Disclaimer: I borrowed this watch from a friend, who recently purchased it pre-owned,and it is in very good condition. However, since this watch was worn/used, please make note that the experience might differ from that of a brand new watch.
Contents
Intro
I’ve never gone through a Bauhaus design watch phase, as most of these watches tend to be on the dressier side, and are typically a lot more delicate and refined, than the brutish and grotesque dive watches that make up 90% of my heart. But I don’t respect these watches any less, and among them, Nomos is one of the key players.
This brand is 30 years old, and in this relatively short period of time, they’ve quickly made a name for themselves as being one of the best options for high quality minimalist design watches with in-house movements. Today we’ll be looking at the Tangomat Reference 641, which has a retail price of $3000.
Let’s check it out!
Case
I measured the case to be 37.6mm in diameter, 48mm from lug-to-lug and 8.5mm tall. The case is entirely polished, with good finishing.
In true Bauhaus style, a pair of slim lugs protrude out of the case and angle down towards the wrist, with drilled through holes and a lug width of 20mm.
There is a bezel case section that seats a flat sapphire crystal. I’m not sure what kind of AR coating method was used here, but I haven’t had any problems with reflections.
There is a 5.4mm push-pull crown at the 3 o’clock position that is easy to grip and operate. The crown operating experience is excellent, with no crown or stem wobble.
Flipping it over, you have an exhibition case-back that is attached to the case by means of six screws. This watch is rated for up-to 30m of water resistance.
Dial
The base of the dial has a silvery off-white color, and is more dynamic than a flat white color.
There is an outer minute track that is printed in black, with light ticks for the minute markers, and bold ticks for the hour markers.
The next ring of Arabic hour numerals is also printed, and the quality of printing across the dial is impeccable.
There is a small seconds sub dial above the 6 o’clock marker, that is slightly recessed and has a concentric ring pattern. This sub-dial has it’s own seconds track, and a well finished thermally blued small seconds hand.
The brand’s name is printed below the 12 o’clock position, and as mentioned earlier, I couldn’t find any faults with printing on this watch.
The hour and minute hands are also thermally blued and are very well finished with no visible blemishes.
Even the center cap is finished well, and without any kind of dust, dirt or scratches. Overall, there’s not a single aspect of the dial finishing that I can see being done better. Some might argue that this isn’t difficult to achieve given the simple design, but I still believe it deserves praise.
Movement
This watch uses the in-house DUW5001 movement, which I believe is their first automatic movement. This movement has a power reserve of 46 hours, and is very well decorated, with great finishing and blued screws wherever possible.
I observed roughly +8 spd in the dial up position, and +10 spd in the crown up position. I couldn’t easily find their tolerances for this movement, but these numbers aren’t bad… but they’re not great either.
Finishing aside, the quality control and cleanliness is good but not great asI did see micro-particles on some elements. None of this is visible to the naked eye, but I expected a little better on a $3000 watch whose movement is said to be the one that steals the show.
On The Wrist
It appears to be a larger watch than it actually is, because of the very narrow bezel and long lugs. But this watch wears great on my 6.25″ wrist, given the under 38mm case diameter and 48mm lug-to-lug width.
I think the design and dimensions will allow it to wear nicely on a wide range of wrist sizes, from 5.75″ all the way to 8″.
The 8mm height and the compact and flat case, allow it to sit low and is very well balanced. Overall, this watch feels great on the wrist, even though it may look a bit larger than your average sports watch.
Concluding Thoughts
Overall, this watch ticks all the boxes, but I still find it lacking a bit of soul. Maybe these watches are just not for me… maybe I just don’t fully understand them. I can appreciate all the individual elements for how well they’re executed, but you won’t find me parting with $3000 for this one. There’s nothing here that makes me go “Wow, I have to have one of these!”. Maybe I’ll come around to them one day.
That said, if you’re looking for great finishing and meticulous attention to detail, Nomos is a brand to look at.
Thanks for reading!
