Post by timelessluxwatches on Jul 29, 2015 13:25:37 GMT -6
Nomos Timeless Club Review
Today is a great moment for Timeless as we get to review our very first design, the Timeless Club, our interpretation of Nomos' terrific sports model. As should be no surprise, we love it--we did, after all, design it. But I'd like to bring you the review, photos and videos of the new watch anyway.
The Introduction
The Club Dunkel has always been one of our favorite Nomoses. Unfortunately, our favorite of the Dunkels is long discontinued, the 38.5mm manual datum. Thanks to the help of our wonderful partners at Nomos, however, we were able to make a successor to that great watch. We wanted it to have the things we love most about the Dunkel, like the matte dial and bold, luminous numerals, but with a more colorful and relaxed appearance.
But it wouldn't be enough to capture a lot of the design elements we liked from the original Dunkel, we wanted to create a proper successor, and that meant utilizing the latest movement technology from Nomos. Consequently, we used the brand new DUW 4101 with Nomos' in-house swing system escapement and blued hairspring.
The Dial
In designing the dial we took our favorite elements of the Dunkel and put a Timeless spin on them. The most notable change, of course, is the dial color, but it's a little more sophisticated than it first appears.
The color is not just any blue--this is the Nomos Lambda's Deep Blue, taken right from Nomos' most prestigious model. We wanted to capture the matte look of the Dunkel but we wanted the watch to be a little less serious, so we felt that this was the ideal combination.
This is an unusually dynamic shade for a matte dial. Generally speaking, matte dial colors are a double edged sword--you might like the look of a matte dial, but it lacks the dynamic character of something like the Zurich Blaugold's sunburst. Here in bright, white light it's a very vibrant blue, quite far up the visual spectrum.
In less potent lighting, however, like this shaded balcony, the resemblance to the Dunkel is somewhat more pronounced--here it's a much darker shade, far less saturated. Both of these colors, and everything in between, are easily reproducible on the wrist as you go through your day just depending on your environment.
The changes in color don't stop there--we decided to go with red accents throughout which really pop against the blue backdrop. In keeping with the original, however, these minute numerals are a bit subdued. The same cannot be said for our seconds hand.
The Dunkel used a tastefully understated steel seconds hand. We, however, went with a fire engine red seconds hand. I really like this element myself--the watch is really just a whole level more provocative than the original. For what it's worth, it's more legible as well.
I'm particularly pleased with the date. Of course the Dunkel Datums also have a matching date ring, but it's not unusual to match a black dial to a black date--far rarer is to match a blue dial to a blue date, which is what we did here. In practice, it's a shade darker, if only because it is in the shadow of its beveled perimeter, but it still integrates really well with the rest of the dial, and it helps fill in the void that would have been there had we gone with a no date variant.
The luminous Arabic numerals are slightly different as well, although you'd be hard pressed to tell exactly how--at least in the daylight.
This is, perhaps, the single element of the Dunkel's face that has been left completely unchanged--stick markers with a bright line of luminous paint down them.
With the lights off, things get much clearer. The Dunkel has all blue accents, whereas the Timeless Club has blue hands and green numerals. I've always thought this sort of multi-color combination was cool and have enjoyed it on the occasional Rolex Datejust or Planet Ocean. I'd like to tell you that it makes the watch more legible at night or give some other functional explanation for the approach, but there isn't one--it just looks cool.
As interesting as the dial is, there's a lot more to see on the other side.
The Movement
Now we arrive at the new movement, a place I can be a little more objective on. What we're looking at is the brand new DUW 4101, debuting here in the Timeless Club as well as this year's Metro Datum.
At first glance it's difficult to see any difference between it and its predecessor, the Nomos Beta. It has the same Glashutte ribbing, the same overall layout, the same wonderful finish.
Our first indication that something is a bit different is right here. It gives the new name, but from an aesthetic perspective, it has a lot more writing than the Beta. Contrary to my views about writing on the dial, I actually quite like writing on the movement. Still, a name alone doesn't do much to inform us.
But if you hack the movement and look very, very carefully, you can just barely catch a glimpse of the blue hairspring that has been added to this model. Note the coloration in the southwest quadrant of the balance wheel. If it weren't for the writing on the movement, this would be your confirmation that this calibre featured Nomos' in-house swing system.
The swing system is the name Nomos has given to its in-house escapement. Its presence makes Nomos one of the very few companies to achieve nearly 100% in-house manufacture. Many companies approach this number, but so long as they're sourcing escapements and hairsprings from third party suppliers they cannot quite get there. Nomos, as a company, is making huge strides.
In many ways the DUW 4101, as well as the other manual wind movements from Nomos, are characteristic of German design. A substantial 3/4 plate covers much of the movement, aside from the crown wheel and ratchet wheel and, of course, the balance wheel, the 1/4th remainder of a 3/4 plate.
I'm glad Nomos doesn't cover up the crown and ratchet wheels, however, because they feature this gorgeous Glashutte sunburst finishing. Aside from the balance wheel, this is probably the most prominent feature of the DUW 4101.
Although not a chronometer, Nomos movements are always comprehensively adjusted. They, along with JLC, Patek and Grand Seiko, are adjusted for all 6 positions, increasing positional stability. The power reserve is a slightly above average 42 hours, but the real standout statistic on this movement is the thinness. At just 2.8mm thick, this is substantially thinner than the popular hand wound Jaeger LeCoultre 976 movement, just for example. It's not quite as skinny as some of the ultra-thin movements out there, but those usually lack a seconds hand and a date.
All in all, the DUW 4101 is not a revolution in movement design, or even a revolutionary redesign of the Beta. It is, however, an evolutionary improvement as Nomos now takes virtually 100% of the movement making process within the confines of their internal quality control standards. Aside from the writing on the back, the significant differences can all be found in the escapement and hairspring. This isn't Nomos' attempt to make a "co-axial" equivalent or anything that radical, but then, it doesn't have to be. The Beta has been a reliable and elegant movement for some time now and slight refinements here or there are more than enough to recommend it. Those wanting to see more extreme changes in their next Nomos ought to look to the all-new DUW 3001 automatic instead, coming soon in the Tangente Automatik and Minimatik.
The Case
The Club's case, along with perhaps the Orion's, is easily one of our favorites from Nomos. Consequently, we've left it alone.
There are two prominent features here that I really like. First are the curved lugs. Nomos loves very clear geometric designs and this often means they use very linear lugs like on the Tangente. This looks terrific, but it can make the watch wear a little bigger than it has to, and you have to be careful choosing the size of the watch to ensure there's no overhang off your wrist. The Club, as well as the Orion, still has relatively long lugs, but these are more elegantly curved and wrap the wrist in a more natural way.
The other feature is a fair bit more obvious--it's thin. Really, really thin. The entire watch is less than 8.5mm thick. By comparison, a 7750 movement is 7.9mm thick. Naturally, given that the watch is manually wound, the crown does not screw down but the watch is still rated for 100 meters of water resistance.
We felt that the 38.5mm case size was ideal for this watch. Nomoses, as you've probably heard, tend to wear large, so this will feel a little closer to 40 on the wrist, but we think that this is the size that best fits the majority of our collectors. If I were buying a Nomos, I would aim squarely for the ~38mm watches myself. We did hear from collectors who wanted both smaller and bigger versions, and while the Timeless Club is designed and sold out, we will definitely consider doing other sizes on a different limited edition in the future. Feel free to let us know what size you'd like to see in the next watch.
The Video
If you're not already wearing the Timeless Club you may not get a chance to see one--except in our high-definition video.
The Conclusion
The Timeless Club is a much more playful take on the original Club Dunkel Datum. I can list the changes to the face of the watch in a single sentence, but it doesn't really capture the spirit. It's not that the Dunkel doesn't have a slightly playful character as well, with its subtle orange accents, but it feels like an almost tactical motif. Don't get me wrong, the Dunkel is my favorite Club, other than this one (no surprise there), but the Timeless Club feels slightly more in the spirit of the casual, fun watch that the Club line is supposed to be.
It's also got Nomos' newest hand wound movement, the DUW 4101, finally bringing the swing system to the most popular manual movement in the company, the Beta--the prototypical three hander with date.
The blue dial and the red accents, particularly the red seconds hand, are very coherent but the watch is unmistakably fun. The watch isn't at all obtrusive, but I do think this is one of those that's going to get noticed by the laity from time to time. I particularly like the color-coded lume.
Naturally, this wouldn't have been possible without the guidance, support and patronage of our friends and customers. One of the reasons that I think this watch turned out as well as it did was because we had the counsel of many Nomos fans and we listened to their thoughts. So to them, to the new owners of the Timeless Club, and to the future owners of new Timeless watches, we thank you.
Unfortunately, all 100 are sold--amazingly, all 100 sold in about three weeks, long before a real photo was even revealed. So if you missed out on this model, the next section is for you.
The Future
What does the future hold for Timeless Luxury Watches and our collaborations? Quite a lot actually, but our next project will very probably be one of these two Orions. We are planning to offer them in either these yellow gold accents or stainless steel accents.
Each features a brilliant blue dial that is taken from the Zurich Blaugold and will be 38mm. Details on the movement and production numbers are still being decided but feel free to let us know your thoughts, either about the Timeless Club or the upcoming Timeless Orion.
