2018.5.18
Why Are Nomos Automatic Watches So Expensive!?
The topic of this installment of "The Shop Owner's Musings" is "Why Are Nomos Automatic Watches So Expensive!?"
Nomos’s founder, Roland Schwertner, originally envisioned offering products with simple designs at affordable prices. The designs draw inspiration from the pre-Bauhaus German Werkbund (founded in 1907)*.However, in recent years, Nomos has developed its own unique regulating escapement—the DUW (Deutsche Uhrenwerke)—which utilizes in-house-made hairsprings, and has been releasing a series of models equipped with this mechanism, resulting in a greater proportion of high-end products compared to the early days.
Nomos Swing System
*Here is some information about the German Werkbund (the organization that became the precursor to the Bauhaus). In 1906, the Third German Arts and Crafts Exhibition was held in Dresden, which served as the catalyst for the Werkbund’s formation in Munich in 1907 with the aim of fostering German industry.Architects and designers participated in the association, leaving a significant mark on the development of modern design. The activities of the German Werkbund marked the beginning of industrial design. Architect Gropius founded the Bauhaus art school in 1919, drawing heavily on the ideals of the German Werkbund.
The site of the former German Crafts Federation (photographed by the author during a visit in May 2016)
To be honest, it’s rare to see a manufacturer that even produces its own balance springs in-house, so they really seem to go all out.When I visited the Nomos factory in Glashütte two years ago (May 2016), the caliber designer told me: “Standard automatic calibers typically have a five-layer gear train, which tends to make them thick. However, the DUW3001 used in the Neomatik condenses that five-layer gear train into three layers, making it nearly as thin as the hand-wound Nomos Alpha.“Research and development was conducted not only by Nomos but also in collaboration with the Technical University of Dresden, enabling us to create a watch based on sound principles and reliable results,” he explained.
Click here for the Nomos product list
The Nomos Showroom (photographed by the author during a visit in May 2016)
The Neomatic Caliber DUW3001 is just 9 stamps thick (3.2 mm) (photographed by the author during a visit in May 2016)
Selected Models Equipped with Neomatic
Furthermore, Nomos handles everything in-house at its Berlin office, known as “Berliner Blau”—from designing even a single needle to planning the factory’s architecture, including the precise colors and layouts—before sending the designs to Glashütte for manufacturing. It was a team of experts operating under Nomos’s rigorous system.
Nomos Berlin Blau in Berlin (photographed by the author during a visit in May 2016)
(We’ve been carrying TS Horiuchi watches since they were first imported by Nomos, and there have been virtually no initial defects. Furthermore, their accuracy has consistently remained at a daily deviation of 5 seconds fast. I’ve heard that production volumes are lower than those of major brands, with annual output not exceeding 30,000 pieces.)
For the 2018 Baselworld, the company developed the DUW6101, which adds a date function to the automatic DUW3001 movement. Previously, the date was advanced by turning the crown at the 12 o’clock position back and forth; this new model features a standard date-setting mechanism that allows the date to be advanced with a single pull of the crown to the date position.Although the watch became slightly larger due to the addition of the date function to the caliber’s outer rim—while maintaining the same thickness—the new caliber features a newly developed mechanism that prevents damage by allowing the date to spin freely when operated at the 12 o’clock position (or within a 90-minute window before or after midnight). It is also a groundbreaking design that allows the date to be turned backward.
The DUW6101 movement is just 3.6 mm thick.
Furthermore, to earn the “Glashütte” designation, at least 50 percent of the movement’s components must be manufactured in Glashütte; Nomos, however, manufactures 95 percent of its parts in Glashütte—far exceeding that requirement.
2018 Baselworld New Model “Nomos Autobahn”: A masterpiece by renowned designer Werner Eislinger, featuring the DUW6101 movement. Estimated price: ¥555,000 + tax. Scheduled to arrive in July 2018. (Photo taken by the author at Baselworld 2018)
2018 Baselworld New Model “Nomos Tangente Update”: The date is displayed in red along the outer edge of the dial; features the DUW6101 movement; estimated price: ¥460,000 + tax; scheduled to arrive in July 2018. (Photo taken by the author at Baselworld 2018)
This approach—sticking so thoroughly to Berlin-inspired designs manufactured entirely at the Glashütte Nomos factory, and at times inviting renowned designers to complete the process entirely in-house—is something you simply don’t see with other manufacturers. I can’t shake the feeling that these high prices stem from Nomos’s in-house watchmaking process. I guess we just have to start thinking of these as something entirely different from the hand-wound Nomos watches we’ve known so far… right?
What do you all think!?
