I really like the color of this dial. I agree, the leather strap does look better than the bracelet. I could definitely see wearing this watch for a casual evening on the town, dinner and drinks with friends, outdoor activities during the warm months of the year when you tend to wear jeans with a Polo shirt and casual blazer, etc. A beautiful watch.
I cannot stand California dials, but with the same dial scheme but all Arabic numbers this watch would be so close to the perfect watch for me - perfect diameter, very thin, small seconds, simple and linear in design, hand wound, what's not to like? And if we could say that the dial color is a "deep purple" my rock soul would be satisfied too! (Better on the leather BTW. Wonder how it would look on a mesh.)
I would say that the Autobahn model is one of the most spectacular and refreshing watch designs from a high(er) volume manufacturer in recent years. But all in all: yes, mainstream Nomos is always a bit reserved...
Their usual pure Bauhaus style watches are just too cold and sterile for me, but this color combination really pops. Apart from the California dial I really like this one. But I would need to go with the 36 mm, too.
If you order from Nomos, you can request that they install it for an extra fee. It does not come with one by default because their whole marketing angle is that this is a college graduate watch where the parents/gift-giver can leave an inscription on the back.
Another great review! I own the the same watch but with date at 6 o’clock in cream dial with the black and orange hands that is hand wind. Love it, oddly enough there is no real quick set for date, the date is changed in the same way as Vostok
I'm surprised Nomos have never done their take on the infamous green dial hype. They already have very loud orange, siren red and blue. Green would fit in rather well I feel.
Tim - glad to see you looking at Nomos again. I agree with you that Nomos can be a bit boring for sure, but Nomos watches really need to be seen in person to be appreciated. Something about the simplicity looks bland in photos but is compelling in person. Also I think you missed 2 potential pros for this watch: 1. I would always go for an open caseback Nomos. Why not show off the movement? Surprised they sent you one with a closed caseback 2. The bracelet is not the best looking, but it is extremely comfortable. More comfortable than a modern Rolex oyster bracelet in my experience. I agree the leather looks better but I keep my Nomos on the bracelet for convenience
Very true...I tried a few on! I settled on the Neomatic Siren in white! 37mm but fits like 40mm...so you really need to see them, try them on in person!
First noticed this type of dial looking at Dekla’s website. I. General, it doesn’t speak to me in a way that moves me. This watch being rather slim in case height, minimal bezel, maybe I could warm up to it. What surprised me and perhaps I learned this on your channel, this style of dial has historical precedent. I forget the exact details and who first introduced it, but as I recall, it was a giant of watchmaking.
The English equivalent to allergiegeschützt would be "hypoallergenic" (not a perfect translation, but the two words are used pretty much the same in German and English marketing). I like most of the Nomos watches I've seen, but do feel this would be better without the California dial (and I think their watches are a little over priced for what you get).
I want to like Nomos more than I do. Any watch with a relatively small diameter and long lug to lug will pique my interest, so I’d like to get one on wrist. I’ve not had the pleasure. However the Longines 37mm Spirit with it’s long lugged case (more my cup of tea aesthetically) wears a treat on my 7.75” wrist so I may very well be won over if I ever do get the opportunity to wear one. Interesting watch CBTim. Thanks.
@@JimLecinski Hi Jim. I’ve *had* one on wrist but don’t own one. A colleague has one. I’ve had his on wrist a few times and have also tried it on at the AD to compare with the 40mm variant. The lug to lug comes in at just under 47mm so they are long. It wears really, really well on my wrist, much better than the 40mm.
After a month's wait, I just got mine delivered from Europe. 38mm, white dial, sapphire back. I have to say I'm a little bit disappointed. 1) The dial appears as white in all the photos, but it's actually a light gray. Very little contrast between the dial and the hands, except for the little orange seconds hand. 2) The numbers in the minute track and the seconds track are microscopic. I think the dial would have been better without them. 3) The minute hand seems just a tiny bit too long, as if it's almost about to scratch the bezel. 4) It wears bigger than its measurements. I'm almost sorry I didn't get the 36mm, which also has the orange numbers, which I realize now I prefer to the gray numbers on the 38mm. 5) Most importantly, after not even a full day of wearing, it's already running more than 30 seconds slow. Nomos claims accuracy within 10 seconds a day. I will however say that the case finishing is top-notch and the movement really is gorgeous. If you get one, spring for the sapphire back.
I appreciate the quality of NOMOS, for sure, but they still remind of some 10 dollar fashion stuff I once bought, especially the flat, straight cases. Their rounded cases are more attractive. Thanks ✨
Bauhaus style really is a big turn off for me, just not my style. I can appreciate the quality but it's just a very well made but very boring watch to me. Love a Cali dial, but the rest of the watch spoils it...Good review tho, thank you Tim 👍🏻👍🏻
This watch isn't bad. It is an attempt by Nomos in the right direction. The leather bracelet looks much better than the metal one, but not in black. On the dial, something is missing at the VI (or 6) position. That emptiness gives the impression of incompleteness. The price? IMHO I don't think this watch is worth nearly the same as two Max Bills. Regards from Chile!
Nothing against Nomos as a brand, I think they’re pretty cool overall, but… geez, this watch. I think even a regular California dial looks very chaotic and a little objectionable the first time you see it, but if you sit with the idea long enough you can start to see some method in the madness: They use only the clearest and cleanest Romans up top, and the most immediately recognizable single-digit Arabics on the bottom. They’re actually very legible when you get over the initial reaction. But these reverse-California dials are the opposite: Rather than being a weird design that has a sort of elegance once you get used to it, and that arguably results in cleaner numbering than either Arabics or Romans alone, the reversed form includes only the most impractical and inelegant Romans. Where the original is quirky but surprisingly functional, the reverse is just an act of dial design sabotage for the sake of doing it differently. And then they top it off by marking only the evens, with no numbers between 4 and 8 and not even an unmarked index at 6. I can maybe see someone thinking this might be an appealing visual design from a purely aesthetic standpoint, but I can’t imagine who would think this an adequately functional design for a watch that some might actually want to regularly tell time on. It’d drive me nuts. Agree on the strap: the leather is a huge improvement to its looks.
@@IDKline Some can and some can't-there's at least some market for ANY watch design. My daily watch has unmarked indices, and that works adequately most of the time, but it definitely slows me slightly, and if I've just woken up I often need to really study it to figure out what's where. My eyes are also easily fooled in difficult light or at certain angles by hands that aren't very clearly differentiated. So it all comes down to different eyes, heads, and uses: some can instantly read the time with just a pair of hands, while some need the information delivered with absolute clarity to read it efficiently; some can afford to stop a moment to study a watch face, and some can't in certain situations.
No Tim. It just didn’t do anything for me and strangely, I don’t know why. I like the colour dial but the small seconds dial on a small watch seems to unbalance the design and it beats me why they did that. Lastly, the California dial will only appeal to those who like that sort of thing.
Nice video as always.. Nomos got wonderful collection but their lugs and Bracelets are turn offs.. at least they could curve the lugs a little bit for god sake !
I like the club, except the lug to lug length. It's so tall and with the huge gaps between the strap/bracelet and the case it really puts me off buying one.
I’m sure such long lugs are fine on people with hairless wrists, but I feel like if I wore that watch the dial would always have a beard and bushy eyebrows.
Nope, nope nope, California for a start...there IS a mildly interesting Nomos, have you seen the new pirepheral date rotor model ? Tangente Neomatik 41 Update, it has a great dial and an interesting complication, but it's 41.....in Nomos math thats a lug to lug of...60? 🤣🤣 Buy on leather.
Can't stand a Californian dial. But looking at a nomos on a video or picture I find them very boring. I see them in real life and my opinion changes instantly.
Youd be surprised how this wears with its 47mm lug to lug and bezelless face. Its more like a 40 in reality. Especially if you wear it as a dress watch , completely fine for a 7,5 inch wrist.
