Innovative from the Inside Out: neomatik 1st Edition From NOMOS Glashütte


Minimatik champagne: Slender, automatic, elegant... and a bit cheeky with a dash of neon orange embellishing the champagne-colored dial.
Minimatik champagne: Slender, automatic, elegant… and a bit cheeky, with a dash of neon orange embellishing the champagne-colored dial.

Announcing the arrival of the neomatik 1st edition from NOMOS Glashütte, with 10 beautiful new watch models powered by the innovative DUW 3001 caliber within. This new collection will appeal to those who appreciate the slender aesthetic of hand-wound watches for which NOMOS Glashütte is renowned, but also desire the convenience of automatic winding. The combination of characteristics found in the neomatik collection was, until now, unknown in the watchmaking world; these watches are slender, automatic, and capable of chronometer-level accuracy, yet remain within NOMOS’ established price range.

Nomos Minimatik Tangente neomatik DUW - pair
DUW 3001: An ultra-thin automatic caliber of the next generation, which is at the heart of Tangente neomatik (left) and Minimatik (right)

At the heart of these watches is the DUW 3001 caliber, the tenth in-house caliber from NOMOS Glashütte. It represents a groundbreaking new approach to the construction of automatic calibers, and is the result of three years of hard work by the NOMOS research and development department. At just 3.2 millimeters in height, DUW 3001 is significantly thinner than many standard automatic calibers on the market—but then again, it is not a standard caliber. A prerequisite for creating this ultra-thin caliber was the proprietary gear train, which was optimized by changing the order, angle, and number of teeth—raising the efficiency of the gear train to 94.2 percent. To only have 5.8 percent friction loss in a watch movement is simply enormous; 20 percent would be normal.

Nomos Caliber DUW 3001
At only 3.2 millimeters in height, DUW 3001 is an innovation in the world of fine mechanical watchmaking: an automatic caliber that is slender, robust, and capable of chronometer-level accuracy.

A further challenge was that less space means, of course, less room for tolerances as well. These had to be halved, since in DUW 3001 almost all the watchmaking parts are inserted between the base plate and the three-quarter plate, where the construction space is only a millimeter in height. The ratchet wheel, for example, is now placed entirely under the three-quarter plate—and thus needed to be flatter than before. To avoid friction between the wafer-thin parts, a special new alloy was used. This alloy has excellent, low-friction properties, is extremely even, and is easy to form and harden. Modern production techniques, combined with expert know-how, enabled the NOMOS Glashütte research and development department to innovate so significantly with the new DUW 3001 caliber. By contrast, many of the standard automatic caliber designs on the market today have remained broadly unchanged since the 1970s.

Nomos Caliber DUW 3001 - Detail
DUW stands for Deutsche Uhrenwerke NOMOS Glashütte, a designation which makes the company’s credentials in caliber production clear.

This focus on innovation is also reflected on the dials of the neomatik 1st edition series, either with cyan blue or neon orange accents on the dials. All five watch models come in two versions, sporting either cyan blue highlights on a white silver-plated dial or neon orange highlights on a champagne-colored dial. These homeopathic doses of rather wild colors are exclusively for the first edition of the neomatik collection, which will only be produced in 2015. And that is not the only thing that is new, since alongside the four classic NOMOS models—Tangente, Orion, Metro, and Ludwig—the neomatik collection also features Minimatik, an entirely new watch model.

New watch straps have been introduced as well: neomatik champagner models receive new, naturally tanned, full grain leather straps. Similar to the Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan, this leather is produced using only all-natural vegetable dyes and a chemical-free tanning process, allowing them to age beautifully and develop a natural patina without irritating those with sensitive skin. The other neomatik models receive the same straps as the luxurious NOMOS gold watches Lux and Lambda, made from Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan leather with remborde stitching. Both neomatik and neomatik champagner straps have an elegant, in-house-designed buckle clasp.

Nomos neomatik - buckles
Perfect down to the details: the specially designed ‘buckle clasp’ from NOMOS Glashütte is both comfortable to wear and beautiful to look at.

The neomatik 1st edition from NOMOS Glashütte represents both an innovation in the world of fine watchmaking and a continuation of what NOMOS does best—producing elegant mechanical timepieces from the inside out.

For the international premiere of the neomatik 1st edition, NOMOS selected the 2015 WatchTime New York exhibition. With increasing U.S. sales, a growing North American fan base, and having established a new sales office in New York City earlier this year, it is the perfect place for such an unveiling. “More and more, our customers are coming from the United States. Our U.S. growth in 2014 increased into the triple digits,” said Uwe Ahrendt, NOMOS Glashütte CEO. The two-day event brings brands and consumers together in the largest luxury watch exhibition in North America, drawing visitors from around the country (and the globe).

You can learn more about the new neomatik 1st edition here: nomos-neomatik.com

All content sponsored and provided by NOMOS Glashütte.

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