The Saxon brand has a distinctive trait when it comes to new trends: it is a trend-setter rather than a trend-follower, and their last iteration of the Orion is no different. We are amidst the fashion week, and while I’m strolling through the main streets of downtown Milan, I often ask myself why a big billboard reproducing a NOMOS Glashütte Orion Neomatik 41 date olive gold is not showcasing in Via Manzoni or Via Montenapoleone; it would be the perfect match to a city that is widely regarded as the European New York City. I also reckon a NOMOS Glashütte Orion Neomatik 41 date olive gold‘s panel board would be a perfect addition to Piazza Liberty too, where the Apple Store is located since I believe these two brands share a common approach to brand identity and communication, although their products differ so much from each other.
NOMOS Glashütte‘s take on the “green dial” theme, that’s so prominent among luxury brands these days, and their sports watches primarily, is, again, a different one. The Saxon brand has paved the way to a new scenario, where “green” is synonymous with a classy yet understated dress watch. I have to admit I never ranked an Orion watch among my NOMOS all-time favs; until now. This new iteration has made this collection rapidly grow on me, outperforming a NOMOS Glashütte Tangente Sport neomatik 42 blue–black date with a steel bracelet, for a while. The combination between a dress-watch-like design and that business casual looking dark green dial proves how it’s possible to be bold without the bull.
With the Glashütte Orion Neomatik 41 date olive gold, NOMOS Glashütte designers worked like good chemists in search of the perfect formula, and came up with a classic sports watch measuring 40.5mm in width and just 9.4mm in thickness; an under-ten-millimeter thickness is synonymous with almost ultra-thin watch, a perception that is amplified by the longest lugs I’ve ever experienced on any wristwatch, any size, I have ever worn.
NOMOS Glashütte opted for a dark olive green mated to gold–colored printed baton indexes and gold hour and minute hands; a big squared date window opening, something I would do without on any watch, is standing out on a virtually flat dial. The Orion neomatik is also available with smaller size and no date option (but no green dial) as Orion neomatik 39, in case, but I have to admit designers were creative and integrated it seamlessly: the font is bold, and the date window itself is not squared, but its vertical sides are as curved as the case itself.
Look up close, and you’ll notice this dark olive green dial combines two different surface executions: it is delicately grained with the recessed seconds-counter showcasing a contrasting circular pattern. It is a distinctive trait that helps the dial stand-out. A black leather strap would not have been my very first option on such a timepiece, but it is a reasonable choice: a NOMOS Glashütte Orion Neomatik 41 date olive gold‘s style is halfway between informal and formal, it is graceful yet easygoing, from virtually any angle. If you’re more into sports watches, you’d rather go for an Autobahn neomatik 41 date instead. The leather strap comes from leading American company Horween, a long-term supplier to most luxury watch brands out there.
Let’s finally quickly dig into the product specification, for a while: there’s no surprise here unless you compare the Orion to its competitors, and NOMOS is setting the standard. The NOMOS Glashütte Orion neomatik 41 gold–olive date retails for € 3,420 which is not a low price, to be fair, yet none of its closest competitors’ products offer an in–house conceived and manufactured movement as finely executed and decorated as caliber DUW 6101, that, case in point, fills the case. I believe instead that 42 hours of power reserve are a letdown in a segment where the maximum power reserve is a strong “selling point” and at least seventy hours are a given. However, I think it’s just a matter of time, with the Saxon engineers working hard, I’m confident, to close the gap to any Orion nematic 41‘s competitor anytime soon.
(Photo credit: Marco Antinori for Horbiter®)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
