First Look at the Nomos Duo Collection, the German Favorite’s Newest Entry-Level Watches

The four core Nomos models have been updated ever so slightly as part of this year’s Baselworld release slate. While it would be easy to dismiss these new versions of the Orion, Tetra, Tangente, and Ludwig as simply smaller versions meant to appeal to women, there are interesting things happening here from a design perspective that warrant a closer look.

Nomos Duo Collection

Case Material: Stainless steel (polished)
Dial: White, silver plated
Dimensions: 33mm (Orion, Ludwig, and Tangente), 27mm (Tetra)
Crystal: Sapphire
Water Resistance: 3 atm
Crown: push/pull
Movement: Alpha.2
Strap/Bracelet: Beige velour leather
Price: $1,380-$1,660
Expected Release: April 2019

In addition to their unique case shapes, a design element that has been intrinsic to Nomos from the start is the small seconds hand. The new Duo series does away with this feature, and anyone who has owned or experienced a mechanical watch without a seconds hand will immediately understand the draw here. There’s something different about looking down at your watch  and not seeing a moving piece, knowing that under the dial there’s a world of mechanical action. Maybe it’s an insider’s pleasure, or just a satisfaction in a dial that is more open and less cluttered, but there’s an undeniable appeal. With small dimensions (33mm for the circular watches, 27mm per side for the Tetra) and warm dials with hints of brown and gold, I think it’s fair to say that the Duo series is a nod to Nomos’s female clientele. Plenty of men, however, would be thrilled to have an option just 3-4 millimeters larger, sans seconds hand, and this series leads one to think that Nomos may introduce such a watch at some point in the future.

All four of these Nomos case shapes have been seen in various sizes and dial treatments over the years, but to see them without a running seconds hand (courtesy of the new Alpha.2 movement) is to see a new watch entirely. As an unabashed Nomos fan, one of the things I’ve always appreciated about them is the way they balance an aesthetic that is at once very design forward and modern, with traditional watchmaking sensibilities. The Duo series fits nicely into that context. It’s great to see that Nomos is still interested in creating the type of watch that made them so popular in the first place: simple, traditionally sized mechanical timepieces, with just enough style and flair to know that real people thought everything through. It will be interesting to see how the Duo line develops in the future. Nomos