The three-year-old relationship between Ace Jewelers of Amsterdam and NOMOS Glashütte has borne a third limited-edition watch. Following the inaugural NOMOS Glashütte Orion De Stijl Limited, and last year’s Amsterdam-themed Club model, the Ace Jewelers × NOMOS Glashütte Zürich Weltzeit Amsterdam Limited-Edition watch takes this exciting collaboration to a new level of sophistication, both aesthetically and mechanically.
The Weltzeit model is famously NOMOS Glashütte’s top-end reference in the steel collection. The highly complex case is a mixture of industrial and organic angles. Designed by the late Hannes Wettstein, it houses one of the most intricate movements produced by the Saxon manufacture. The intuitive dual time-zone complication allows the local time to be adjusted with a simple click.
By depressing the pusher at 2 o’clock, the hour hand is advanced by one and the city-ring encircling the dial rotates counter-clockwise to position a new city at 12 o’clock. Meanwhile, your home time (which can be synchronized with the city of your choice) is displayed by the 24-hour disc at 3 o’clock.
These two elements — the city-ring and the decoration indicating “home” time at 3 o’clock — have been modified to evoke the spirit of Amsterdam. The city’s iconic flag replaces the house motif found on the regular Weltzeit. “Amsterdam” takes the place of “Berlin” on the city-ring, printed in eye-catching red to coordinate with the entirely new color scheme.
Echoing last year’s Club model, the Ace Jewelers × NOMOS Glashütte Zürich Weltzeit Amsterdam Limited-Edition watch’s dial is black, red, and white, just like the city’s flag. While the Zürich Weltzeit is an understandably popular canvas for special editions, the matte black dial is a welcome addition to what is an otherwise narrow selection (the standard Weltzeit is only available in the blue and the silver-plated “white” dials for which NOMOS is known).
The pattern of releases from Ace Jewelers and NOMOS Glashütte has clearly captivated the retailer and brand’s shared audience, with the first two models (limited to 100 and 75 pieces, respectively) selling out quickly, and this, the third model (limited to just 25 units), moving at a record pace. This is the most expensive of the three (and just about as expensive as a steel NOMOS can be), but it is, in my opinion, an excellently timed release. Leading with the Orion De Stijl (€1,920) to establish the partnership gave rise to a following that gobbled up the even more affordable Club Amsterdam (€1,400). It seems the time is ripe to unveil the model that many might have anticipated given the city of Amsterdam’s international relevance and the conspicuous absence of a Weltzeit celebrating the Dutch capital.
NOMOS Glashütte Zürich Weltzeit Limiteds always make for fun watches that are tied to a place in a far more practical way than many “city” editions. In recent years, NOMOS has become more comfortable pushing the boat out with these designs. This can only be a good thing. Some of the color schemes may be a bit “out there,” but this willingness to experiment brought us the Singapore “Red Dot” Edition and now this, sleek, stylish, memorable model.
That such a palatable colorway does not exist in the core collection adds to this piece’s appeal. With the majority of the Ace Jewelers × NOMOS Glashütte Zürich Weltzeit Amsterdam Limited Edition watches already spoken for, it surely won’t be long before NOMOS Glashütte can notch up a third straight home run with Ace at the plate. The Ace Jewelers × NOMOS Glashütte Zürich Weltzeit Amsterdam Limited-Edition watch is currently available direct from the Ace Jewelers stores (located on Van Baarlestraat and on Königsplein in Amsterdam), and through the retailer’s international e-boutique, and is priced at €4,620. To learn more, visit nomos-glashuette.com.
