The Bite Magazine - Spring 2016 - Issue 15

Nomos The Light That Shines Jada Brookes discovers the various stages of creating a world-class timepiece and takes a look at Nomos’ Neomatik watch collection. C ontrary to popular belief, it is not just the Swiss that make exceptionally dynamic watches. For many centuries, Geneva has been the centre of prestigious watchmak- ing but there is a small town tucked away between forests and hills in the eastern Ore Mountains, south of Berlin and Dresden that make world-famous watches. Amongst the world leaders in fine watchmaking, the town of Glashütte could be described as a lighthouse and is in fact one of Germany’s few inhabited lighthouses despite being far from the coast. Timepieces have been created here for almost 170 years and in that time the watchmaking craft has been honed into a fine art. Nomos Glashütte is an innovative watch- making firm that is always evolving with new ideas. They introduced the ‘Nomos swing system’ known as ‘assortment’ in Switzerland which is part of the move- ment that sets the pace of a watch. Simply put, if ‘there isn’t any swing, there is no time’. This very precise mechanism has seen only a few watchmaking companies around the world that is able to adjust, classify and calibrate accurately enough to create a perfect interaction of all the parts. The ‘swing system’ is regarded by the brand as a small sensation in the watchmaking world simply because it defines the accuracy, robustness, and durability of a watch. Currently, Nomos is equipping all movements that have a power reserve indicator with the ‘swing system’ recognised by its blue balance spring and will eventually extend this to their other calibres. Designing and making watches is not as simple or quick as you may think. It can often take years from the moment the first drafts are drawn up to the time the watches are ready for the market. In the first year, the movement is designed which goes through many stages before it can be produced.Whilst this is going on, the designers in Berlin are busy drawing the case of the new watch which is first created on a computer monitor or the old-fashioned way of using a sketchbook. The models are first built from plastic, then brass and this enable the design- ers to check if every part will work in harmony or need adjusting. In the second year the models are built in collabora- tion with specialist dial and case makers. Once this has been perfected, then the raw materials for the plates and bridges can be ordered. The third year is about ensuring that the necessary parts for the calibre are drilled, eroded, hardened and given gear teeth, polished and burnished before the finishing polish can be done. By the final fourth year, the movement would have been assembled and ticking for the first time; the calibre still without the case is regulated in six positions over the space of seven days. For date watches, the mechanism is placed around the calibre and this will determine whether the watch knows what day of the month it is. Once everything is done and tested, the watch is ready for the Baselworld trade fair for watches and jewellery in Switzerland where it is presented to the press and retainers. Shortly after this, the watches will be sent to the stores around bitewatches Nomos