Nomos Glashütte Wins the GPHG Challenge Prize

News • 10 Nov 2018

Nomos Glashütte Wins the GPHG Challenge Prize


Nomos takes home the Challenge Prize with the Tangente neomatik 41 Update. Winning the prize in its first year. The Challenge Prize was introduced after the new Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève President, Raymond Loretan came on board. (For all category winners)

Challenge Category

The Challenge category was added this year to focus on watches that retail for less than CHF 4,000 (around $5,500 AUD). Hence, the challenge is to make an exceptional timepiece despite the rather modest price cap. An interesting addition to the list of categories that will help shine a light on more accessibly priced watches. It’s great to see that the GPHG is (after almost 20 years) still willing to make changes and to give these watches the airtime they deserve.

Tangente

The Tangente is one of the Nomos’ most emblematic pieces; it stands for the sophistication and high-quality craftsmanship that the company has become renowned for in its relatively young history. Nomos is Germany’s youngest luxury watch brand, establishing its roots in 1990 in the town of Glashütte. The town’s past is rooted in watchmaking, making it a hub for German watch production. In the same vein as Champagne and Gorgonzola, watches made here are bound by geographical checks: in order to adopt the Glashütte label, a company must make at least 50% of its movements in the town. Nomos makes up to 95% in Glasshütte, incorporating hallmarks of Glashütte manufacturing such as three-quarter plates, sunburst decorative finishing and Glashütte ribbing.

Tangente neomatik 41 Update

The Nomos Tangente fits squarely between the Werkbund and Bauhaus school of thought. Its relative affordability (prices start at around AU$2,300) makes it a fantastic entry point to the luxury watch market, but it doesn’t skimp on quality nor presentation. The watch’s dial design harks back to the 1930s, the peak of Bauhaus’ heavy influence. The typography used for the Arabic numerals is also somewhat typical of the era and was chosen by Nomos founder Roland Schwertner who put it into the original Tangente design in 1992. The Tangente date power reserve has a separate date window, while the new Tangente neomatik 41 Update houses an innovative date ring that runs around the perimeter of the galvanized, white silver-plated of the dial. The date ring features two red dots that frame the current date. It’s unique, and unmistakably NOMOS Glashütte. It’s also the first neomatik caliber with a date mechanism. And with the Challenge Prize under its belt, it’s off to an impressive start

The stainless steel case of the Tangente neomatik 41 Update is contemporary in size, measuring in at 40.5 mm in diameter and 7.9 mm tall. It’s amazingly thin considering that the in-house built DUW6101 calibre ticking inside, that  features an array of impressive tech and decorative finishes. Including Nomos’ patented escapement (the Nomos Swing System), tempered blue balance spring, stop-seconds mechanism, DUW regulation system adjusted in six positions and rhodium-plated surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and NOMOS perlage golden engravings. The Tangente neomatik 41 Update is a fantastic addition to Nomos’ collection. And it seems the Jury of the GPHG agrees.

Tags: gphg grand prix d'horlogerie de genève neomatik neomatik 41 update nomos nomos glashutte nomos tangente raymond loretan tangente


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