements, unique designs, etc. - but for those of you who read this regularly (perhaps likely when you can't sleep and need a soporific), you know that beyond technological wizardry, I value people first and foremost - and as it is ultimately about people, thank you NOMOS for your people.  They are what make you special, and they are truly why NOMOS matters.

GOOD DESIGN Award for Ahoi

This just in from NOMOS Glashütte -

Courtesy of NOMOS Glashütte

The sporty automatic Ahoi watch from NOMOS Glashütte has won the renowned GOOD DESIGN Award—making it the third time in a row for the watchmaking company.

Zürich Weltzeit 5th Avenue

This just in from NOMOS  Glashütte -

Courtesy of  NOMOS Glashütte


    

Wempe 100:   Zürich Weltzeit 5th Avenue 

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!

17 wool blankets

Or life-saving treatment for 20 children affected by malaria—these are what a $100 donation to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) can purchase. And it’s why the watch making company NOMOS Glashütte has designed and built two limited editions of the classic Tangente MSF USA

Courtesy of NOMOS

15 Days with the NOMOS Glashütte Tangente

Friday - was that only yesterday?  Woke up at 6:00 AM in Lucerne, got cleaned up, finished packing, a quick bite to eat, and down to the train station. 

A visit to Glashutte by way of Basel

I am always curious what Nomos will have to share each year, and this year was lucky to get a meeting with Ute Fischer-Graf to check it out in person.

Nomos has moved to a much bigger space and I have to say that it is a very impressive booth.

Over a coffee I was introduced to a watch that I had seen from a distance, but never in person -

Courtesy of NOMOS

This is the Tangomat GMT Plus.  I will be very forthright and honest here, gentle readers - I did not want to like it.  For me, the Tangente is the original, accept no substitute, blah, blah, blah.  And yet, I must say having spent some time getting to know this timekeeper, I really DO like it!

www.glashuette.com

NOMOS ENCYCLOPAEDIA - Todays entry is...

Once again it's time to turn to NOMOS Glashutte - The Great Universal ENCYCLOPAEDIA
Today's entry is - Orion!

Reprinted with permission from NOMOS.

Orion
The Orion is a much sought-after standard model by NOMOS (and secretly our favorite watch).  Its movement is the NOMOS Alpha movement.  Orion is available with a dial in white (silver-plated) and in anthracite.  These watches usually have silver index markers and hands.  The white version is also available with golden index markers and tempered blue hands.  All Orion watches are also available with or without a glass back.

( Page 184, NOMOS Glashutte - The Great Universal ENCYCLOPAEDIA, 1st English Edition, copyright  Kommunikationsverein, Berlin, 2006)

NOMOS Orion
Visit NOMOS at:  www.glashuette.com