Reply With QuoteI think this is Part 2, HS. You can amend the title using advanced edit.
I was very taken by the DWB Tangente, both in concept and execution.
NOMOS:
Let me start by saying I'm a vintage guy. I’ve had brief flings with modern Heuer, Omega, Tudor, and Rolex, but I generally found them cold and charmless and they never lasted long. However, in spite of this rather biased view, there is one modern watch company that has always held an appeal. That watch company is NOMOS. So despite the cold, the damp, and a group of shady looking characters loitering nearby, I was pretty excited as I pulled into their visitors carpark back in February.
By good fortune the group turned out to be a rather friendly bunch of TZUKers, and together we made our way to the front of the administration building where we were greeted by our host for the day. After declining her suggestion that we should take off our clothes (I think something was lost in translation as we were standing next to the coat stand), we headed upstairs to a large glass cube that overlooked GO, ALS, Moritz Grossman, and naturally the railway line as the building started life as Glashütte train station. It was here that we could spend a bit of time with their complete range of watches, and I'm pretty sure everyone of us found something that was really appealing. For me it was pretty much any model with a Midnight Blue dial (particularly the classic Tangente), and for our host I think it was the very NOMOS-esque cal. 12.68 Longines that "mushroom-pusher" had picked out especially for the visit.
After this it was back out into the cold for a steep hike up the appropriately named Alte Bergstrasse (old mountain road) to the Chronometerwerke Glashütte factory where the tour would really begin.
The first of three areas where we spent time was a movement assembly room with a loop of around 8-10 workbenches that were connected by a rather neat conveyer system. A partial movement would arrive at a bench, then rise up to working height so that the resident watchmaker could perform his or her specific task. When the work was completed the movement would drop down again onto the conveyer and head off to the next station for the next assembly step. It was a nice system that kept everything clean and efficient and allowed the watchmakers to concentrate on what was important. And if there was any free time between one movement departing and the next arriving, then they had the chance to enjoy a rather nice view across Glashütte town whilst waiting.
We then headed up a floor to the second area which was working on NOMOS’s proprietary escapement, the NOMOS Swing System. Forgive me for not remembering the precise tasks of the four or five employees that we spoke to, but the one that stood out for me was the watchmaker who was cutting up short sections of shellac which he was using to glue jewels into pallet forks. We gathered around closely and watched as he carefully stretched out a piece of softened shellac into a thin wire, before cutting it into short sections that would provide exactly the right amount of adhesive for each jewel. The pallet forks would then be placed onto a heated plate (I’m guessing at around 77-82°C), where the shellac would then melt into the gap between the jewel and the pallet fork and bond it permanently into place. He informed us that a few weeks prior their had been a tour whilst he was working with the hot plate, and one of the visitors bumped him from behind causing him to tip forwards and burn his nose. Obviously we were very sympathetic, but I suspect he regretted telling us as we “accidentally” bumped him a few times before leaving ! There is a nice video that shows this process at the link below.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=plNC0v_jBw4
In the same area was a station for, I think, the poising and balancing of the balance wheels and fitting of the hairspring. Now I'm slightly out of my depth here, but we had a lengthy and interesting conversation with the watchmaker about the difficulties of achieving a good final result. I think each task taken individually was relatively simple, but interactions between the different elements meant that there was a real art to getting everything working correctly when assembled into a complete system. She admitted that even after years of practise that sometimes it just wouldn’t work out and she’d have to scrap the one she was working on (which makes sense when the cost of the time needed surpasses the cost of the parts themselves). It's worth saying that we found this level of approachability and openness with all the watchmakers we spoke to, and this was an important factor in making the morning so enjoyable.
Finally we headed up into the attic of the building where movements were being finally assembled with dials/hands/cases into complete watches. On this day the majority of the watchmakers were working on the Doctors Without Borders version of the Tangente, a partnership which is an indicator of just how much NOMOS have grown in stature over the years. Each completed watch was then checked for timing before a final QC check by a team of two cheerful but undoubtably strict ladies. At this point we also discussed the servicing and repair structure of the company, which basically allows any watchmaker located anywhere to order spare parts to repair a NOMOS watch. This is very customer friendly and should keep costs and waiting times down, and it’s a shame that the big Swiss companies are working in the opposite direction to strictly control parts and work to benefit themselves (but probably not the end user).
Anyway, after this we headed back downstairs and took Alte Bergstrasse back to the old station. We bid a farewell to our host and set off under the tracks to our next appointment. In summary the tour did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for NOMOS. I already was a big fan of the aesthetics, but now I also appreciate the effort that's gone into producing in-house DUW (Deutsche Uhrenwerke) calibers. So did I rush to my local NOMOS dealer as soon as I got back home? Actually no, but the chance of it happening at some point has definitely increased. And was there anything else I learnt during the following days in Glashütte ? Yes there was. ALS joins NOMOS on my shortlist of highly appealing modern watches !
Last edited by HookedSeven; 30th June 2019 at 18:07.
I think this is Part 2, HS. You can amend the title using advanced edit.
I was very taken by the DWB Tangente, both in concept and execution.
Last edited by Mr Curta; 30th June 2019 at 17:05.
Everyone was saying how good part 3 is so I thought I’d try piggybacking on it.Originally Posted by Mr Curta
Great reading. Thanks for posting!
Some photos from my visit to Nomos in 2013, before they moved some of the manufacturing to a neighbouring village. We were able to witness the full production, here the mainplate:
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Thanks for sharing this!
I love Nomos. I own a Ludwig and it's one of my favourite watches. So elegant and so understated.
Great write up. The policy of supplying parts to independent watchmakers is interesting as Nomos is the only manufacturer I have ever had service a watch - I usually very happily use independents but after being told by one of my usual watchmakers that it would be better to send to Nomos I did so.
I was astonished that the cost was within £50 of the usual independent servicing costs and the turnaround was considerably quicker. The watch had lost 1.6s in days last I checked. I’d certainly recommend their in-house servicing to anyone...
Great right up and really interesting about the servicing. I’ve purchased w few things from Nomos and I have only positive things to say about their customer service and their watches.
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Thanks for that but they still are not watches I could spend money on.
I love that the current leader on TZ UK for brand snobbery = the person who thought their 6 digit Pepsi would look good on a NATO, and a nasty one at that. Are you sure you wouldn't be happier on WUS?
You could almost think he was just trying to bag posts in order to gain access to sales corner. Praising fashion watches, bashing true watchmaking like Nomos and Minerva, and responding to WTBs.
True lifeblood.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Yeah, I’’ma massive brand snob.sorry if I have offended you but I don’t like the watches or the brand. Where have I ever said ‘I love only Rolex and nothing but Rolex’ but I am honoured you show so much interest in my posts. Thank you.
Last edited by TAFKARM; 3rd May 2020 at 16:20.
Would love to go to Nomos HQ for this tour, looks incredible. Good work !
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