Nomos is headquartered in Glashütte, Germany and has been an independent brand since its inception just after the fall of the Berlin Wall when Roland Schwertner turned his entrepreneurial spirit to watchmaking. The first collection was released in 1991 and included four models — the Orion, Tangente, Ludwig and Tetra. Each of the four was designed by Bauhaus designer Susanne Günther, who brought the design tenets of the movement into the watches. Each Tangente that followed through the years continued to play with its initial design concept of a modern, simple dress watch and introduced a variety of sizes, colors and complications.

Since 2015, Nomos has raised the bar for slim dress watches with the development of two new “neomatik” (named after “new automatic”) movements with slender profiles. The first time-only neomatik movement, DUW 3001, was released in 2015 and measures a lean 3.2mm in height. The second movement released in 2018, DUW 6101, featured a date complication and measures 3.6mm in height. Both movements are independent of each other and were developed by the same technical team responsible for the swing system in 2014 — Nomos’ proprietary escapement. “The Nomos swing system and neomatik,” explains Nomos CEO Uwe Ahrendt, “stand for the best handcraft and outstanding technology from the cutting edge of Glashütte.”

The DUW 3001 movement has achieved new levels of efficiency, with a friction loss of only 5.8 percent rather than the usual 20 percent for an efficiency of 94.2 percent. The DUW 3001 is equipped with the Nomos swing system that made Nomos one of the few watchmakers fully independent, right down to the escapement. One shining example from Nomos with this movement is the Tangente neomatik platinum gray. The design of the watch is ultra-flat to give an overall case height of only 6.9mm on the 39mm steel caseback version and 7.1mm on the 39mm sapphire crystal glass back version.

The Nomos Tangente neomatik platinum gray brings its own signature updates to the classic Tangente series. The dial is a creamy, rich white due to the electroplating layer of platinum metal rhodium. The hour and minute hands are simple, thin, and rhodium-plated for a coordinating and understated look. The very thing that made the original Tangente such a success is still present in the neomatik platinum gray model, and that is the masterful use of the available real estate to make a moderately sized watch seem to have a massive dial, thanks to the clean design, thin case bezel and straight lugs.

The Nomos Tangente neomatik platinum gray includes a version with a steel caseback for the first time, at a lower price point, that can be engraved by the manufacturer for that extra-special personal touch. There is also a smaller 35mm version for even greater variety in personal style and preference.

Tech Specs

Nomos Glashütte Tangente Neomatik Platinum Gray Ref 143/144

Movement: Caliber DUW 3001 self-winding movement; up to 43 hours of power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes and small seconds
Case: 38.5mm; stainless steel with customizable solid steel caseback(Ref 143) or sapphire crystal caseback (Ref 144); water resistant to 50m
Strap: Horween Shell Cordovan black leather; stainless steel folding clasp
Price: USD 3,390 (Ref 143); USD 3,780 (Ref 144)

The DUW 6101 movement, on the other hand, is very different in construction than the DUW 3001 movement, even though it has same slim profile. According to Theodor Prenzel, Head of Nomos Glashütte’s construction department that developed the movement, “For caliber DUW 6101, we examined each of the 188 parts individually, since we wanted to make an entirely new, easy-to-use, and quick-setting date mechanism. It was a challenge to achieve this within a height of just 3.6mm. We already had a lot to draw on from the development of other NOMOS calibers, the NOMOS swing system, and our proprietary gear train over the years. We had a lot of knowledge to work with, which helped. And of course, these days we have entirely new technical options in comparison to the watchmakers that designed calibers in the 1970s — which, incidentally, was when the majority of calibers working within watches today were created. There are a few very expensive exceptions. And Nomos Glashütte.”

Tangente 41 Update is the perfect example to showcase the date mechanism of DUW 6101. While keeping the simple Tangente dial untouched, Nomos utilized the new larger movement to place a date ring around the border of the dial. The date ring features two red dots that frame the current date, which can be set both forwards and backwards quickly and easily.

Nomos designer Michael Paul redesigned the date for the Tangente 41 Update. He explains, “The idea of placing the date right around the dial is already a couple of years old, as we’d had it in mind for a while. We just hadn’t managed to do it. Of course this new, larger Nomos caliber was ideal for this idea. The date ring sits so far out around the side of the dial that I could almost leave the original Tangente design untouched, and the date can be placed around Tangente’s dial as an addition. So the redesign of this classic timepiece remains true to its heritage; it has simply grown— both in its size and in its functionality. You could call it an update!”

Tech Specs

Nomos Glashütte Tangente Neomatik 41 Update Ref 180

Movements: Caliber DUW 6101 self-winding movement; up to 42 hours of power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds and date
Case: 40.5mm; stainless steel with sapphire crystal caseback; water resistant to 50m
Strap: Horween Shell Cordovan black leather; stainless steel buckle
Price: USD 4,100

The Tangente is a perennial favorite among dress watches for those with an eye for detail and modern aesthetics. The Nomos Tangente neomatik platinum gray and neomatik 41 Update are representative of the brand’s innovation, design aesthetics and their philosophy of offering high-end mechanics from Glashütte at a reasonable price.