WORLDTEMPUS - 1 June 2010
Elizabeth Doerr
Nomos, a manufacture located in Saxony's center for high watchmaking, has always done things a little differently. This is not because the manufacture known for its clean design, Bauhaus-style frugality, and extreme quality for the money is located in Germany. This is because Nomos just does things a little differently.
Founded by Roland Schwertner in 1990, immediately after German reunification, Nomos was the first watch brand to stake a new claim in the Wild East emerging from the ashes of Glashütte's political ruins. The original collection of four timepieces has remained the almost unvaried foundation of the brand's multiple award-winning success, with the main changes almost invisibly coming as a result of the company's continuous quest for production depth and thus increasing quality in the existing product lines. The addition of the brand's first complication—a power reserve added to the manually wound manufacture movement by head movement designer Thierry Albert—was followed by the manufacture automatic movement by Mirko Heyne (originally of Lang & Heyne fame) in 2005.
Yesterday, the brand revealed its first real complication in two variations: a worldtimer and a GMT, both added to Heyne's existing manufacture automatic movement and clothed in the ultra-cool original neutrality of Nomos's timeless yet design-oriented products. The 40 mm stainless steel timepieces will first undergo Nomos's typical testing procedure for new products: 300 pre-series watches are available for order by potential customers to “test” for three months. At the end of this period, the tester has the option of purchasing the timepiece or giving it back. The object of this testing phase is to practically wipe out teething problems—most new watches have a return percentage of at least 5 percent, with manufacture movements' return percentage usually even higher—while giving the consumer the rare opportunity to help determine sensible changes in a product before it goes into full production.
Therefore, the new Zürich Weltzeit was introduced at the launch in two slightly different dial variations, while the Tangomat GMT was shown in four; the testers will aid in making the final decisions on which variations are best appreciated. The testers will then send the timepieces back to the factory at the end of a three-month period together with a very detailed, filled-out questionnaire. Should the tester choose to keep his or her globetrotting pre-series timepiece, it will still need to be sent back to the factory for full refurbishing and possible improvement of whatever teething problems arose during the test phase. The proud new owner of the limited test piece will then be invited to Glashütte to personally pick up the now perfected watch to take home—or anywhere, really, in full knowledge of the time both at home and in whatever time zone he or she chooses to wear the timeless new watch.
Would you like to influence Nomos's choice of final dials? Make a comment below, and the editors of Worldtempus will make sure it is forwarded to Nomos.
