{"id":26462,"date":"2020-08-27T09:51:20","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T09:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/nomos-glashutte-tangente-midnight-blue\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T09:35:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T07:35:56","slug":"nomos-glashuette-tangente-midnight-blue-watches-hands-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/en\/nomos-glashuette-tangente-midnight-blue-watches-hands-on\/","title":{"rendered":"The NOMOS Glash\u00fctte Tangente Midnight Blue watches hands-on"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few days ago, while winding the NOMOS Glash\u00fctte Tangente Midnight Blue<\/strong><\/a>, an ironic and romantic old-school ad came to my mind; that ad states as follows: \u201cThis man is dangerous<\/em>. He winds his watch by hand<\/em>\u201c.<\/p>\n

Back in the days, I reckon that ad was (and still is) pure genius, and celebrated an action that is so rare today since automatic timepieces have flooded the market. Our pace of life is so frenetic, these days, that winding a watch is often regarded as a waste of time.<\/p>\n

\"nomos-glashuette-tangente-midnight-blue-1\"If you scroll through the list of products introduced over the past two years or so, you\u2019ll find out that hand-wound wristwatches are on the cutting edge once again. That ad is not old-fashioned; it is in line with the current market and industry trends.<\/p>\n

NOMOS Glash\u00fctte<\/strong> is firmly associated with its in-house automatic movement, known as neomatik<\/strong>, whose prowess is second to none: the brand invested millions Euro to guarantee their independence from ETA<\/strong>; yet, another mechanical caliber laid the foundations of the NOMOS<\/strong> story, and that caliber is the hand-wound signature Alpha<\/strong> movement.<\/p>\n

\"nomos-glashuette-tangente-38-midnight-blue-3\"I recognize a NOMOS Glash\u00fctte Tangente Midnight Blue<\/strong> is quintessentially a Tangente<\/strong> since it features squared lugs and a no-frills dial, but I believe the brand\u2019s designers and Product Marketing gurus teamed up to better enhance the hand-wound timepiece\u2019s foothold.<\/p>\n

They decided to open the case-back and let potential buyers enjoy the view on both the NOMOS Glash\u00fctte Tangente Midnight Blue<\/strong><\/a> (35mm<\/strong> wide) and the NOMOS Glash\u00fctte Tangente 38 Midnight Blue<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s display back. By doing so, a hand-wound and an automatic Tangente<\/strong> look comparable.<\/p>\n

The Alpha<\/strong> is a tiny movement: it is small, measuring ten and a half lines, and 23<\/strong>,3mm <\/strong>in height. It equips a case that, in its smallest sized variation, measures 35mm<\/strong> across. Also, it is pleasing and exquisitely finished: the signature three-quarter plate,\u00a0which features Glash\u00fctte<\/strong> ribbing, is paired with contrasting blued screws and ruby bearings.<\/p>\n

\"nomos-glashuette-tangente-38-midnight-blue-4\"It is from my standpoint\u00a0 the best exemplification of the brand\u2019s Bauhaus-inspired vision: the dial is flat, with no date, showcasing a slightly recessed small seconds register placed at six. The 35mm<\/strong> size is too small for my wrist, and the head-to-head photo picturing one model alongside the other proves how different they are in size and feel.<\/p>\n

\"nomos-glashuette-tangente-midnight-blue-2\"The Tangente 38 Midnight Blue<\/strong> remains thin in its larger size as well, at 6<\/strong>,2mm<\/strong> across. It is thinner than any other automatic timepiece I\u2019m used to, in the benchmark.<\/p>\n

The 37<\/strong>,5mm<\/strong> version is close to perfection when wrapped around a 20cm<\/strong> wrist like mine, the only letdown being the size of the crown: winding the watch was pleasing, yet not the most effortless operation to perform.<\/p>\n

\"nomos-glashuette-tangente-midnight-blue\"If I had to choose my NOMOS Glash\u00fctte Tangente 38 Midnight Blue<\/strong>, I would love to ideally combine the small-sized version\u2019s color palette to a 37<\/strong>,5<\/strong> large case: once associated to gold hands and cream-colored Arabic numerals, that blue dial is just stunning, the brown suede leather strap being the cherry on the cake.<\/p>\n

Vintage cream luminous numerals make the Tangente<\/strong> look cooler, yet typically NOMOS<\/strong>. I believe NOMOS Glash\u00fctte<\/strong> should keep daring as they\u2019re doing by introducing such color combinations on most of its classic models, like they did when the NOMOS Glash\u00fctte Orion neomatik 41 olive<\/strong>\u2013gold<\/strong> date display<\/strong> came out, for example.<\/p>\n

\"nomos-glashuette-tangente-38-midnight-blue\"Last but not least, an even larger version could easily enlarge the current product offering, and the customers\u2019 portfolio too.<\/p>\n

The NOMOS Glash\u00fctte Tangente Midnight Blue<\/strong> is a smart and stylish way to access the world of NOMOS Glash\u00fctte<\/strong>, at a fair price: \u20ac 1<\/strong>,420<\/strong> and \u20ac 1<\/strong>,620<\/strong> are acceptable retail prices considering you can get your hands-on a hand-wound, in-house produced and conceived three-hand watch. From Glash\u00fctte<\/strong>.<\/p>\n