The caliber is the heart of every mechanical watch. That is why NOMOS Glashütte produces all its calibers itself—something which is extremely rare in the world of fine watchmaking. The watchmaking company was originally known for outstanding hand-wound movements. Now more and more automatic calibers are joining them; they are just as precise, and some are even just as thin.
This carousel goes round and round, and then round again: The watch spinner simulates the strains of everyday life—NOMOS watches have to prove that the revolutions do not knock them off their stride.
A handshake suffices
The automatic movements from NOMOS Glashütte
Entirely self-sufficient: The automatic movements from NOMOS Glashütte wind themselves. Specifically, they use the power of motion. The rotor turns during jogging or mixing martinis, transforming activity into time with the greatest precision. They may feature a date, world time mechanism, or be entirely without complications.
A few turns of the crown daily
The hand-wound movements from NOMOS Glashütte
It began with Alpha. Today, NOMOS watchmakers make six hand-wound movements. Round and tonneau shaped, with a power reserve, date, or without complications. Every caliber is unique—engraved with an individual movement number, with perlage and other traditional Glahütte polishes, and adjusted in six positions.
A single NOMOS movement is rich in jewels—here the tiny jewels are being prepared for setting.
DUW: the company’s caliber brand
To date, ten calibers feature a particular acronym engraved onto their backs: DUW. It stands for “Deutsche Uhrenwerke” and underlines NOMOS Glashütte’s competencies as an independent caliber producer. And for the fact that we produce all our calibers ourselves, in-house in Glashütte.
Production at NOMOS Glashütte is carried out according to the principles of the Deutscher Werkbund movement. That is why cutting-edge technology is used when it helps precision. However, the vast majority is done by hand—according to tradition, with a great deal of care and attention to detail. Here the base plates of the gold watches are being finely polished.
There was a rule for automatic calibers: they could be either slender or precise. Both at once? Unthinkable. But the engineers at NOMOS Glashütte weren’t content with the status quo. That's why they developed the neomatik calibers DUW 3001 and DUW 6101—extremely slender and extremely precise automatic movements that can be produced in series. In the case of DUW 6101, with a groundbreaking new date function too.
Escapement, assortiment, reglage: The tiny and yet highly complex system comprised of a balance spring, escape wheel, and pallet that powers a mechanical movement has many names. We call it: the NOMOS swing system. Hardly any watchmaking companies can produce this crucial component, which could be seen as the heart of a mechanical caliber, in-house. We are an exception.
Fresh from the laser eroding machine, ready for the next step: many small ratchet springs.
» DUW 3001: A slender global sensation« Die Welt
A quick-change date, even for watches with manual winding, offers innovation where it is needed most—namely to enhance the comfort of the wearer. The fine sunbeam ribbing, which rightly shows the NOMOS swing system as the heart of the DUW 4601 movement, is an expression of pure joy.
Whether with a world time mechanism, power reserve indicator, or a date: Even when it becomes a little more complex, NOMOS calibers remain beautifully simple to use—and precise in their functions.
Swan neck fine adjustment, gold chatons polished in balsa wood, twin mainspring barrels delivering an 84-hour power reserve, the rhodium-plated three-quarter plate with NOMOS’ fine sunbeam ribbing, edges beveled and polished by hand—the NOMOS calibers DUW 1001 and DUW 2002 are first class examples of fine watchmaking.
We could tell you many things. Which is why you will find here a selection of the media coverage our calibers have received.
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