Nomos Glashütte is almost always thought of through the lens of its award-winning design concepts and in-house movements. Does the release of the brand’s first true sports model, the Aqua Series, at Baselworld this year, signify a shift in focus?
By Jonathan Bues
Nomos has always enjoyed a strong affinity with the world of design. After all, the company operates a dedicated studio in Germany’s design capital, Berlin, and has collaborated with noted industrial designer Mark Braun on the award-winning Metro line. Nomos is also one of the most popular brands among my Surface Media colleagues, particularly the editors covering the design and architecture fields.
When Nomos began crafting its own mechanical movements in 2005, it was well on its way to becoming one of the favorite independent marques of the watchmaking cognoscenti. To those in the know, Nomos is the watch to know. Its timepieces are prized for their carefully considered lines, the smooth quality of their cordovan straps, and, of course, for a growing stable of in-house mechanical movements. And though Nomos continues to be associated with an excellent value proposition, in more recent years, the company has stretched its upmarket reach with the Lambda and the Lux, collections whose gold cases and finely finished premium movements—complete with engraved balance cocks and functional gold chatons—saw prices nudge north of $20,000.
So Nomos has not been averse to trying different things and providing a dynamic product offering. It therefore comes as something of a surprise that until Baselworld 2017, Nomos had yet to add the all-important sport watch to its lineup.
The Nomos Aqua, which boldly takes the company into this uncharted territory—is not a new collection per se, but rather an expansion of the popular Ahoi and Club lines. The Aqua comes in a handful of sizes and features some impressive watchmaking inside. All the movements are crafted in-house in Glashütte, of course, and some include the company’s enhanced ultrathin automatic movements from the DUW series as well as the brand’s proprietary Swing System escapement.
But the most attention-grabbing feature of the introductions are two new dial colors that are made for a summer spent relaxing by the pool, a Campari cocktail not far from reach: siren blue and a fiery red. These new dial hues, which play off of muted gray cloth straps, are joined by the preexisting Atlantik blue and signature white silver plated dials that round out the new Aqua range.
What all these new timepieces have in common is a robust construction that guarantees water resistance to 200 meters. Go ahead and jump in the pool for a swim—they’re made for it, and the bright dials are plenty legible should you decide to go for a deep dive.
In all, there are 16 new Aqua Models, seven in the Club line and nine in Ahoi. The Neomatik versions of both models—the Neomatik name denotes the use of a fantastic in-house ultrathin movement—are slightly smaller than what we’ve seen in previous versions, at 36.3 mm wide by a svelte 9.55 mm thin for the Ahoi, and 37 mm by 9.27 mm for the Club. But don’t worry, the crown guard that has always defined the Ahoi remains in the smaller Neomatik as well. The standard versions, which come with or without date, remain at a larger 40 mm across for the Ahoi and 41.5 mm for the Club. Both sizes are great for men, and the Neomatik offering lends a new opportunity for women collectors to get on board and experience Nomos’s fun new sporty side.
Prices for the Aqua range start at $3,040 and go up to $4,660. Find out more at nomos-glashuette.com.