Nomos is not for me
I finally had the chance to visit a Nomos AD today and try on a bunch of the watches. I was mainly there to check out Grand Seiko, but tried these on too since I was in the store and a lot of people love this brand.
The brand gets a lot of criticism for the long lugs and I must say that I agree. I thought the long lugs made the watches look ridiculous. It was particularly bad on the watches with straps, but even on the bracelet watches it was just too much for me. I tried on one of the new 37mm models on the bracelet and I thought the proportions were all wrong. Definitely don't buy one of these without trying them on first. You could be very disappointed.
I was also a bit underwhelmed by the dials. They were okay but I didn't think they had a luxury appearance. I would personally not recommend a dress watch from this brand, but if you want something casual and don't mind long lugs then I suppose you could consider these. Just please try it on before you buy.
For reference, I have a 6.75 inch wrist. Maybe if you had a thicker wrist the long lugs wouldn't be so bad but I still think the proportions are way off on these watches for my taste.
Just my opinion. Don't hate on me if you are a Nomos lover.
Sold luxury watches in my early 20s (including AP) and developed an interest in horology and mechanical watches. Over 20 years later, I have started to move up market from budget mechanicals.
You learned this by spending time, not money. Time well spent and money saved.
6.75 is a Perfectly Sized Wrist (PSW for future reference). Let's make PSW part of watch nomenclature.
Fellow PSW here and the under 40mm models like this Ahoi Neomatik isn't bad!
The trick is not to buy them new. Nomos depreciate a lot in the second hand market and with a bit of patience you can get one in mint condition at a price that is more in line with what they are really worth. That's how I got my Ahoi.
I tried an Orion 35 since I have a small wrist. It’s very thin and the lugs are very long yet it wore tiny. I wasn’t crazy about that plus the dial and case finishing wasn’t anything mind blowing. Still great watches for the right person, just not for me. The movement was beautiful to look at especially for the price.
lug to lug is the main thing I look for in a watch, and I’ve noticed that short lug to lug always works for me.
lug to lug is the main thing I look for in a watch, and I’ve noticed that short lug to lug always works for me.
For sure. I've tried on (and own) some watches that are 42mm or even 43mm that actually look okay because of short lug-to-lug. Around 50mm lug-to-lug is where it starts to get problematic for me usually. Of course, watch proportions are important as well. Watches with really long lugs compared to the other case dimensions often look a bit weird to me. Hamilton khaki field for instance or even Longines Spirit. Those two watches were nowhere near as bad as Nomos though.
I just got a couple of Club wacthes as a 10-yr anniversary gift fot me and my wife, 36mm Pink dial for her and a 38.5 Orange dial for me. I was pretty scared I got these without trying them on first, but after a lot of research, those seemed to be my best option, and in my opinion I was right. I do not consider these two "luxury watches" but I do think they offer quite a lot for the price (USD 1.2k each, not cheap but did not break the bank either). Here are some of the issues I was most afraid of, and how the worked out:
Also, my wife does not care much about watches, she likes them, but she can wear a Rolex or a Casio and it is exactly the same for her so, I did not want to spend a lot in a wacth for her that I knew she was not going to care that much. One las thing, I wanted to engrave something in the back, and these two have solid casebacks.
On the other hand, there is something I was not aware of, and it is an actual issue for me: The holes in the lugs are way to far from the case, and you get to see a lot of wrist between the case and the strap, that is something I really hate, luckilly, this was also solved with the nato strap!!!
Having said this, I believe I have checked the Nomos box already!
Cheers
I just got a couple of Club wacthes as a 10-yr anniversary gift fot me and my wife, 36mm Pink dial for her and a 38.5 Orange dial for me. I was pretty scared I got these without trying them on first, but after a lot of research, those seemed to be my best option, and in my opinion I was right. I do not consider these two "luxury watches" but I do think they offer quite a lot for the price (USD 1.2k each, not cheap but did not break the bank either). Here are some of the issues I was most afraid of, and how the worked out:
Also, my wife does not care much about watches, she likes them, but she can wear a Rolex or a Casio and it is exactly the same for her so, I did not want to spend a lot in a wacth for her that I knew she was not going to care that much. One las thing, I wanted to engrave something in the back, and these two have solid casebacks.
On the other hand, there is something I was not aware of, and it is an actual issue for me: The holes in the lugs are way to far from the case, and you get to see a lot of wrist between the case and the strap, that is something I really hate, luckilly, this was also solved with the nato strap!!!
Having said this, I believe I have checked the Nomos box already!
Cheers
Nato is probably the way to go with Nomos with the long lugs but that certainly limits strap options. Glad it works for you.
Fellow PSW here and the under 40mm models like this Ahoi Neomatik isn't bad!
This is the nicest Nomos I've laid eyes on !
I get the lug length issue; have had same issue… but check out the Minimatik. I just bought one and love. I wear the 35.5-36mm best on a 6.3 inch wrist.