In keeping with something that’s become a holiday season tradition, Nomos has saved what is perhaps their most elegant release of the year for the season when folks are more likely to get dressed up a bit for the various seasonal gatherings that are likely to be taking place over the next several weeks. We saw this back in 2019, with Tangentes in a rich midnight blue, and now Nomos has debuted two new Orion models with hints of precious metals running through the dials. Let’s take a look.
The Orion is certainly the formal watch in the Nomos catalog, at least among their stainless steel cased watches, and these versions of their traditional, minimal, dress watch dial that formality up a bit through the use of both subtle accents and bold dial choices. First up is a 33mm Orion that Nomos is aiming toward female clients. The Orion 33 Gold has a galvanized gold dial in the familiar Orion layout, which is as classic as it gets with a subsidiary seconds register at the 6:00 position and simple applied stick markers for the hours. It may look simple, but anyone who has ever worn an Orion for any length understands the surprising depth of these dials thanks to the use of a dramatically curved sapphire crystal and complex and curvy case shape that is perfectly integrated to the crystal and the trademark extra long lugs.
The Orion 38 Silver takes the larger Orion case size and adds a silver plated and domed dial paired with gold tone accents at the hour markers and hands. The 38mm Orion is a genuinely interesting watch, and one to try on if you have doubts that a watch under 40mm can look great on your larger than average wrist. It’s a great example of how case proportions, rather than diameter, work together to form a shape that is surprisingly wearable. According to Nomos, the design brief for this watch was “glamorous and subtle,” two ideas that are seemingly on the opposite ends of the style spectrum. But the use of precious metals here paired with a case design that is increasingly rewarding the more you spend with it seems to be a good start.
Both of these Orions run on the hand wound Alpha caliber, the tried and true in-house movement that has powered most Nomos designs through the years at one point or another. While Nomos has made plenty of advancements in their movement tech, it’s nice to see that they are still creating interesting and beautiful watches that run on the comparatively simple Alpha caliber. For watches that are very much pure dress pieces, and not necessarily obvious everyday drivers, it certainly seems like a logical decision to keep them as thin as possible.
The new Orions with gold and silver accents are available now from Nomos. The retail price on the 33mm version is $2,240, and the 38mm watch is $2,560. More here.
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