Despite being much younger than its neighbors in Germany's watchmaking center of Glashütte, Nomos has made a disproportionately strong impact on the watch industry. With a their flair for design and accessibly priced in-house movements, it's easy to understand the excitement around this standout brand.
Unlike many other German watchmakers in Glashütte, Nomos takes a distinctly modern, minimalist approach to aesthetics with clean dials, sans-serif fonts and often moderately sized cases. Inside, however, the brand's own in-house movements are purely old-school mechanical and well-decorated for their price points, making these German watches feel like a hell of a value. Here are a few of our favorite models:
Nomos Tangente Neomatik 41
The Nomos Tangente Neomatic not only has a versatile design, but one that continues to hold your interest if you look closely: A clever touch is the date display around the dial's periphery that discretely but clearly highlights the date in red.
Movement: Nomos DUW 6101 Automatic
Diameter: 40.5mm
Water Resistance: 50m
Buy Now $4,100
Nomos Zürich Weltzeit
A fascinating and unique take on the world-timer watch, the Zürich Weltzeit displays time zones around the world it in a novel and striking way. The cities wheel is easily advanced with a pusher, and with its complicated in-house automatic mechanism, the Weltzeit (German for "world time") offers a compelling value.
Movement: Nomos DUW 5201 Automatic
Diameter: 39.9mm
Water Resistance: 30m
Buy Now $6,100
Nomos Metro Datum Gangreserve
Quirky, sure, but the Metro Datum Gangreserve is one of Nomos's most notable models. Designed by industrial designer Mark Braun, the Metro introduced Nomos's first movement to feature the brand's own Swing System escapement technology. The off-center power reserve and its minty green highlights all come together to make this a special watch that stands out in the wider watch landscape, and even among the brand's own collections.
Movement: Nomos DUW 4401 Manual
Diameter: 37mm
Water Resistance: 30m
Buy Now $3,780
Nomos Club Campus Neomatik
The Club Campus Neomatik applies the Nomos design sense to a sporty, 200m water-resistant watch that you can take anywhere. Bold hands and indices give it a more casual feel than many of the brand's typically dressy pieces. The case back is solid to maintain its water resistance, but it hides an in-house movement as special as any other from the brand.
Movement: DUW 3001 Automatic
Diameter: 39mm
Water Resistance: 200m
Nomos Tangente Sport Neomatik
This is a full-on sport watch with a dive-ready 300m of water resistance, but it looks like almost no other model with comparable specs. Breaking from the brand's typically restrained sizing and dressy styling, this is a tough 42mm timepiece on a steel bracelet, but its dial and modernist vibes retain the brand's distinctive character.
Movement: DUW 6101 Automatic
Diameter: 42mm
Water Resistance: 300m
