Introducing The Nomos Club Campus In Absolute Gray & Future Orange

Nomos is one of the few brands that does an excellent job of combining serious, minimalist pieces with just the right playful pop of color. Their Club Campus line is no exception. Geared towards younger people and students, the Club Campus line represents an excellent value in mechanical timepieces, while retaining that youthful style. Fresh for this year, there are four new models — two sizes, each with two colorways. A pair of 38mm watches are rendered in “Absolute Gray” and “Future Orange”, while the 36mm duo features the same base dial colors, but with a little extra flair around the numerals. Let’s take a closer look at these four watches from the Glashutte-based brand.

The Club Campus is a simple watch at first glance, but when you zoom in a bit, the small and purposeful details that Nomos is known for begin to shine. A standard case with comparatively long lugs is polished to a brilliant shine, with a plain bezel surrounding the dial. 100m of water resistance makes the watch suitable for swimming, too. Measuring in at 38mm wide (or 36mm wide) by 8.5mm thick (or 8.2mm thick), the Club Campus is compact and slim. Most Nomos watches tend to wear a little larger than their measurements imply (not a bad thing), and that’s thanks to the wide open dial design.

These new Club Campuses feature a California-style numeral layout with Arabic numerals on the top half of the dial, and Roman numerals making up the bottom half. California dials are a fun touch that blends modern and vintage-inspired type with ease. Each of the hour markers is rendered in Super-Luminova and surrounded by an accent color. On the Absolute Gray model, there’s a faint purple line highlighting the numerals, while the Future Orange dial has a thin light blue accent. Just above 6 o’clock, you’ll find the small seconds dial with a bright red accent hand that adds some depth and visual appeal to the dial.

Inside, you’ll find Nomos’ own Alpha manual wind caliber ticking away. This in-house movement is a reliable and handcrafted movement that’s a scant 2.6mm thin, which helps keep the case of the Campus so wearable. 43 hours of power reserve are more than enough to give the watch a day off without winding, while the 17 jewels keep the movement lubricated and running smooth. Not many brands can say they have a true in-house movement in a sub-$2k piece. 

Nomos has always been excellent at using color. You may be scratching your head when reading about a gray-dialed watch with purple and red accents, but upon seeing the watch, you begin to understand the designers at Nomos a bit more. I particularly like Nomos’ different treatment to each size of the watch, making them stand out from each other. The new colorful orange dials are a refreshing color option, perfect for Spring or Summer. With a universally comfortable 38 or 36mm case, in-house movement inside, and a fun and functional dial layout, the Club Campus represents a solid watch for any collection. They start at $1500 for the 36mm, and bump up to $1650 for the 38mm — an excellent value for what you’re getting. Nomos.