ReviewDriving Down New Freeways—The Striking New Nomos Autobahn Director’s Cut
A limited edition of 175 pieces each, the Director’s Cut trio of new Autobahns from Nomos are a refreshing and striking new expression of the German brand’s distinctive and admirable identity in design and technology. Here is a desirable offering that could very easily become a collectors’ favourite
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The first thing that strikes you when you look at the new Director’s Cut of the Nomos Autobahn series is the colour scheme. Sure, we’ve seen blue and yellow paired together before, as well as white and orange. But these colourways are not conventionally those that we’d associate with Nomos particularly. That’s not to say that they don’t usually use a lot of colour. It’s just that they’re generally a little conservative with the kind of hues that they use, and when they do push the boundaries of their colour palette, it definitely stands out and makes one take notice. Yet, whenever we see bright and bold hues on their dials—including the orange, yellow and purple dials in the Club Campus series—it always comes across as aesthetically pleasing. In fact, no one could possibly do an orange as vivid as Nomos’s, without looking gaudy. The key reason for always getting colour right in their timepieces is the perfect harmony that these watches bring about, with a fine balance of all their elements. This is a trait seen in the Autobahn series as well.
The Autobahn Refresh—A Striking New Palette
The basic template is the same as that of the original 2018 Autobahn, which had three dials in white on white, blue on white, and white on blue, respectively. The most evident design refresh are the colours, as mentioned before. Aside from the aforesaid, it’s also the fact that the new hues elevate the very distinctive design of the Autobahn significantly. When first released in the combinations of white and blue, it was refreshing enough already, but one probably didn’t think of the potential that the signature design element had if really experimented with. It’s the 240-degree arc that goes around the dial from eight o’clock to four. Drawing from analogue speedometers on car dashboards, this feature is an extension of the inspiration for the collection itself—Autobahn, the German highway system that has no mandatory speed limit.
In fact, the new colours of this more vibrant Autobahn edition are not just a creative interpretation of the original expression. The hues were inspired by the kinds of vehicles that were seen on the streets of Germany in the 1960s and 70s. Even the names of these editions come from three major German freeways—the white and orange is A3, the blue and yellow is A7, and the black and grey is A9.
Director’s Cut—The Designers’ Vision
The colours and the inspirations of these new Autobahns are all an outcome of the vision of designers Werner Aisslinger and Tina Bunyaprasit. “We associate the Autobahn from Nomos with travel, with looking at the speedometer and with a love for mechanical watches. So the Autobahn on our wrist is always going to be more than just a timepiece,” state the designer duo, who had specific ideas in mind for the colours they chose. “The luminous tangerine ring on the white dial emphasises the sportiness of this watch,” Aisslinger explains. “Fans of the 60s and 70s chronometers will love the blue and yellow contrast of the A7,” he adds. Even the finer colour accents are very specifically chosen. With orange and red seen on the hands and minute markers and other details of the two darker dials—aside from their main colours—the white-and-orange dial itself includes a fresh light blue that adds nuanced appeal as it stands out in the most subtle way possible.
Depth And Dimensionality
The design is about far more than just the colours themselves though. There’s a certain depth in the display that comes from sheer refinement of the details. The small seconds counter is recessed from the main dial surface, which, in turn, is concave on its periphery, appearing recessed itself. While the raised speedometer-inspired arc adds to the dimensionality of the dial, it’s the concave periphery that creates maximum impact. As it almost touches the sapphire crystal of the convex glass, the slightly convex and ultra-slim bezel gives it even more depth. In a sense, the slopes of the dial and the concave nature of the display almost make it look like a sporting arena—of the motor-racing variety if you will.
And then, like an extension of the slopes and curves are the curved but very slender lugs, affixed to which is a bracelet that is custom-designed for this series—a key element of the Director’s Cut, in addition to the new dials. The very striking strap is a blend of Nomos’s fine-link bracelet, and a metallic expression of a classic rally-style strap. Associated with motor sports and hence called ‘rally’, the very traditional style features perforations in the leather strap—replicated in steel here.
While the rally part looks very impressive and like a fresh yet familiar look, its combination with the finer links closer to the clasp is a little jarring. However, it does seem like something that can grow on you. One thing is for certain, a metallic strap is just what a new interpretation of the Autobahn needed, as it complements the display and the steel case, which is sized at 41mm, and is water-resistant to 100m. With the depth of the display and the case profile itself, the caseband is completely flat in contrast. This helps in giving the case some height, visually, since it is actually quite flat, at just 10.5mm in thickness. And that’s owing to the extremely thin movement inside—Nomos’s Neomatik DUW 6101, which is just 3.6mm thick.
A New Home For The New Automatic
Denoting ‘new automatic’, Nomos’s Neomatik DUW 6101 was their first automatic calibre with a date feature, and it was designed from start to finish with the date feature integrated into it, yet, kept on the periphery of the movement. The most noteworthy aspect of this movement is, however, its forward-and-backward adjustability of the date. Normally when changing the date, if you accidentally skip past the date you want to set, you have to go all the way around in the same direction to get the correct date back. This is usually the case with most other watches, as it is not possible to rotate backwards and adjust the date in the opposite direction. This calibre makes that possible. And a subtle nod to this feature is the wide date window at six o’clock on the dial, showing three dates—the current date in the centre, as well as the previous and upcoming dates flanking it. This is also possible by keeping the entire date ring on the periphery of the movement, which includes Nomos’s proprietary escapement, the ‘swing system’, which they developed in 2014. This helped them establish complete independence from Swiss suppliers—a major feat for any brand. The Nomos Swing, as it’s called, is characterised by its tempered blue balance spring, and blued screws—some of which can be seen through the exhibition caseback that reveals the movement and its decoration.
The slimness of the movement that offers a 42-hour power reserve helped the designers give the watch such great visual depth—a key aspect of its striking appearance. It’s also a movement that several watch collectors seek as a must-have in their collections, especially since Nomos became hot property for collectors owing to achievements such as the escapement. They’ve become a highly respected brand, with extremely fine products that are great value offerings as well. And if they continue to present their most distinctive watches in such striking new editions—such as this Autobahn Director’s Cut limited edition—their offerings are only going to become more coveted and more valuable than ever.
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