While NOMOS is frequently celebrated for its thoughtful use of non-traditional colors, the Glashütte-based brand is also equally successful when it comes to creating watches with classic color profiles. That said, even when NOMOS works with traditional dial colors such as black, white, or silver, the company still manages to integrate a few subtle and unexpected design elements, and for its first release of 2024, NOMOS has launched a trio of Orion models with elegant black-matte dials. Featuring small accents in gold and silver, the new NOMOS Orion Neomatik New Black watches are available in three different sizes, and they offer an elevated take on one of the brand’s most popular timepiece designs.
All three of the NOMOS Orion Neomatik New Black watches are crafted from polished stainless steel and feature domed anti-reflective sapphire crystals above their dials, along with casebacks that are fitted with gently curved sapphire display windows. Similarly, the three Orion Neomatik New Black models all receive black two-piece straps made from Horween shell cordovan leather, and they all feature signed crowns at 3 o’clock, along with 50 meters of water resistance. Additionally, while the trio of new NOMOS Orion Neomatik New Black watches receive matte black dials punctuated by small gold and silver accents, how those accents are implemented differs between the models, and along with appearing in different case sizes, each watch also offers a slightly different take on this classy and refined colorway.
Measuring 36.4mm in diameter by 8.5mm thick, with 18mm lugs and an overall lug-to-lug profile of 45mm, the NOMOS Orion Neomatik New Black reference 396 is the smallest model among this latest trio of watches, and it is powered by the brand’s in-house Cal. DUW 3001 automatic movement, which runs at a frequency of 21,600vph (3 Hz) with a power reserve of 43 hours. Just like its two larger siblings, the NOMOS Orion Neomatik New Black ref. 396 features a matte black dial that is paired with a small running seconds hand on the lower half of its display, although on this smallest model from the trio, the dial is furnished with polished gold baton markers, while the hands receive a rhodium-plated finish.
Moving up a level in terms of size, the NOMOS Orion Neomatik 39 New Black reference 346 measures 38.5mm in diameter by 8.7mm thick, with 19mm lugs and an overall lug-to-lug profile of 47.5mm. Despite its larger case size, the Orion Neomatik 39 New Black is powered by the same in-house Cal. DUW 3001 automatic movement as its smaller sibling from the New Black series, and it therefore offers identical specs with an operating frequency of 21,600vph (3 Hz) with a power reserve of 43 hours. With that in mind, unlike the smallest model from the trio, which has gold indexes and rhodium-plated hands, the Orion Neomatik 39 New Black ref. 346 has rhodium-plating on both its hands and hour markers for a slightly more traditional overall appearance.
The largest watch among the trio is the NOMOS Orion Neomatik 41 Date New Black reference 366, and unlike its two smaller siblings that embrace a perfectly symmetrical time-only layout, this model offers the added utility of a date display at the 3 o’clock location. In terms of its dimensions, the Orion Neomatik 41 Date New Black measures 40.5mm in diameter by 9.4mm thick, with 20mm lugs and an overall lug-to-lug-profile of 50.5mm. Additionally, unlike its smaller no-date counterparts, the Orion Neomatik 41 Date New Black requires a time-and-date movement, and inside its case is the brand’s in-house Cal. DUW 6101, which runs at a frequency of 21,600vph (3 Hz) with a 42-hour power reserve. Lastly, while the matte black dial on the Orion Neomatik 41 Date New Black ref. 366 features rhodium plated hour markers, the hands and text for the calendar disc appear in gold.
One interesting detail worth noting about the NOMOS Cal. DUW 6101 movement inside the largest date-displaying model from the Orion Neomatik New Black series is that its calendar disc is mounted around the periphery of the caliber, rather than simply being connected on top of it. We have all seen watches that have date windows floating in the middle of nowhere towards the center of their dials, and this is simply due to the fact that they use movements that are not appropriately sized for their cases. By mounting the calendar disc around the movement rather than on top of it, NOMOS is able to make the Caliber DUW 6101 thinner, and the brand is also able to both enlarge the date window and place it right along the outer periphery of the dial in order to achieve better sense of aesthetic balance.
When it comes to pricing for the new NOMOS Orion Neomatik New Black series, the smallest Orion Neomatik New Black ref. 396 is the least expensive with an official retail price of USD 3,580, while the Orion Neomatik 39 New Black ref. 346 costs USD 3,920. Just as you would expect, the largest model with a date display is the most expensive among the trio with an official retail price of USD 4,200, and while the two smaller time-only watches are essentially dial variations of existing models, NOMOS doesn’t currently offer another date-displaying Orion Neomatik model within its current lineup. Although a trio of three-handed watches with black dials hardly seems all that original from a conceptual standpoint, the NOMOS Orion Neomatik New Black models undeniably offer a significantly different appearance compared to the various watches with light-colored dials that are typically associated with the Orion collection. For more information on the NOMOS Orion Neomatik New Black watches, please visit the brand’s website.
