Xoeob3ed metro neomatik champagner

WINNER: Mechanical Watch of the Year, Nomos Neomatik

Nomos first showed off its new in-house ultra-thin DUW 3001 calibre at Baselworld 2015 inside early versions of the new Minimatik model and Tangente Automatik.

The automatic movement is just 3.2mm thick, including the rotor, with only 1mm separating the mainplate and three-quarter plate to house the gear train.

The DUW 3001 also incorporates Nomos’ in-house escapement, the Swing System. To create such a thin movement, engineering tolerances had to be reduced by 50 percent, but working with such thin components is not without its own particular set of problems.

A thinner mainspring isn’t capable of storing the same power reserve as a standard component so, rather than address that issue, the team behind the development of DUW 3001 decided to increase the energy efficiency of the movement.

The DUW 3001 is just 5.8 percent inefficient (the figure is closer to 20 percent for many standard automatic movements) allowing it to run off of the lower powered mainspring whilst maintaining acceptable power reserves (42hrs). Now the movement has been rolled out across four of Nomos’ most popular existing models, as well as the new Minimatik model, in white and champagne dial options, creating the new Neomatik collection.

One of the most impressive elements of the DUW 3001’s development is that it has not led to a premium on the cost of the new Neomatik watches, with Nomos once again showing that in-house watches don’t have to cost the earth. By far the most exciting mechanical development of 2015, for watch geeks and consumers alike.

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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