The Lambda, which has always been an outlier in the Nomos catalog due to its precious metal case and $20,000+ price, just got a steel makeover.
Available in white, black and blue dial variants, the new, limited-edition — which celebrates 175 years of watchmaking in Glashütte, Germany — is one handsome watch. Classically Bauhaus-inspired (as Nomos wares generally are), its dial feels like one large swathe of negative space, with minimal printing and extraneous elements. The top half of the face is taken up by an oversized, 84-hour power reserve complication, the bottom by a large sub-seconds counter. Add in a set of thin, blued steel hands, and the effect is at once minimalist and striking — all the more so because the dials are enamel, giving them a high gloss and an elegance missing from your typical metal dial.
The new Lamdba, which is limited to 175 pieces each, has been sized at 40.5mm — previous versions existed in 42mm and 39mm sizes, so it feels like Nomos is playing it safe here. (I'd personally love to see such an elegant watch further downsized to somewhere around 37 mm — who's with me?) Powering the watch is perhaps its most exciting feature after the beautiful dial: the handwound Nomos cal. DUW 1001.
This movement, which is visible through a sapphire case back, is simply stunning to behold, somewhat reminiscent as it is of older, high-end pocket watch calibers. Twin mainspring barrels give it a power reserve of 84 hours — impressive for a handwound watch — while 29 jewels and and a swan neck regulator are both attractive and lend the watch serious accuracy. Impressively, the watch's case is still only 7mm thick.
Water-resistant to 30m and accompanied by a 20mm Horween shell cordovan leather strap, the new Lambda is available for $7,500.
