Limited Edition

Introducing Nomos × Revolution Tangente neomatik 41 Update ‘Resilience’

by Wei Koh . Aug 11, 2023

Limited Edition

Introducing Nomos × Revolution Tangente neomatik 41 Update ‘Resilience’

NOMOS Glashütte and Revolution present the Nomos Tangente neomatik 41 Update ‘Resilience’ that is an ode to humanity’s ability to transcend the odds.

Of all human qualities, the one I admire the most is resilience — that is, the ability to withstand, adapt and grow in the face of adversity or trauma. In the history of the modern world, very few cities are as synonymous with resilience as Berlin, the creative home of German watch brand Nomos Glashütte. While today we consider Berlin one of the global epicenters for art and culture, with the world’s greatest nightclubs and an innovative epicurean scene embodied by chef Tim Raue’s eponymous two Michelin starred restaurant, it wasn’t so long ago that the capital city of Germany was in the international spotlight for a very different reason: Between 1945 and 1990, Berlin was a hotspot in the superpower rivalry known as the Cold War.

Today Berlin is one of the global epicenters of art and culture, by elxeneize

Caught in the ideological conflict, the city was divided into East and West Berlin; the former was run by the Sovietbacked Communist government of East Germany, while the latter was deemed a territory of West Germany. The 96-milelong Berlin Wall, built in the 1960s by East Germany, was the most notorious symbol of the conflict between the Eastern/ Communist bloc and the Western/Capitalist bloc. The Wall divided families and friends and separated Germans from their jobs, leading to anguish and generational trauma. Yet, somehow encoded in the DNA of every Berliner, was the determination to fight back against this oppression. Nothing could crush the spirit of Berlin and its people. They withstood. They adapted. They grew.

A SYMBOL FOR RESILIENCE

One day, sitting on the terrace of Berlin’s Soho House with Martina Etti of NOMOS Glashütte and my friend Amo Völker, the conversation found its way to the subject of Berlin, Glashütte and resilience. At this point, Nomos and Revolution had been discussing the idea of a collaborative watch for some time, but we just couldn’t find the right idea. Then, Amo paused for a second before stating, “Actually I have an idea.”

Model-photographer Amo Voekler wearing the limited edition Nomos x Revolution Tangente neomatik 41 Update 'Resilience'

Now before we get to the watch, let me describe my friend Amo. She’s a model who has graced Revolution’s cover and appeared in multiple photo spreads in The Rake magazine. She’s also an art director and a great photographer. We met during a job she did for The Rake when she was shooting Savile Row’s next generation of rockstar female tailors, and we became friends. I soon recognized in her the quality of resilience that I find so admirable in others.

As an example, after a prolonged bout of COVID, she decided she wanted to be of help to her city. So, she enrolled in paramedic training and, after a grueling year of training while battling her own long COVID symptoms, became an officially licensed paramedic. During the years of the pandemic, she would ride in the back of ambulances and administer aid to those injured or in need. I used to joke with her that people being resuscitated by her might be in danger of thinking that they had passed away and ascended to Valhalla. What is impressive is that two years after the pandemic, she remains firmly committed to the cause, dedicating a part of her week to working as a paramedic in Berlin.

Amo explained, “I’ve been doing some research and discovered that the symbol for resilience in nature is the helix. Helix patterns form when pressure, adversity or trauma is experienced by an entity in nature. When a root finds a barrier, it forms a helix around it. It twists around and conquers its former foe and transforms itself into a symbol for stability. Nautiluses and seashells also form this pattern when they experience pressure of any kind.”

The Fibonacci sequence is subtly integrated into the minute track of the Nomos × Revolution Tangente neomatik 41 Update “Resilience”

Martina Etti immediately replied, “I love this idea. The story of resilience is very important to the town of Glashütte and to our brand Nomos.”

THE STORY OF NOMOS GLASHÜTTE

For those of you who don’t know the story, “Nomos” which means “law” in ancient Greek, was founded in early 1990, just a few months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Brand founder Roland Schwertner, a professional photographer with no experience as a watchmaker, was remarkably prescient in understanding the incredible savoir faire that existed in Glashütte. He wanted to revive the watchmaking know-how that had been almost buried when the watchmaking factories in Glashütte were taken over and nationalized by the Communist government of East Germany.

Roland Schwertner, founder of NOMOS Glashütte

There is the well-known story of Walter Lange, his father and uncles rebuilding the A. Lange & Söhne factory, which had been bombed in one of the last air raids of World War II in Europe (the Glashütte watchmaking companies were likely targets of air raids because they had been used to manufacture war equipment under the Nazi regime). However, in 1948, the Lange family were informed that their business would be nationalized as a so-called “People’s Own Enterprise” or “Volkseigener Betrieb” (VEB). The Lange company was absorbed into Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB), and its role henceforth would be to produce reliable watches for countries in the Eastern bloc as well as for export to other countries. Walter Lange was given the option to work for them or be sent to a uranium mine; he chose instead to leave his hometown and escape to Pforzheim.

Yet one silver lining amidst all the Cold War restrictions was that the Quartz Crisis never affected East Germany, which continued through the GUB to produce millions of reliable mechanical watches.

Nomos Ludwig

From the beginning when he founded Nomos, Schwertner’s mission was clear. He wanted to tap into the strengths of precision watchmaking in Glashütte to create accessibly priced, great value, reliable and very handsome Bauhaus inflected timepieces that showcased German manufacturing and design. His first watches launched in 1992 were the round-cased Orion, Ludwig and Tangente, as well as the square-cased Tetra.

The square-cased Nomos Tetra

All the watches were refreshingly bold and minimalist in design. The round watches measured 35mm in diameter, while the square-cased Tetra measured 29.5mm × 29.5mm. From the beginning, quality was of paramount importance. Movements were sourced from ETA and Peseux, but Nomos modified, improved on and refined the ETA raw movements or ébauches with stop seconds, the traditional Glashütte click and other Glashütte features, such as a three-quarter plate, sunburst on the ratchet and crown wheels, and tempered blue screws. In addition, a separate mainspring was used, and the movement was given a Triovis fine adjustment; even then, it was finely regulated in six positions.

In this way, a more functional, more precise and finely decorated NOMOS Glashütte caliber was created from a reliable Swiss ébauche, which bore the designation Nomos 1 TSP until 2005.

Nomos Orion

Early success gave way to an investment made by a German retailer which Schwertner used to create his own in-house movements. Says Martina, “From the beginning, it was his [Schwertner’s] objective to create watches with the greatest integrity, and for him that meant in-house calibers that showcased the skill embedded in the town of Glashütte.”

Nomos Tangente

Incredibly, in 2003, Schwertner bought the shares back from the retailer and re-established the brand as a fully independent entity. While he does not talk about it, I imagine that this period must have been a challenge for him on multiple fronts. The transition for Nomos that he initiated, from a new brand to a full-fledged manufacture, and then purchasing back the shares so that Nomos became not only an independent brand again, but also a successful one equipped with its own in-house movements, were an apt demonstration of remarkable resilience as well as a brilliant example of tactical leadership.

The brand's first in-house caliber, the manual wind Nomos Alpha

By 2005, Nomos unveiled its first in-house caliber, the manual wind Nomos Alpha, and shortly afterwards, its first automatic movement, the Epsilon. As more than 50 percent of each Nomos watch was now created in Glashütte, it officially joined the ranks of the town manufactures. In 2013, Nomos created a new line of movements named Deutsche Uhrenwerke Nomos Glashütte. And by 2014, incredibly, Nomos began the production of its own escapement called the Nomos swing system.

The NOMOS Glashütte Swing system

In 2015, Nomos introduced the DUW 3001, an incredible 3.2mm-thin automatic movement. This movement which features a full traversing balance bridge is 94.2 percent efficient, meaning that just 5.8 percent of its energy is lost to the sliding friction of the escapement.

Nomos’ original DUW 3001 caliber

What is remarkable about Nomos’ growth is that it has largely eschewed traditional advertising, relying instead on partnerships, word of mouth and community building through various platforms such as its own website and online store, which, before the accelerated growth of e-commerce brought on by the pandemic, was unusual for a luxury brand.

Throughout it all, Schwertner has remained an understated, indeed mysteriously elusive figure, giving hardly any interviews and preferring to let his timepieces speak for him.

NOMOS Glashütte Headquarter

What you need to understand is that today Nomos is an absolute juggernaut. It is the largest manufacture in terms of number of timepieces made in Glashütte by a large margin. Its manufactory is home to 300 employees and consists of several buildings, with the administration and sales departments located in the headquarters at the former train station building of Glashütte village. The brand’s satellite creative office, named Berlinerblau, is two hours away by car in Berlin.

NOMOS Glashütte Chronometrie

In 2018, Nomos created a watch that definitely spoke to me. It was the Tangente neomatik 41 Update featuring the caliber DUW 6101. This is an evolution of the original DUW 3001. The movement in this watch has a unique complication — a double patented date mechanism with ring display and quick adjustment in both directions with significantly shortened locking time. To me, the resulting watch represents Nomos’ Bauhaus inspired design code at its creative best.

Nomos Tangente neomatik 41 Update featuring the caliber DUW 6101

The dial of the watch features the Tangente signature iconography that dates back to 1992 and that is deeply rooted in Walter Gropius’ philosophy of “form follows function.” But at the perimeter of the dial is a full date track abbreviated by small rectangular apertures in between each marker. The correct date is marked by colored indicators on either side that will jump instantaneously at midnight. Nomos was able to integrate this complication by adding just a mere 0.4mm to its in-house movement — an impressive engineering feat.

The caliber DUW 6101 powering the Tangente Neomatik 41 Update

The resulting watch is extremely handsome and, while at 40.5mm today, it can be considered large in light of the current trend for smaller timepieces, I would point out that the majority of François-Paul Journe watches are also around this size for one simple reason: legibility. To make the Tangente neomatik Update in a way that would compromise the legibility of the date indication, in the eyes of a brand with a slavish devotion to function, just wouldn’t fly.