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Sep 19, 2020
Crown & Caliber
If your luxury watch tastes are on the modern, Bauhaus side, then a Nomos watch may be the perfect timepiece for you. The Crown & Caliber Nomos Buying Guide will walk you through the background of the brand, an overview of the 13 model families, our favorite watches in the collection and specific tips for getting the perfect Nomos for your style.
Timestamps:
2:02 Nomos brand history
4:58 Nomos Tangente
5:22 Nomos Ludwig
5:37 Nomos Tetra
6:01 Nomos Orion
6:33 Nomos Tangomat
6:51 Nomos Club
7:09 Nomos Zurich
7:29 Nomos Ahoi
7:43 Nomos Lux and Nomos Lambda
8:03 Nomos Metro
8:22 Nomos Minimatik
8:40 Nomos Autobahn
9:19 Crown & Caliber Nomos Top Picks
Research and development at NOMOS Glashütte
Seen from the outside, mechanical watches have not changed a lot in the past 200 years—at their heart lies a perfect arrangement of gears, screws, springs, pinions, and levers. Yet we keep researching and perfecting our craft, always looking for the next breakthrough.
INVENTIONS AND PATENTS
A boutique watchmaking firm that takes pride in itself does not rest on its laurels. Even things that seem perfect can often be improved.
Of course, NOMOS Glashütte is traditionally cautious when it comes to complications: The NOMOS designers believe in the guidelines of the Deutscher Werkbund, they like to keep the dials clean and the cases slender—and complications tend to take up a lot of space in both. So, any complication needs to be reinvented before it becomes suitable for a NOMOS watch.
The patented date function, for instance: The date ring was mounted on rubies and set around the movement, making it a seamless addition to the caliber and keeping the watch both elegant and flat. Another example of our watchmaking skill is the crescent-shaped power reserve indicator that signals when a watch needs to be rewound: This mechanism comes with just a few extra components and has also been patented.
Another milestone was our first in-house built automatic movement that we presented in 2005: It made NOMOS Glashütte a member of the very small league of watch manufacturers that produce their own calibers (nowadays we build all our movements in-house). A few years later, the first NOMOS world time function came out: The DUW 5201 movement ticks inside both the Zürich Weltzeit and the Tangomat GMT models—making them de facto 24 watches in one.
In order to improve continuously, NOMOS works in cooperation with the Technical University of Dresden and the Fraunhofer Institute. This has led to the development of our own gear wheel train, for example. And it also ensures that the latest discoveries about materials can contribute to our watchmaking work. Two calibers that the watchmakers from NOMOS’ R&D department are particularly proud of are DUW 1001 and DUW 2002—the amazingly sophisticated calibers at the heart of the gold watches Lambda and Lux. They belong to the best that has ever come out of Glashütte—and to the most beautiful.
A GAME OF MONOPOLY
In 2014 NOMOS Glashütte celebrated its independence day: with the NOMOS swing system—our in-house built escapement that sent shockwaves through the industry. This tiny system of parts is lighter than a feather, and yet it made for a huge technical sensation.
Up until 2007, NOMOS Glashütte had been quietly building mechanical watches of interest for timepiece-lovers the world over. It steadily became known for its commitment to design and precise timekeeping, picking up dozens of awards along the way.
For all the success, one thing still eluded the company: It wasn’t fully independent—something that is virtually unattainable in the watchmaking industry. A Swiss-based firm belonging to a multinational corporation had been (and is still) supplying a substantial portion of the watchmaking world with so-called escapements—the heart and pacesetter inside the calibers of all mechanical timepieces. Without an escapement, it is impossible for a watch to tick and tock.
These days, only a handful of specialists know how to build one—their knowledge is either highly guarded or has simply been lost over time. There is no literature, no mathematic formula recorded, there are no tools to buy. Glashütte watchmakers of yesteryear used to have the expertise needed; however, the advent of the quartz revolution in the 1970s and ‘80s made the skills and equipment for the production effectively vanish from the town.
Those days are long over, people now once again appreciate the technical mastery and the beauty of mechanical watches—but many who once knew how to construct an escapement are no longer around to impart their knowledge. So NOMOS Glashütte decided to swing the situation on its head: Together with the Technical University of Dresden the company set out on the herculean task to develop an escapement of their own. And to become truly independent in the process.
Escapements are incredibly fine components; no other part within a mechanical watch reserves such a small margin of error. The balance and the balance spring must operate flawlessly in relation to each other’s individual properties; the escape wheel teeth must be perfectly concentric—the tiniest miscalculation means the entire escapement will not function at all. In short: many years of intense studies, elaborate experiments, and failed prototypes lay ahead.
But all the while giving up was never an option. The final escapement—named the NOMOS swing system—was unveiled at Baselworld in 2014, powering the NOMOS watch model Metro. NOMOS Glashütte was now officially capable of something that hardly any other company in the world was able to do: an in-house escapement, produced in series. “Managing to do this feels a little like landing on the moon,” said NOMOS CEO Uwe Ahrendt. FAZ, the popular German newspaper, suggested that “even Apple were keeping a close eye” on the small watchmaking company from Glashütte.
Metro was only the first model powered by the NOMOS swing system. Since then, NOMOS has begun to equip all its calibers (all of which are built in-house) with the swing system. At some point all NOMOS watches will have this tiny motor inside.
Shortly after the arrival of the NOMOS swing system, it was the next in-house sensation: the first neomatik caliber, DUW 3001. Flatter, finer, more elegant than everything that had come before, it set a new standard for automatic movements. With the second caliber, DUW 6101, NOMOS Glashütte is taking things a step further—with a date that can be quickly and easily set forwards or backwards.
DUW 3001—THE NEXT GENERATION MOTOR
It took around one and half million minutes of work, shortly after the arrival of the NOMOS swing system it became the next homemade sensation: NOMOS automatic caliber DUW 3001—flatter, finer, more elegant than everything that had come before. With this first caliber with neomatik technology, NOMOS Glashütte has set a new standard for automatic calibers.
This caliber could hide itself from view behind a stack of nine postage stamps. At 3.2 millimeters in height, DUW 3001 is thinner than everything else in the world of watchmaking that self-winds and is produced in large-scale series—and yet it is still highly precise. How was this even made possible? With some Glashütte style sleight of hand, you could say. Virtually every component was assembled between the bottom plate and the three-quarter plate—in a space which on average is only one millimeter high.
One particularly challenging aspect of constructing such a thin caliber is the necessitation of a thinner main spring. It has—due to it consisting of less material—a weaker tensile force value. To make up for this deficit the caliber’s efficiency was increased: to (for experts an almost unbelievable figure) 94.2 percent. There is effectively only 5.8 percent energy loss due to friction—normally this figure is around 20 percent. Despite a reduced design height DUW 3001 offers the very best caliber performance.
One more upside: DUW 3001 is equipped with a very special heart, the now renowned NOMOS swing system. The in-house built escapement, with which NOMOS Glashütte broke the Swiss monopoly in 2014, ensures the highest rate of accuracy: During the chronometer testing the NOMOS calibers fitted with the proprietary swing system achieved excellent results from the get go.
This caliber also won’t be beaten when it comes to efficiency—since the rotor (that oscillating component in the shape of a large piece of cake) provides the exact amount of energy to the barrel needed for the movement to do its job. Once it is fully wound, the NOMOS rotor brake comes into play, which protects the whole automatic mechanism and the barrel and reduces wear to a minimum.
And it’s only natural that this motor features a succession of famous Glashütte characteristics, which are recognizable in watches born of this noble heritage: three-quarter plate, Glashütte ribbing, Glashütte sunburst, tempered blue screws—and so on.
The aim was a quick-change date—and to take the construction a step further too. The result? The new neomatik date caliber (DUW 6101) has several advantages and a smart design.
The NOMOS program disk
An intelligently-designed space saver: the NOMOS program disk. A triangle with rounded sides that means DUW 6101 can feature a small wheel, rather than a large 24-hour one. An added benefit: The caliber has a smaller date change time frame.
A highly efficient automatic
The neomatik caliber DUW 6101 is equipped with a particular rotor. It winds in both directions and hardly loses any energy when it changes directions; its reversal angle was reduced to only 10 degrees, which is as small as it could be and highly impressive (especially for experts). The rotor is skeletonized—and can withstand knocks easily.
The NOMOS swing system
The escapement used by NOMOS Glashütte is designed in-house and known as the NOMOS swing system. This component is the heart of every mechanical timepiece, ensuring its accuracy. Only a handful of companies worldwide can produce this essential part themselves.
The NOMOS balance bridge
Screwed down on both sides and extremely stable, decorated with a fine polish: The NOMOS balance bridge gives the perfect support to the balance spring of the NOMOS swing system. Integrated into it: shock protection that absorbs blows and knocks.
The NOMOS gear train
20 wheels and 28 pinions turn in the neomatik date caliber. Their cog teeth must connect perfectly to ensure that everything moves with as little friction as possible, and that energy is used as efficiently as possible. This is why NOMOS Glashütte redesigned this system—down to the micrometer: Every individual wheel is produced, cut with teeth, and undergoes fine polishing according to strict calculations—and the majority is gold-plated as well. This makes the NOMOS gear train a frictionless, reliable component from start to finish.
A thin-walled mainspring barrel
This is where the energy is stored–as this round barrel houses the mainspring that gathers energy. The thinner its walls, the more space the spring has, and the longer the watch ticks. This one has around 42 hours after being fully wound. One of the many small puzzle pieces that make the elegance of NOMOS’ neomatik calibers possible.
Adjusted in six positions
The everyday life that is to come is first tested on the watch. At NOMOS Glashütte, this means that every caliber is adjusted in six positions—a process also known as fine adjustment. This is more in-depth than even the strict chronometer guidelines; they require only five positions.
Richly decorated
The engraving on the rotor is embossed, gold-plated and, for the first time, the base plate is engraved as well—it reads “adjusted in 6 positions” in German. Typically NOMOS, typically Glashütte, and something special in the world of fine watchmaking: the three-quarter plate with Glashütte ribbing, tempered blue screws, and rhodium-plated movement surfaces with Glashütte ribbing or NOMOS perlage.
IN-HOUSE BUILT 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 ½ 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
https://nomos-glashuette.com/en/wat...t#/en/watches/series/update/duw-6101-overview
Crown & Caliber
If your luxury watch tastes are on the modern, Bauhaus side, then a Nomos watch may be the perfect timepiece for you. The Crown & Caliber Nomos Buying Guide will walk you through the background of the brand, an overview of the 13 model families, our favorite watches in the collection and specific tips for getting the perfect Nomos for your style.
Timestamps:
2:02 Nomos brand history
4:58 Nomos Tangente
5:22 Nomos Ludwig
5:37 Nomos Tetra
6:01 Nomos Orion
6:33 Nomos Tangomat
6:51 Nomos Club
7:09 Nomos Zurich
7:29 Nomos Ahoi
7:43 Nomos Lux and Nomos Lambda
8:03 Nomos Metro
8:22 Nomos Minimatik
8:40 Nomos Autobahn
9:19 Crown & Caliber Nomos Top Picks
Research and development at NOMOS Glashütte
Seen from the outside, mechanical watches have not changed a lot in the past 200 years—at their heart lies a perfect arrangement of gears, screws, springs, pinions, and levers. Yet we keep researching and perfecting our craft, always looking for the next breakthrough.
INVENTIONS AND PATENTS
A boutique watchmaking firm that takes pride in itself does not rest on its laurels. Even things that seem perfect can often be improved.
Of course, NOMOS Glashütte is traditionally cautious when it comes to complications: The NOMOS designers believe in the guidelines of the Deutscher Werkbund, they like to keep the dials clean and the cases slender—and complications tend to take up a lot of space in both. So, any complication needs to be reinvented before it becomes suitable for a NOMOS watch.
The patented date function, for instance: The date ring was mounted on rubies and set around the movement, making it a seamless addition to the caliber and keeping the watch both elegant and flat. Another example of our watchmaking skill is the crescent-shaped power reserve indicator that signals when a watch needs to be rewound: This mechanism comes with just a few extra components and has also been patented.
Another milestone was our first in-house built automatic movement that we presented in 2005: It made NOMOS Glashütte a member of the very small league of watch manufacturers that produce their own calibers (nowadays we build all our movements in-house). A few years later, the first NOMOS world time function came out: The DUW 5201 movement ticks inside both the Zürich Weltzeit and the Tangomat GMT models—making them de facto 24 watches in one.
In order to improve continuously, NOMOS works in cooperation with the Technical University of Dresden and the Fraunhofer Institute. This has led to the development of our own gear wheel train, for example. And it also ensures that the latest discoveries about materials can contribute to our watchmaking work. Two calibers that the watchmakers from NOMOS’ R&D department are particularly proud of are DUW 1001 and DUW 2002—the amazingly sophisticated calibers at the heart of the gold watches Lambda and Lux. They belong to the best that has ever come out of Glashütte—and to the most beautiful.
A GAME OF MONOPOLY
In 2014 NOMOS Glashütte celebrated its independence day: with the NOMOS swing system—our in-house built escapement that sent shockwaves through the industry. This tiny system of parts is lighter than a feather, and yet it made for a huge technical sensation.
Up until 2007, NOMOS Glashütte had been quietly building mechanical watches of interest for timepiece-lovers the world over. It steadily became known for its commitment to design and precise timekeeping, picking up dozens of awards along the way.
For all the success, one thing still eluded the company: It wasn’t fully independent—something that is virtually unattainable in the watchmaking industry. A Swiss-based firm belonging to a multinational corporation had been (and is still) supplying a substantial portion of the watchmaking world with so-called escapements—the heart and pacesetter inside the calibers of all mechanical timepieces. Without an escapement, it is impossible for a watch to tick and tock.
These days, only a handful of specialists know how to build one—their knowledge is either highly guarded or has simply been lost over time. There is no literature, no mathematic formula recorded, there are no tools to buy. Glashütte watchmakers of yesteryear used to have the expertise needed; however, the advent of the quartz revolution in the 1970s and ‘80s made the skills and equipment for the production effectively vanish from the town.
Those days are long over, people now once again appreciate the technical mastery and the beauty of mechanical watches—but many who once knew how to construct an escapement are no longer around to impart their knowledge. So NOMOS Glashütte decided to swing the situation on its head: Together with the Technical University of Dresden the company set out on the herculean task to develop an escapement of their own. And to become truly independent in the process.
Escapements are incredibly fine components; no other part within a mechanical watch reserves such a small margin of error. The balance and the balance spring must operate flawlessly in relation to each other’s individual properties; the escape wheel teeth must be perfectly concentric—the tiniest miscalculation means the entire escapement will not function at all. In short: many years of intense studies, elaborate experiments, and failed prototypes lay ahead.
But all the while giving up was never an option. The final escapement—named the NOMOS swing system—was unveiled at Baselworld in 2014, powering the NOMOS watch model Metro. NOMOS Glashütte was now officially capable of something that hardly any other company in the world was able to do: an in-house escapement, produced in series. “Managing to do this feels a little like landing on the moon,” said NOMOS CEO Uwe Ahrendt. FAZ, the popular German newspaper, suggested that “even Apple were keeping a close eye” on the small watchmaking company from Glashütte.
Metro was only the first model powered by the NOMOS swing system. Since then, NOMOS has begun to equip all its calibers (all of which are built in-house) with the swing system. At some point all NOMOS watches will have this tiny motor inside.
Shortly after the arrival of the NOMOS swing system, it was the next in-house sensation: the first neomatik caliber, DUW 3001. Flatter, finer, more elegant than everything that had come before, it set a new standard for automatic movements. With the second caliber, DUW 6101, NOMOS Glashütte is taking things a step further—with a date that can be quickly and easily set forwards or backwards.
DUW 3001—THE NEXT GENERATION MOTOR
It took around one and half million minutes of work, shortly after the arrival of the NOMOS swing system it became the next homemade sensation: NOMOS automatic caliber DUW 3001—flatter, finer, more elegant than everything that had come before. With this first caliber with neomatik technology, NOMOS Glashütte has set a new standard for automatic calibers.
This caliber could hide itself from view behind a stack of nine postage stamps. At 3.2 millimeters in height, DUW 3001 is thinner than everything else in the world of watchmaking that self-winds and is produced in large-scale series—and yet it is still highly precise. How was this even made possible? With some Glashütte style sleight of hand, you could say. Virtually every component was assembled between the bottom plate and the three-quarter plate—in a space which on average is only one millimeter high.
One particularly challenging aspect of constructing such a thin caliber is the necessitation of a thinner main spring. It has—due to it consisting of less material—a weaker tensile force value. To make up for this deficit the caliber’s efficiency was increased: to (for experts an almost unbelievable figure) 94.2 percent. There is effectively only 5.8 percent energy loss due to friction—normally this figure is around 20 percent. Despite a reduced design height DUW 3001 offers the very best caliber performance.
One more upside: DUW 3001 is equipped with a very special heart, the now renowned NOMOS swing system. The in-house built escapement, with which NOMOS Glashütte broke the Swiss monopoly in 2014, ensures the highest rate of accuracy: During the chronometer testing the NOMOS calibers fitted with the proprietary swing system achieved excellent results from the get go.
This caliber also won’t be beaten when it comes to efficiency—since the rotor (that oscillating component in the shape of a large piece of cake) provides the exact amount of energy to the barrel needed for the movement to do its job. Once it is fully wound, the NOMOS rotor brake comes into play, which protects the whole automatic mechanism and the barrel and reduces wear to a minimum.
And it’s only natural that this motor features a succession of famous Glashütte characteristics, which are recognizable in watches born of this noble heritage: three-quarter plate, Glashütte ribbing, Glashütte sunburst, tempered blue screws—and so on.
The aim was a quick-change date—and to take the construction a step further too. The result? The new neomatik date caliber (DUW 6101) has several advantages and a smart design.
The NOMOS program disk
An intelligently-designed space saver: the NOMOS program disk. A triangle with rounded sides that means DUW 6101 can feature a small wheel, rather than a large 24-hour one. An added benefit: The caliber has a smaller date change time frame.
A highly efficient automatic
The neomatik caliber DUW 6101 is equipped with a particular rotor. It winds in both directions and hardly loses any energy when it changes directions; its reversal angle was reduced to only 10 degrees, which is as small as it could be and highly impressive (especially for experts). The rotor is skeletonized—and can withstand knocks easily.
The NOMOS swing system
The escapement used by NOMOS Glashütte is designed in-house and known as the NOMOS swing system. This component is the heart of every mechanical timepiece, ensuring its accuracy. Only a handful of companies worldwide can produce this essential part themselves.
The NOMOS balance bridge
Screwed down on both sides and extremely stable, decorated with a fine polish: The NOMOS balance bridge gives the perfect support to the balance spring of the NOMOS swing system. Integrated into it: shock protection that absorbs blows and knocks.
The NOMOS gear train
20 wheels and 28 pinions turn in the neomatik date caliber. Their cog teeth must connect perfectly to ensure that everything moves with as little friction as possible, and that energy is used as efficiently as possible. This is why NOMOS Glashütte redesigned this system—down to the micrometer: Every individual wheel is produced, cut with teeth, and undergoes fine polishing according to strict calculations—and the majority is gold-plated as well. This makes the NOMOS gear train a frictionless, reliable component from start to finish.
A thin-walled mainspring barrel
This is where the energy is stored–as this round barrel houses the mainspring that gathers energy. The thinner its walls, the more space the spring has, and the longer the watch ticks. This one has around 42 hours after being fully wound. One of the many small puzzle pieces that make the elegance of NOMOS’ neomatik calibers possible.
Adjusted in six positions
The everyday life that is to come is first tested on the watch. At NOMOS Glashütte, this means that every caliber is adjusted in six positions—a process also known as fine adjustment. This is more in-depth than even the strict chronometer guidelines; they require only five positions.
Richly decorated
The engraving on the rotor is embossed, gold-plated and, for the first time, the base plate is engraved as well—it reads “adjusted in 6 positions” in German. Typically NOMOS, typically Glashütte, and something special in the world of fine watchmaking: the three-quarter plate with Glashütte ribbing, tempered blue screws, and rhodium-plated movement surfaces with Glashütte ribbing or NOMOS perlage.
IN-HOUSE BUILT 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 ½ 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
https://nomos-glashuette.com/en/wat...t#/en/watches/series/update/duw-6101-overview
Last edited:
Thanks for posting this up, Mike.
