NOMOS swing system
The NOMOS swing system is the proprietary escapement from NOMOS Glashütte. It is the heart of the watch, because it sets the pace at which these precise timepieces tick. Consisting of an escape wheel, anchor, and balance wheel, it regulates the winding energy and converts it into the perfect oscillation. Only a very small number of manufacturers worldwide produce their own escapement.
The centerpiece
The extremely delicate module consists of several parts that are all just a few millimeters in size: the balance wheel with its blue NOMOS balance spring and a perfectly formed end curve, the escape wheel, and the pallet fork with pallets made of synthetic ruby.
Lever escapement
The pallet is needed to ensure that the winding energy of the watch is not released all at once by the spring, but rather in perfectly measured doses. As soon as the energy reaches the escape wheel, the two rubies on the pallet fork alternately engage with its teeth and thus stop it from running.
A magical moment: When the NOMOS swing system, held by the balance bridge, is inserted into the caliber and winding energy is supplied, the watch's heart begins to beat: Tick, tock. With each rapid movement, an arm of the pallet engages with the teeth of the escape wheel. The ticking of a watch, an epitome of the passing of time, is actually the result of the escapement's movements.
A gift from nature: the pallet stones are secured with shellac, the resinous excrement of the scale insect. Threads with diameters of just 0.21 millimeters are drawn from the material and divided into portions of 0.83 millimeters in length.
Perfect balance
As precisely as the balance wheel is manufactured, a completely even distribution of mass can only be achieved through careful finishing. The balance wheel is checked for balance, and where any imbalance is detected, tiny amounts of material are removed—millionths of a gram, known as micrograms.
Helpful technology: The balance check of the balance wheel takes place in a stream of air. Imbalances are marked and automatically milled off using a sensor and laser.
Ideal pairs
Balance wheels are individuals. They have a different number of milled grooves, they each have their own weight—and the balance springs are no different. No two are the same. It is important to find out which pairs are ideally matched. The mass torque of the wheel must match the clamping force of the spring. To find their other halves, the components are measured and divided into 40 different classes, according to their individual properties, so that what belongs together can be brought together.
Speak now or forever hold your peace: Once the balance spring has been fitted to the balance wheel, it is checked once again to ensure that it really runs as round and flat as it should. Only then does the pair finally become a NOMOS swing system.