Nomos Glashütte has quietly jumped into 2022; while we wait for the Saxon brand to reveal their official full product presentation release date, here is some product news. The Nomos Tangente goes under the loupe after quite some time; a centrepiece of the brand’s portfolio, the Tangente comes in an unexpected and distinctive new platinum grey dial and two size options. The last time we took our hands on a Nomos Tangente was in 2019, either with a Tangente Lambda or a date-marine-black-hands-on/">Sport, housing the awarded neomatik in-house calibre.
Looking for enhanced sophistication
“The devil is in the details”, and so is with every new Nomos watch. Purity is the most challenging task, but the Saxon brand has proved they can brilliantly manage and mix dial colours and fonts like no other. The Nomos Tangente neomatik Platinum Gray is not a difficult task per se; the challenge was to turn a sporty classic timepiece into a more sophisticated product. The marketing team are experienced with coloured dials that they’ve kept testing on plenty of models, including the forgotten and niche Tetra (some tones genuinely are unique – please take a look) or the Club Campus.
The new dial options add further refinement to the current offering. For example, the midnight blue Tangente is between a classy and a sports watch, whereas the white model is quintessentially classic but too mainstream instead. With the new platinum grey editions, Nomos adds unmatched sophistication; the Tangente looks and feels like a single tone product throughout the case and dial, and vice versa; and the “spider” shaped lugs – not my favourite design trait – are less polarizing than anywhere else.
A two size proposition is more than welcome: you can now opt for a self-winding neomatik-powered 35mm Tangente or the current hand-wound one (the other platinum grey Tangente comes in a larger 38,5 mm size), despite the price gap still being a deal-breaker if you compare neomatik and Lambda.
The dial
The platinum grey tone’s pattern is best appreciated up close; it enhances the mid-section grained finish and the seconds’ counter snail design. The “midnight blue” Tangente comes with the same surface treatment, yet it is not standing out as on the platinum grey edition models.
Here is why we adopted a macro lens; it helps appreciate the finely detailed and embossed gold “neomatik” inscription, the grey anthracite-coloured Arabic numerals and, up close, the running seconds’ counter’s tapered edges. The attention to detail is terrific and proves a Nomos watch deserves a closer look than anywhere else.
The DUW calibre 3001
We went up close with the revered self-winding calibre DUW 3001, too. While accuracy and thinness are not breaking news, overall build quality and decoration are often left aside. The 3,2 mm thick movement makes Nomos Glashütte a unicorn in the Saxon watchmaking landscape and the price segment it belongs to; Nomos is at the opposite side of the spectrum across the Saxon heritage, often prided for its ingenuity, less so for the thickness of its calibres.
The young brand is the only Saxon watchmaker to engineer in-house ultra-thin mechanical movements at an outrageously competitive price, too. Both the execution of the Glashütte ribbons and the adoption of a two-piece balance bridge are aesthetically pleasing and technically exquisite.
The winding rotor comes standard with a safe-stop mechanism, thus stopping once the watch is fully wound. Combine these features with the proprietary Swing system, and there you have why a neomatik-powered Nomos retails more than any Lambda-powered sibling.
Final thoughts
We usually spend time praising Nomos for offering well built and durable timepieces at a fair price – that’s at the core of the brand’s promise – aiming to grow their consumer base’s retention rate steadily. For some time now, the storytelling has been moving towards increasing the brand’s perceived value, which is higher than ever before, here. I keep not liking the lugs’ design on a Tangente; the curved lugs deserve sharp edges, and I can only think that Nomos avoids making them sharper for safety reasons.
The second yet less relevant area of improvement regards the Horween leather strap, whose craftsmanship is top-notch. I’ll instead reduce the stitching’s size; it’s too country-looking and contrasts too much with the case’s purist Bauhaus-inspired design. A Nomos Tangente neomatik Platinum Gray retails for 2,580 Euros in the 38,5 mm option and 2,740 Euros in the 35 mm instead. Both measuring 6,9mm in thickness, they offer the Sport bracelet as a free option and keep guaranteeing an unbeatable “value for money” proposition.
It indicates the date of the month. There are different types of display: via a window or a pointer, where an additional hand is usually placed centrally or on a…
Calibre
A calibre is the type of watch movement encased in an assigned timepiece. Its name is usually associated with the manufacturer's name and a standard code, e.g., ETA 2824.
Case
It encases the mechanical movement and is crafted in one or more parts. It can also be a single piece, as with some professional diving watches, or made of unconventional…
Rotor
Part of an automatic watch that winds the mainspring by constantly rotating. Depending on the watch's winding capability, movement design, and value, it comes in various geometries, sizes, and materials.…
Strap
A leather, rubber or other material band that secures the watch to the wearer's wrist.
