NOMOS Gets Sporty With New Club Neomatic 42 Date Blue

Nomos have come a long way since their first lineup of just four watches; Ludwig, Orion, Tangente and Tetra, all powered by the hand wound Peseux 7001 movement. Today you can take your pick from 11 different movements across 13 different models. One of the most successful of these has been the Club, originally the sixth model from the Glashütte watchmaker.

This new Club – the Club Sport Neomatik 42 Date Blue – differs from its great grandfather in several aspects; it’s larger, has a different movement, different dial, a bracelet rather than a shell Cordovan strap… there’s really not a lot in common, yet it’s still absolutely and recognizably a Club. 

One of the Club’s hallmarks is legibility; you can always read one at a glance. This new watch is probably already polishing its boots ready for a legibility award. The new dial is a sunburst galvanized blue with bright white Arabic numerals that glow sharp blue at night. But legibility on its own can be, well, just a bit dull. One gets the sense that dull isn’t really allowed at Ferdinand-Adolph-Lange-Platz, so the otherwise plain dial gets a lift both from the radially-grained sub-seconds at 6 and the gilt ‘neomatik’ and ‘1000ft’ designations.

That latter is quite the claim. To give it some context, recreational divers don’t usually drop below 98ft. So why build a watch that’ll ace 10 times that? For the same reason the Mercedes 500E was redlined at 160mph – it’s always good to know something’s over-engineered for the job it’s doing.  In the context of the Nomos, it’s also rather pleasing that something so slim (a gnat’s toenail over 10mm) is so robust. The case is 42mm in diameter, milled from 316L stainless and uses an extra-hard sapphire glass for the crystal and display back. 

Does anyone else obsess over checking screw-down crowns before venturing near anything even vaguely damp? No need to check with this one – the crown tube is bright red anodized so you can see without fiddling and twisting whether or not the crown is snugged home.

As befits a serious bit of kit, Nomos have ditched the Cordovan for the Blue and designed a new stainless steel bracelet for it. It’s custom-made and uses matte, brushed outer links and polished central links. No, you said ‘scratch magnet’. Nothing wrong with some character picked up over time on a watch like this, mind. The new bracelet goes right to the bottom and top case edges, yet should be easy enough to remove with the two little release nubs holding the retaining pins.  

The Blue runs the Nomos automatic caliber Neomatik (DUW 6101) with its integrated date. That date is quickset in both directions too. The movement itself is classic Nomos; it has a three-quarter plate, Glashütte stripes, heat-blued screws and gold lettering. 

That date is typically Nomos too. It just looks right. That’s because it’s right on the edge of the dial where dates belong. That’s quite a challenge for a watch that’s larger than 40mm diameter like this one. That’s why, on larger watches, you’ll often see the date well inboard of the minute track. Nomos positioned the date ring around the outside of the DUW 6101 movement, allowing them to have the date where it ought to be.  

This is a watch you could dive with easily and securely, yet it looks absolutely nothing like a dive watch. There’s no chunkiness, no diving trademark bezel, no crown guards. It’s elegant rather than purposeful and you could wear it anywhere. The Club Sport Neomatic 42 Date Blue is priced from $3,740 on fabric strap, to $3,960 on steel bracelet. Nomos.