NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update Watch Review
The NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update, unveiled at Watches & Wonders in Geneva, is the latest creation from the Manufactory based in Saxony. Angus Davies explores the specification of this new model and discusses the brand’s predilection for independence.
Image: Copyright: NOMOS Glashütte
NOMOS Glashütte – the need to be independent
In my professional capacity, writing about timepieces, I have learnt that the culture of a watch company strongly influences the composition of its models. At NOMOS Glashütte, a constituent part of its paradigm relates to its extraordinary desire for independence.
In watchmaking terms, NOMOS Glashütte remains comparatively young. It was founded in 1990, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In just 30 years, the brand has achieved so much. Indeed, its products have attracted a strong following, much praise in the specialist watch press and a multitude of industry prizes. The company’s longing for independence has seen it make numerous in-house movements, a feat most brands have yet to achieve.
Perhaps even more remarkably, NOMOS has developed its own ‘swing system’, a term the brand employs to describe its own escapement and regulating system (for more information about the swing system, see my review of the NOMOS Glashütte Club Campus Neomatik 39). Few watch brands, even those with centuries of watchmaking history, have dared to undertake such a task, making NOMOS’s achievement all the more remarkable. Indeed, the firm’s swing system has attracted many favourable comments over the years and it has proved a highly reliable method of controlling the flow of time.
The neomatik series – the Calibre DUW 3001
In 2016, the Saxony-based company released a new movement, the DUW 3001, an automatic calibre. It formed the basis of a new collection of slender models, the neomatik series. The movement measured a mere 3.2mm in height despite the presence of an oscillating mass.
NOMOS Glashütte expended much energy realising the movement’s slim profile. One of its ingenious developments relates to its gear train. With most watches, the transfer of energy from the barrel to the escapement via the gear train is not very efficient. Indeed, this transmission often sees only 80% of the power that leaves the barrel reach the escapement, with the remaining 20% lost to friction. NOMOS looked closely at the gear train, paying due consideration to the order and angle of the wheel as well as the number of teeth on each wheel. By adopting a new design, the brand increased power transmission to a remarkable 94.2%. A benefit of this work was it allowed the brand to fit a flatter, less powerful mainspring that still delivered the same power reserve, but was markedly thinner. Thereby allowing the German firm to make slim watches, often preferred by many wearers for their unobtrusive wrist-feel.
Image: Copyright: NOMOS Glashütte
The neomatik series – the Calibre DUW 6101
At Baselworld 2018, NOMOS Glashütte unveiled the DUW 6101 calibre. Like its older sibling, it was automatic and supermodel-thin, measuring a mere 3.6 mm in height. This figure was remarkable because the movement included a date indication. Interestingly, the brand cleverly positioned the date indication at the outside edge of the movement, allowing it to offer the additional function without blighting the firm’s legendary uncluttered dial designs. Moreover, the wearer could quickly set the date function, turning the crown in either direction without the fear of harming the movement, save for a 90-minute window once per day.
NOMOS Glashütte – award-winning designs
At the time of its unveiling, NOMOS equipped a number of new models with the new movement, including the Autobahn neomatik 41 date, Ludwig neomatik 41 date and the Tangente neomatik 41 Update. Every model was fitted with the same DUW 6101 calibre, but each had its own distinctive personality. Personally speaking, the Tangente neomatik 41 Update, with its eye-catching ring date, was my favourite. I was not alone, the watch won an iF Design Award (2019), European Product Design Award (2019) and, lastly, a prestigious GPHG prize (2018).
The Tangente is the watch company’s most popular model range, perhaps making it an obvious choice for the DUW 6101 calibre and the Update version’s unusual ring date. However, now this prize-winning combo appears in a new model, the NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update.
NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update – dial
An inherent trait common to all NOMOS dials is exceptional intelligibility and this latest model, the NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update proves no exception. Incidentally, the first version of the Metro date power reserve, released in 2014 and measuring 37mm in diameter, has won six awards to date.
Image: Copyright: NOMOS Glashütte
Whereas the Tangente features sharp angular lines, the Metro has a more organic shape, sporting numerous rounded contours. The white dial has a chaste appearance, shunning any unnecessary adornment. Upholding the design language of the inaugural Metro, the hour and minute hands are superfine with needle-like tips. They enunciate the time efficiently and free of ambiguity. The hours are denoted with clear, unfussy grey dots with larger dots positioned at 3 o’clock, 9 o’clock and noon. Adjacent said dots, Arabic numerals in double-digit form reinforce understanding.
Image: Copyright: NOMOS Glashütte
A snailed small seconds dial is positioned above 6 o’clock and sits on a lower level than the main dial plane. However, the pièce de resistance is undoubtedly the ring date. First adopted on the Tangente neomatik 41 Update, the ring date is protected by two patents. Unusually, the ring date not only shows the prevailing date but also the date’s relative position within the month. This indication features a series of lozenge shaped apertures with two red-hued windows straddling the current date and it proves highly intuitive to read.
NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update – case
As its name implies, the NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update is substantially wider than other Metro models, measuring 41 mm in diameter. However, don’t misconstrue, this is not a behemoth timepiece, quite the contrary, its scale should suit most wrists.
Image: Copyright: NOMOS Glashütte
The watch eschews conventional lugs, favouring understated wire lugs which draw the strap close to the watch head, enticing it to envelop the wrist with ergonomic efficiency. Moreover, the watch readily slips beneath a shirt cuff, making it a stylish accompaniment to any fine sartorial ensemble.
Some of the much-loved characteristics synonymous with the Metro line have been carried over to this model. For example, the sapphire crystal is slightly domed, augmenting visual interest. Likewise, the crown is embellished with fine diamond knurling, said to be ‘inspired by high-grade watchmaking tools’. Intended to be a functional detail to facilitate manipulation, this feature demonstrates the brand’s prowess for design and illustrates its fondness for the Bauhaus principle of ‘form follows function’.
The timepiece is equipped with an exhibition caseback affording sight of the self-winding movement. NOMOS presents the watch on a Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan strap, paired with a stainless steel pin buckle. Quick-change spring bars allow the wearer to easily swap the strap for an alternative look without the need for using tools.
NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update – movement
Despite the impressive specification of its models, NOMOS is known for its comparative affordability and, more specifically, the high quality-price ratio its products deliver. Beyond the engineering excellence of its movements, the brand upholds fine watchmaking tradition by imbuing each calibre with impressive finishing and other delightful details.
Image: Copyright: NOMOS Glashütte
The Calibre DUW 6101 features a three-quarter plate, an alternative to the multiple bridges and cocks often found on Swiss movements. The benefit of a three-quarter plate is that there is less potential for flex, making the movement more stable. In this instance, it has been embellished with a striped motif called Glashütte ribbing.
NOMOS has also considered torsional rigidity in relation to the balance. While many brands hold the balance in position using a cock, effectively a bridge secured at one point, NOMOS adopts a different approach. A balance bridge affixed to the mainplate with two blued screws confers superior stability to the regular cock found on many German watches.
Thermally blued screws abound, upholding fine watchmaking practice. Embossed text, enlivened with gold-plating adorns the oscillating mass as well as other areas of the movement. The mainplate is decorated with perlage, a circular-grained motif that can be seen adjacent to the balance wheel.
The movement features 27 jewels and, assuming the mainspring is fully wound, the watch will run autonomously for up to 42 hours.
NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update – closing thoughts
The needle-like hour and minute hands fitted to this model provide impressive readability. It is an attribute that is reinforced by the design of the small seconds display and the highly distinctive date indication. The brand’s focus on delivering lucidity has also resulted in a highly attractive appearance. It is one of many examples of form following function, a key characteristic common to all NOMOS models.
Measuring 41mm in diameter, the profusion of curves found on this watch’s case provides an alternative to the Tangente’s angular design, potentially engaging with new audiences. The elegantly domed sapphire crystal front of house imbues the timepiece with a gentle disposition that will resonate with many prospective purchasers.
However, all roads lead to the Calibre DUW 6101. It is slim, yet its construction delivers rigidity and, by default, stability. The movement is beautifully appointed with impressive finishing omnipresent. The specification demonstrates a quality-price ratio seldom seen at this price point. Perhaps this impressive quality-price ratio is a function of the brand’s in-house capabilities, producing its own movements and even making its own swing system. Although one thing is certain, this is a highly impressive watch, offered for a remarkably keen price.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: NOMOS Glashütte Metro neomatik 41 Update
- Reference: 1165
- Case: Stainless steel; diameter 41 mm; height 9.1 mm; water resistance 5 ATM (50 metres); sapphire crystal to front; exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours; minutes; small seconds; ring date
- Movement: Calibre DUW 6101; automatic movement; 27 jewels; power reserve up to 42 hours.
- Strap: Textile strap dark grey, woven, waterproof, with quick-change spring bars
- Price: £3,700 (RRP as of 4.8.2023)