ReviewPlatinum Class: The Latest Torchbearer For The Nomos Tangente Neomatik Series
One of the most elegant watches you can come across today, the Nomos Tangente Neomatik exemplifies simplicity and perfection, but with a distinctive identity that is absolutely unmistakable. This is true for all its editions, including the latest one in ‘platinum grey’, unveiled just last month
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Nomos’s timepieces are undoubtedly some of the most distinctive watches you can come across, and this rings true even for their simplest of watches—those that simply tell the time. Cutting out the frills of timekeeping, but retaining everything that is essentially what fine watchmaking is about is a feat that few know how to master like Nomos do. You’d seldom find a complication beyond an interesting date display and the like on any of their watches. Invariably, what you see is three-hand timekeeping or two central hands with a small seconds display. The Tangente Neomatik is the latter—a watch that celebrates the basics with sheer elegance.
Finer nuances of its design are what define the look of the timepiece that makes it instantly identifiable. For starters, it’s the case shape, the profile, the display, the numerals and the dial that define its look. And no matter what hues you see this watch bathed in, you’d know it’s a Tangente. So when the Glashütte-based manufacturers unveil their signature watch in hues that present monochromatic perfection, it’s almost like you’re seeing this German watchmaking icon in its purest form yet.
Pure Identity And The Elements Of Distinction
With purity in design and execution, the Nomos Tangente Neomatik Platinum Gray takes the template forward with flair, presenting all its details that make it the fine watch that it is.
The flat profile:
The Tangente is flat, with a flat glass, a flat caseback, with flattened edges, barely any curves, and a very narrow yet flat bezel, if you can even call it that. Even the crown looks quite flat against the side of the case. Kept on some surface, it’s like a large coin. With smooth edges and clean lines, it’s almost baffling how perfect it is.
The bent lugs:
Not interfering with the smooth and flat case structure at all, the lugs emerge on either end of the case, with a sharp bend. Making no attempt to look integrated, and thereby reminiscent of classic dress watches, these lugs are still as solid as they come, and feature the same polishing that you see on the steel case.
The right angles of the dial:
There are no curves on the dial of the watch either. The dial forms a right angle with the inner case walls. And even the recessed sub-dial at six for the small seconds is a sharp drop and not concave in any way.
The straight, sleek hands:
The small seconds hand in the sub-dial and the central hour and minute hands are sleek and straight, and don’t betray the watch with any fussy details, remaining pure with simple rhodium plating.
The elongated indexes and numerals:
An instant identifier of the Tangente collection is the font of the Arabic numerals used, and the alternating indexes that mirror the elongated numbers. These traits are seen across the entire line.
Shades Of Grey And The Tints Of The Tangente
All those definitive elements make for a very soothing look in the new Platinum Gray edition. A brand new colour in Nomos’s palette, ‘platinum grey’ is essentially a pale grey with a slight sheen, akin to the precious and prestigious metal that it is named after. While silvery hues and off-whites have been seen on Nomos’s watches before, this is quite a different shade on the grey spectrum, and looks particularly luxurious because of the fine-grained treatment on the surface, which brings out the nuances of the tone even more.
Heightening the dial’s monochromatic appeal is the very deliberate use of neutral tones for all the markers, hands, et al, except for the word ‘Neomatik’. For this, Nomos decided to retain the pale golden hue that they used for the same element in previous editions, which otherwise had more colour. Among them, the most memorable editions have been the ‘Silvercut’ and ‘Midnight Blue’. The former, with a silvery look and horizontal-brushed finishing, came close to the Platinum Grey in monochromatic appeal, but stopped short with its colour accents, by way of central hands in bright blue, and a small seconds hand in vivid vermillion. This shade is seen on the small seconds hand of the Midnight Blue edition as well, which has a deep blue dial, albeit not as dark as the midnight sky.
German Engineering Brilliance And The Heart Of The Tangente
No matter what colour you see the Tangente Neomatik in, the beating heart of this watch is the DUW 3001 calibre that runs the show, offering a power reserve of 43 hours. This Neomatik (or new-automatic) calibre is made in-house, and features the famous Swing System—Nomos’s own escapement, which ensures accuracy, while presenting a new standard in mechanical watchmaking. And despite being an automatic, the calibre is extremely thin, at just 3.2mm thick, which only helps in maintaining the flatness of this elegant neo-classical timepiece.
The flat profile, clean lines, and nuanced details make this one of the most sought after among Nomos’s collections. Anyone who knows and appreciates the brilliance of this relatively new German force in mechanical watchmaking would agree. And with an elevated appeal, owing to its monochromatic mastery and refined subtleties, the Platinum Gray is the perfect new torchbearer of the Tangente.
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