NOMOS Glashütte Launches ‘Ice Blue’ Dials On The New Metro Date Power Reserve, Neomatik 41

The NOMOS Metro Date Power Reserve was first launched back in 2014, and it was a significant watch for NOMOS for several reasons. The design was a striking minimalist composition, with an asymmetrically placed small seconds display and power reserve, and the watch also debuted the caliber DUW 4401, a hand-wound in-house movement in which NOMOS used, for the first time, its Swing System escapement, which consists of an in-house balance, balance spring, and pallet fork. This was a major accomplishment, and gave NOMOS freedom from dependency on outside suppliers. The design of the Metro Date Power Reserve was by Berlin-based designer Mark Braun, who was inspired by the design and typography of metropolitan transit maps.

The new version of the Metro Date Power Reserve retains the dimensions (37.0 mm x 8.0mm) and design of the original model, but with a new dial in galvanic-coated, light metallic blue.

Along with the new dial, the new Metro Date Ice Blue also introduces a new movement.

Caliber DUW 4701 is an update to the caliber 4401, and it brings a couple of new features to the table. The date can be quickset from the crown, and the power reserve has been increased, from 42 hours to 52 hours. Although the power reserve’s been bumped up, the movement dimensions remain the same: 32.1mm x 2.8mm, preserving the slim dimensions of the case.

The new caliber also features sunray striping, radiating outward from the balance, and a cutout in the balance cock, for a better view of the Swing System components; thermally blued screws are used as well.

The new movement is also being fitted to the existing white dial version of the Metro Date Power Reserve.

Finally, the ice blue dial is also being introduced in a new version of the NOMOS Metro Neomatik 41 Update. “Update” is the actual name of the watch, by the way – the first Update model was the Tangente neomatik 41 Update, launched in 2018, with the NOMOS ring calendar complication.

You can think of the ring date as a sort of variation on a pointer date display – both show you the date, and also give you a visual indication of where you are in the month. The movement is the NOMOS in-house caliber 6101, an automatic movement with a 48 hour power; the caliber is 35.2mm x 3.6mm, giving the watch its wide, flat profile.

Personally, the Metro Date Power Reserve’s one of my favorites from NOMOS; there is something about the deliberate slight asymmetry of the design, as well as the execution of the power reserve indication, and the extremely refined hands (well, extremely refined everything, if I’m honest) that really seems to embody the NOMOS watchmaking ethos.

In a composition this clean, you really have to get every detail right and I think NOMOS hit one out of the park the first time around, and this time, too; the company has over the years managed to incorporate color without losing any of its Bauhaus form-follows-function philosophy. There are an unusually large number of watches from NOMOS which you could easily see being the only one you need, including this one; if you’re a one watch person, few companies give you so many choices, and make it so difficult to actually narrow it down to a single choice, at the same time.

The NOMOS Glashütte Metro Date Power Reserve Ice Blue: case, stainless steel, 37.0mm x 8.0mm, water resistance 50 meters, with sapphire crystals front and back. Dial, galvanized light metallic blue, light blue power reserve wheel, teal and white date ring. Rhodium plated hands; light blue seconds hand. Movement, caliber DUW 4701, in house, with NOMOS Swing System, 42.1mm x 2.8mm, 52 hour power reserve; patented quickset date and power reserve; stop seconds, Glashütte stopwork; Glashütte 3/4 plate design; blue-tempered screws; adjusted in six positions. Horwin shell cordovan strap. Price, $4,500. Metro Neomatik 41 Update Ice Blue, $5390. Original Metro Date Power Reserve, $4420.

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