Every watchmaker has its icon and NOMOS Glashütte’s is undoubtedly its Tangente. One of the German brand’s first four models when it launched over three decades ago, the Tangente has become NOMOS’ emblematic creation and consistent bestseller thanks to its consummate blend of design and functionality, inspired by the Bauhaus school.
To mark its first onsite participation at Watches & Wonders in addition to commemorating more than 175 years of watchmaking in its home town of Glashütte, NOMOS has decided to treat its fans with a celebration of the Tangente and an explosion of colour: At this year’s fair, the brand has unveiled no fewer than 31 fun, funky limited-edition colour schemes for its Tangente 38 date – one for each day of the month.
Each colour combination consists of two or three colours – some bold and daring, others more subtle and understated, and each is available as a 175-piece limited edition.
Every watch is delivered on a woven, waterproof textile strap. Priced at €1,925, these Tangente 38 date limited editions are actually €175 more affordable than the standard Tangente 38 date. On top of that, the brand is including a transparent display back at no extra cost so owners can ogle the DUW 4101 hand-wound calibre that powers each watch’s indications.
Colourful Cues
The NOMOS Tangente is not new to colour switches. Twenty years ago, the brand brought out its Super 30 limited editions. In recent years we have seen the Tangente with bluegold, midnight blue, champagne, platinum grey, Alpenglühn and even a peach pink lacquer dial.
These 31 new Tangente limited editions, though, might just mark the first time that the colour variations on offer have been so wild and extensive, with each part of the Tangente’s face – main dial, small seconds, minute chapter ring and date ring – all carefully considered.
The NOMOS team openly admits that it has been inspired by other brands’ recent resplendent releases including Rolex with its Oyster Perpetual Bubble Dial and Day-Date Puzzle Dial, and Oris with its ProPilot X Kermit Edition.
It says: “In terms of colourful watches at Watches & Wonders, these brands opened the door as it were, and we want to walk through it and come up with something cool, something colourful. We offer diversity and hope that the wearer can express themselves and can identify with their watch.”
31 Different Colour Combinations
The 31 different colour combinations are the brainchild of the company’s Berlin-based design studio Berlinblau led by Thomas Höhnel. Each one has its own name, mainly in German. But with monikers like Kanari, Poporange, Flamingopink and Lemonsbiscuit, it should be pretty obvious to grasp what each one is trying to convey.
NOMOS, though, does have its own idea about what each colour combo connotes. The Tangente 38 date Sportbunt, for example, is said to be inspired by the fashion of the 1970s, recalling Olympic rings and the cheerful days of youth. It features a light red dial with cream numerals and indexes, a turquoise minute ring, golden yellow outer ring, and small seconds in dark red.
Meanwhile, the brand reckons that the off-black dial of the Tangente 38 date Tiefseegrau conjures up images from the depths of the ocean: giant squid, Greenland sharks, lantern fish, and other creatures that prefer to live in the dark.
And the Tangente 38 date Delfin’s blue dial, according to NOMOS, could evoke inflatable dolphins floating on crystal-clear swimming pools, the kitchen cupboards of old farmhouses, or vintage Italian racing bikes, while the Tangente 38 date Schlossgrün’s cream and green offering brings to mind the ivy on walled castle gardens.
Case and Calibre
Under all the crazy colors, this is still the Tangente, and so together with the long, linear hour markers at 2, 4, 8,10, and 12 o'clock and rhodium-treated baton hands, we find the recognisable cylinder-shaped case with long, thin, angular lugs. Despite the watch’s name, the bipartite case is actually 37.5mm in diameter. Its 3-bar water resistance means it is splash proof.
As mentioned, inside ticks the time-and-date DUW 4101 hand-wound calibre made in-house at NOMOS’ Glashütte workshops and equipped with the brand’s swing system escapement. NOMOS says it is regulated and tested according to chronometer tolerances.
The patented date mechanism sees the date ring placed around the outside of the movement. This helps to keep the calibre thin (and the case thin too – it is only 6.7mm in height) and means the large date window can be right at the periphery of the dial.
On regular Tangente date editions, this date ring is usually the same tone as the main dial. However, on these 175 Years Watchmaking Glashütte limited editions, NOMOS’ designers have – for 15 of the 31 new models – decided that a differently coloured date ring would suit the dial better.
Availability and pricing
In addition to its minimalist designs, in-house movements and spirit of fun, NOMOS is known for its commitment to making luxury timepieces that are both affordable and accessible, values which, again, can be traced back to Bauhaus ideology.
The €1,925 price tag of the watch, according to NOMOS, is an investment in its owners, and it wouldn’t be the first time the brand has “subsidised” its limited editions: It also did so in the past with its Tangente Super 30 and Tangente “A Century of Bauhaus” limited editions.
The brand says: “The joy of mechanical watches should be accessible to as many people as possible. That is why the price of these colourful limited-edition watches is lower than that of the standard model. Bringing individuality to the wrist and diversity to the world of fine watchmaking are important to NOMOS Glashütte. Which is why the watchmaking company is investing in both.”
To find out more and order your NOMOS Glashütte Tangente 38 date – 175 Years Watchmaking Glashütte limited edition, please visit the brand’s website.
