There is something rather satisfying about a black watch with plenty of lume. Give it a worldtimer complication, an in house movement and a distinctly German sense of restraint and things get even more interesting.
NOMOS Glashütte has just introduced the new Club Sport neomatik Worldtimer dark, bringing a much moodier look to one of the brand’s most practical watches. And while the name might suggest that NOMOS has simply dunked its existing Worldtimer in black paint, there is actually a little more going on.
The biggest change is, quite literally, something you can see in the dark.
A Worldtimer With More Glow
The new Worldtimer dark gets a glossy black dial with contrasting off white markings, creating a much sharper and more contemporary appearance than the existing blue, silver and white versions.
But NOMOS has gone further than simply changing the dial colour. For the first time in the Club Sport Worldtimer range, the city ring and home time display also receive Super LumiNova.
That means that when the lights go out, considerably more of the dial comes alive. The hour markers and hands glow as you would expect, but the city ring and 24 hour home time display at 3 o’clock now join the party.
And that actually makes a great deal of sense. A worldtimer is all about information, so being able to read that information in the dark is rather more useful than simply having glowing hands.
The luminous elements appear off white during the day before producing a blue glow in low light, giving the watch a completely different character after sunset.
The Same Clever Worldtimer
Underneath the darker exterior, the Worldtimer dark remains very much the watch we already know.
The 40mm stainless steel case measures just 9.9mm thick, which is impressively slim considering the amount of information and mechanical wizardry packed inside.
At 2 o’clock, a pusher allows the wearer to advance through the 24 time zones, while the 24 hour subdial at 3 o’clock displays home time. The blue and red sections indicate day and night, making it relatively straightforward to keep an eye on both where you are and what time it is back home.
It is the sort of complication that sounds unnecessarily complicated until you actually travel regularly. Then it suddenly becomes rather brilliant.
And with 100 metres of water resistance, NOMOS has made sure this is not a worldtimer that needs to be treated like fragile luggage.
The DUW 3202 Does The Heavy Lifting
Powering the Worldtimer dark is the NOMOS DUW 3202, an automatic movement developed and produced in Glashütte.
The movement measures just 4.8mm thick, which helps NOMOS keep the entire watch below the 10mm mark despite the integrated worldtime complication.
It operates at 21,600 vibrations per hour, features 37 jewels and provides up to 42 hours of power reserve. There is also NOMOS's proprietary Swing System escapement, while the sapphire crystal caseback gives you a view of the movement's Glashütte ribbing, blued screws and other finishing details.
Naturally, there is also a rather appropriate gold globe on the rotor.
Because if you are going to build a worldtimer, you might as well put a globe on it somewhere.
Sporty, But Still Properly NOMOS
The Club Sport case gives the Worldtimer a slightly more robust personality than some of NOMOS's dressier offerings.
The stainless steel bracelet combines satin finished and polished links, while quick release spring bars mean you can swap it for one of NOMOS's textile or leather options without needing to reach for the toolbox.
The black dial also changes the personality of the watch quite dramatically. Where the existing versions have a more traditional, slightly minimalist appearance, the Dark feels more modern and technical.
It is still unmistakably NOMOS, but it has perhaps had one too many espressos.
NOMOS Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer Dark Price
The new NOMOS Club Sport neomatik Worldtimer dark is now part of the brand's core collection rather than being a limited edition.
The version with the sapphire crystal caseback and stainless steel bracelet is priced at £4,400, while alternative configurations are available with a steel caseback or different straps.
For a genuinely slim automatic worldtimer with an in house movement, 100 metres of water resistance and a rather clever approach to displaying multiple time zones, that looks like a pretty compelling package.
Winding Things Up
NOMOS has not reinvented the Club Sport Worldtimer here, and it really did not need to.
Instead, the brand has taken an already clever watch and given it a darker personality, while adding something genuinely useful in the process.
The additional lume on the city ring and home time display is the sort of small change that makes perfect sense once you think about it. After all, if you are going to build a watch designed to tell you the time anywhere in the world, it should probably be able to do it after the sun has gone down.
The result is one of the more interesting additions to the NOMOS collection this year. It is practical, properly engineered, pleasingly slim and now looks rather good in the dark. We approve.
