Introducing: The Nomos Glashtte Tangente And Orion Neomatik Dor

October 17, 2024

Just a few weeks after Nomos unveiled maybe their most controversial watch ever, the Tangente 2Date (72 comments on that story, y'all!), the Glashtte brand is making a 180-degree turn and releasing two very conservative watches: the Tangente and Orion Neomatik Dor. Back to the more expected iterative nature of Nomos releases, the brand brings in two mid-size Neomatik (automatic winding) models, this time both with just a tiny splash of gold on the dial. The Tangente is in perfect Bauhaus-dress-watch territory, with a 35mm case and a thickness of just 6.9mm. In a design shared with other Neomatik Tangentes, the minutes track around the periphery of the galvanized white dial features Arabic numerals in five-minute increments, all printed in black alongside the Nomos logo, small seconds markings, and signature hour markings. The splash of gold comes in with the hour, minute, and small seconds hands, alongside gold printing of "Neomatik" on the dial. The new Tangente Neomatik Dor We see a bit more gold on the Orion, which features a 36.4mm case at 8.5mm in thickness. In addition to the hands and "Neomatik" in gold, the Orion's typical diamond-polished applied hour indices are also in gold. Nomos already created some incredible Orions with gold accents at the beginning of the year with the Orion Neomatik "New Black" series, but this time around, the soft white dial mellows out the gold just a tiny bit more. The new Orion Neomatik Dor Both models feature 18mm lugs, 5 ATM of water resistance, and have the in-house automatic winding Neomatik caliber DUW 3001, which utilizes the Nomos proprietary swing system as well as blued screws, Glashtte striping, and perlage we associate with most watches from the brand. The movement has a power reserve of 43 hours. The Tangente starts at $3070 for the closed caseback version, and the Orion is priced at $3580. What We Think This is an extremely mild addition to the lineup, in a way that many might find comforting after getting all in a frenzy about the double-date indicators of the Tangente 2Date. Are these groundbreaking watches? No, but after a year of wild releases from the brand, like the 2date and the whopping 31 colors of the Tangente at Watches & Wonders, this is a nice release from Nomos to serve the rest of the market that sticks to the tried-and-true stuff. While I love my 38mm Tangente, trying the 35mm Tangente on for the first time reminded me why this is the original sizelong lugs are no longer an issue even for my smaller wrist, and the Tangente case feels delicate yet sharp in its case shape. The 36.4mm Orion is also the samea relatively blank and expansive dial works best in a smaller case shape, and this is surely the Goldilocks size.If you asked me to pick a favorite out of the two, I would definitely say the Tangente. While the Orion is definitely a great design that works with the gold, I think the larger presence of black numerals and other printed elements on the Tangente helps give the little bit of gold just a bit more punch on the dial. Do you agree? I've said this in the past, but Nomos keeps holding itself up as the gold standard (no pun intended) of thin in-house movements at this price range (how about a portmanteau C thin-house?). If this brand can produce a slim, automatic winding dress watch under 7mm thick, more competitors should be trying their hand at doing so, too. The Basics Brand: NOMOS GlashtteModel: Tangente and Orion neomatik dorReference Number: 192 (Tangente), 397 (Orion)Diameter: 35mm (Tangente), 36.4mm (Orion)Thickness: 6.9mm (Tangente), 8.5mm (Orion)Case Material: Stainless steelDial Color: White, galvanized silver platedIndexes: Printed (Tangente), Applied in gold (Orion)Lume: NoWater Resistance: 5 ATMStrap/Bracelet: Brown Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan The Movement Caliber: DUW 3001Functions: Hours, Minutes, Small SecondsDiameter: 28.8mmThickness: 3.2mmPower Reserve: 43 hoursWinding: AutomaticJewels: 37 Pricing & Availability Price: $3070 (Tangente w/ closed caseback), $3580 (Orion)Availability: October 2024Limited Edition: NoFor more, click here.