Today we are looking at NOMOS and its by now iconic Tangente. The Tangente reference 139 to be exact in its original (unisex) 35mm size. Bauhaus on your wrist, a timeless watch with an in-house calibre from an independent manufacture based in Germany. The full video review, available right here:
Allow me to begin with the conclusion: This is a watch, that simply has no equals. The watch we are talking about is a true classic, yes – it is more than 25 years old already.
This watch is very German, very Bauhaus, in its design. Everything essential is present, everything else is not. Let’s dive into the details to see why this is a phenomenal watch indeed.
The dial is not plain white, and has a hint of silver in there. It is galvanised steel, that has been silver plated. The Arabic numerals are crisp and highly legible with a nicely balanced subdial at the 6 o clock position. Looking closely at the dial reveals subtle texture differences between the dial and the subdial.
Depending on the light, the watch also reveals another fan favourite: The blued steel hands. As you can see they are very nicely finished and provide a nice contrast and touch of color. The blue is not painted but achieved the traditional and painstaking way by heating the hands to 290 degrees Celsius. As a result the legibility is essentially perfect and the dial provides ample visual intrigue.
The beating heart of the Tangente is NOMOS’ in house ALpha calibre. It provides a modest 43 hour powe reserve and is a manual wind movement. Note that the Tangente exists in various sizes and also with an automatic movement, plenty of choice here for everyone.
The in-house movement is a beauty as you can see. Gone is the strict minimalism and lack of decorations, here it seems NOMOS wisely rebels against the strict bauhaus principles and delivers a beautifuly finished calibre. The Glashutte ribbingGlashütte Ribbing A decorative pattern of lines on the plate and bridges of the movement, named after the town of Glashütte where it originated. Similar (yet different) to the better known Geneva Stripes. plays very nicely with the light. The screws are polished blue steel and contrast very nicely on the rhodium plated backdrop.
Currently this Alpha calibre does not feature NOMOS’ swing system just yet, perhaps in the future. In any case, it is a proven workhorse and also not expensive to service (relatively speaking), value for money and great looking as well.
NOMOS watches tend to wear larger than you would expect. The Reason? These watches are all dial, with just a hint of a bezel.
They are very different from most watches out there, very slim, very particular case and (drilled) lug design.
The ‘tripartite’ case is about as minimalistic as it can get, with no excessive curves or decoration. The watch is thin – very thin – 6.7mm to be exact. As a result the watch wears very light and very comfortable.
The Tangente is a great choice for a first serious watch, and in fact also a great choice for a last or only serious watch. You are getting a ton of value for money which as far as I’m concerned is not available anywhere outside NOMOS.
High quality, in-house made, beautiful finishing, independent manufacture, and of course that iconic design, this is an easy choice.
More information available at NOMOS right here.
Absolutely love this review and the video. Apologising in case you mention it elsewhere but what is your wrist size? Need to get a better understanding on the fit of the 139! Thank you!!
Thanks a lot George! If you enjoy the video reviews, don’t hesitate to subscribe to the channel 🙂 A lot lined up for 2021 over there.
To answer: I have a medium-ish wrist of approximately 16.5cm. If possible in your area, I would strongly recommend trying a NOMOS on first before buying, they wear very different than pretty much any other brand in my opinion.
thanks! I have a 17cm wrist and think the 35 is a no brainer. (38 Tangente would look massive compared to some of my 38s or even 41s).