Discovering The Magic Of The Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer

One of the most interesting developments in the world of watches recently is the use of color. We have seen a drastic shift in overall color use, particularly on dials, over the past few years. The conservative world of watches predominantly likes its dials to be black, white, or dark blue. Add any shade of gray, along with gold for a gold watch, and it feels like you would have had the full palette of standard dial colors until recently. While those colors are as relevant as ever, the diversity of color has become much richer. One of the brands passionately enriching that palette is Nomos. The recently introduced Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer is perfect proof of that. Let me explain why.

If you are scared that this will be an article solely about dial colors, don’t be. Having said that, they will be a major part of this review. Nomos unveiled the Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer at Watches and Wonders. We were treated to two standard models and six limited editions with a production total of 175 pieces per variant. Overall, this new addition to the brand’s rapidly growing catalog was widely praised. It adds another great traveler’s watch next to the Zürich Worldtimer and displays that Nomos understands colors better than almost any brand.

The Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer

Let’s first skim over some of the main features. If you want a full breakdown, Daan already covered the details of all eight models in his in-depth introduction article. I suggest you read that to learn all the ins and outs. In this hands-on review, I will focus more on the wearing experience and the importance of the use of color. Let’s start at the beginning. These new models are part of the Nomos Club Sport Neomatik collection. Introduced in 2021, the series quickly grew into a fan favorite. The sportier looks of the Club collection are a nice complement to the minimalist aesthetic of most of the brand’s offerings.

With the Worldtimer version, Nomos adds the first complicated model to the Club Sport Neomatik lineup. While the brand calls it a Weltzeit Uhr, or “world-time watch” in English, it technically is a GMT that keeps track of the time in two time zones. The watch centrally displays the local time, while a sub-dial at 3 o’clock shows the hour in a second time zone. But instead of having to unscrew a crown to adjust the local time when traveling, Nomos created a caliber that lets you comfortably adjust it by clicking a pusher at 2 o’clock. Not only is it practical, but it also adds an unbeatable joy factor to the watch.

The specs of the Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer

As Daan explained, the Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer has a relatively modest wingspan for a Club Sport model. The lug-to-lug is the main gripe that many people have with watches in this line. While I can typically wear watches of almost any size, I also felt that the lug-to-lug was disproportionately long compared to the diameter when I reviewed the Club Sport Neomatik 39 models. The watches have a 39.5mm case with a 49.5mm lug-to-lug. While my 18.5mm wrist can certainly pull that off, it doesn’t help the overall proportions.

With the new Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer, Nomos addressed this. The watches have a 40mm stainless steel case with a 9.9mm profile and a 48mm lug-to-lug. That makes these Worldtimers more wearable for more people, and I also prefer the visual effects of these proportions. The polished case is matched with a three-row bracelet with polished center and brushed outer links. Quick-release spring bars make it easy to switch to a nice strap. The bracelet also connects to the clasp with a quick-release spring bar, allowing you to use the micro-adjustment holes without tools.

Cleverly designed and beautifully executed dials

When it comes to dials, there are eight options. More specifically, there are two regular dials (blue and silver) and six other colorways in limited-edition models that may or may not be sold out by now. As Nomos sells its limited editions through retailers, you might still be able to get your hands on one depending on where you are. All of the dials are stepped, featuring slightly recessed sub-dials at 3 o’clock and 6 o’clock and a recessed city ring with the codes for 24 time zones on the perimeter. Cleverly integrated into the minute track are the offsets from UTC in those time zones.

The central hour and minute hand display the local time in conjunction with a combination of luminous numerals and baton indexes. Then, the sub-dial at 3 o’clock displays the home time on a 24-hour scale with a day/night indication. On each of the regular dials, the center of this sub-dial matches the overall dial color, with the outer ring indicating day or night. On the six limited-edition dials, however, there is a colorful double split.

The center shows two colors, and the outer ring has two additional ones. It creates a lively little part of the dial that, granted, can be a bit of an acquired taste. When I first saw the LEs’ dials, I thought they looked messy, but I also knew that Nomos designers don’t overlook things like that. They must have seen something in these color combinations, so I had a feeling that it wouldn’t take long for me to start liking them.

The new Nomos caliber DUW 3202

But before I get into the different limited-edition dial options and my larger appreciation for Nomos’s exploration of colors, let’s talk about the new caliber DUW 3202. The watchmakers at Nomos created this movement especially for this watch.

The automatic caliber operates at 21,600vph, has 37 jewels, and offers 42 hours of power reserve. The DUW 3202 was fully designed, developed, manufactured, and assembled at the brand’s manufacturing plant in Glashütte, Germany. It is a wonderful-looking caliber that is visible through the sapphire crystal in the case back. Through this, you’ll see a skeletonized rotor, blued screws, Glashütte stripes, and perlage finishing.

Nomos Glashütte and its exploration of colors

Now, indulge me as I address the brand’s bold approach to colors. I absolutely adore Nomos for releasing some of the most interesting dial colors I have seen recently. The Club Sport Neomatik 34 and 39 lines are great examples of that. The dark brown tabac, lighter brown ember, and gray smoke dials make for a wonderful trio of sunburst dials for the 39mm models.

Add the stunning purple, rosé, gold, petrol, and polar dials for the 34mm versions, and you have a beautiful range of colors that looks stylish, classy, and totally original. The Club Campus models have a similar range. While their dials are matte, the range of colors is equally impressive and different from many other watches.

But where things really became interesting was with the four Tetra models from 2023. These watches featured dials with classy, offbeat color combinations and hard-to-pronounce German names — Die Unerreichbare, Die Wildentschlossene, Die Fuchsteufelswilde, and Die Kapriziöse. They showed that uncommon color combinations not only work well for watch dials can also transform the appearance of a watch series.

The Tetra has always been this classic square watch with traditional dial colors and smooth leather straps. But by simply choosing different colors and using gray suede straps, the appearance completely changes from classic to stylish and modern. Just seeing those images again reminded me that the purple-dial Die Fuchsteufelswilde, or “The Mad As Hell one,” as Nacho translated it, has my name all over it.

Restrained extravagance works for Nomos

The four Tetra models showed the magic of great color combinations. But that was just the tip of the iceberg because, last year, Nomos left us in awe with 31 versions of its Tangente 38 Datum. Seeing all the colorways blew my mind, and I wanted at least 15 of them because they looked different and cool.

By now, you will understand that I have a thing for colors. As a former design professional, colors played a pivotal part in my working life for over a decade. On top of that, I have always been very specific about colors when it comes to clothing and sneakers. That’s why I adore that Nomos just went all out with this series of 31 watches.

The madness continues to a lesser degree with the new Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer. I say “madness,” but the chosen colors and combinations are sometimes playful, sometimes more serious, but always classy. For the Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer, the brand released six limited-edition dials.

The six are the Vulcano (dark gray with a lighter gray and black accents), Jungle (moss green with a blue and green accents), Canyon (brown with orange and light gray accents), Glacier (light blue with off-white and red accents), Magma (red with burgundy and pink accents), and Dune (yellow with off-white, orange, and brown accents). And when I say “accents,” I mean the outer ring and sub-dial colors. I am not even talking about the contrasting two colors of the ring around the 24-hour sub-dials.

Wearing three Nomos Club Sport Neomatik models

For this review, we had the regular silver-dial model along with the blue-dial Glacier and yellow-dial Dune limited editions. As you can imagine, I gravitated heavily towards the LEs. I like the regular dark blue option, but the silver dial is a bit too shiny and flashy for my taste.

It begs the question of why Nomos chooses to keep its spectacular colors in limited editions. A logical reason is commercial value. As I said, most people are not necessarily looking for an odd color combination for daily wear. It must blend in with regular clothing; I understand that as I age. But if you listen to the overwhelmingly positive buzz surrounding these limited editions, it is hard to believe there isn’t something there for the future.

Immediately after putting my favorite Glacier model on my wrist, I had the biggest smile on my face. While Fratello’s own Nacho has the green Jungle version incoming, I prefer the combination of light blue and off-white for the main dial and city ring with the red and dark brown for the sub-dial as a funky color change-up. The ring around the sub-dial at 3 o’clock is executed in cool gray and black, which tones down the heavy colors of the sub-dial. It’s such a brilliant mix of colors that don’t seem to work together at first, but they do very well.

The Glacier version is my favorite by a mile

The yellow-dial Dune model has slightly less contrast with its combination of off-white and mustardy yellow for the dial and orange and ochre for the sub-dial. The two shades of blue for the ring around the sub-dial add a funky detail to the overall composition of colors. After trying these two watches out, I have to say that you must match them with your clothing. It’s not hard to do as long as the dial color complements your outfit. But I found myself thinking harder than usual every morning to ensure I wouldn’t make the watch look completely dissonant.

Then again, that also makes wearing these watches fun. It was great to mix the three versions up with all the other watches on my wrist during the two weeks we had them in our office. Having said that, the Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer makes for a great daily wearer regardless of the dial colors. It wears like a dream thanks to its beautiful case proportions and comfortable, slim bracelet. The svelte profile is not just a joy to see but also makes wearing the watches an even greater pleasure.

Final thoughts on the Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer

Was it all smooth sailing during those two weeks? For the largest part, it was. But some things stood out in particular. One was the absence of a date function. While it didn’t bother me that much, the Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer won’t qualify as a full-fledged travel watch in the eyes of many enthusiasts.

Also, the Nomos bracelets could use a more dramatic taper, which would give them greater elegance and comfort. When a watch is this nice and slim, it’s good for the bracelet to accentuate that, which isn’t the case here. The bracelet tapers from 20mm at the case to 18mm at the clasp, but I would love to see them taper to a nice 16mm.

Another thing I noticed, as with all watches with large polished parts, is that the bracelet is a fingerprint magnet. While that didn’t kill the fun for me, I found myself cleaning the watch more than others to enjoy its presence fully. That said, I could also call that a good thing because I rarely take the time to admire watches I’m wearing this much. So let’s add that to the very long list of things that make the Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer one of this year’s highlights. Did I already mention how much fun it is to operate the pusher to change the local time? Those clicks are addictive. And if you have clicked once, you know you have 23 more to go to get back to the right local time.

Great new additions to the Nomos lineup

All in all, these Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimers are fantastic additions to the brand’s collection. The watches are a wonderful display of what makes Nomos such a special brand. The designs, the colors, and the new caliber are Nomos through and through. With a list price of €3,940 for all eight models, they easily rank among my absolute favorite GMTs under €5,000. As said, the six limited editions might be tough to get because of their limited production of 175 pieces per color. But if you manage to get your hands on one, you will have the biggest smile because they are that good.

That brings me to my final point, which is related to the dials. I understand the commercial value of the two standard colors and why they are part of the permanent collection. However, they don’t produce the same special sentiment in me or the other members of the Fratello team. And if you were at Watches and Wonders, you felt that the buzz was particularly present with the colorful LE dials.

With the increase in wonderful dial colors, I would love to see more limited editions or permanent models with those dials. They perfectly show that Nomos is at the forefront of brands experimenting with exciting colors, along with Parmigiani Fleurier, Moser & Cie., and Ressence. I adore that about the Glashütte brand and this new Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer.