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Nomos Glashütte Minimatik Date Gold 39mm Watch
Ref. 1251
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
Introduced at Watches and Wonders 2025, the Minimatik 39 Date Gold belongs to a line that has long tested how much Nomos's Bauhaus discipline can absorb before it stops being Bauhaus. The answer here involves gold-plated hands and a gold-framed date aperture on a silver-plated white dial — enough warmth to read as a precious-metal watch, held in check by a case that remains entirely in steel. At 7.5mm thick, it disappears under a cuff in the way that most watches of 39.5mm cannot, and the conical bipartite case — tapering gently toward the dial side with softly integrated lugs — reinforces that impression of flatness on the wrist. The DUW 4601 inside is hand-wound, Glashütte-made, and carries a patented quick-set date that operates from the crown's second position rather than requiring the endless cycling that older date mechanisms demand. The skeletonised balance cock exposes the Nomos Swing System escapement, visible through the caseback, and the sunbeam ribbing follows the traditional Glashütte finishing convention. A 52-hour reserve means a watch left on the nightstand Friday evening is still running Monday morning. The Shell Cordovan strap — Horween hide, which stiffens and softens in its own way over years of wear — is a material choice that outlasts most leathers and suits the particular combination of restraint and gold detail that defines the dial.
- Reference
- 1251
- Brand
- Nomos Glashütte
- Collection
- Minimatik
- Case size
- 39.5mm
- Case thickness
- 7.5mm
- Lug width
- 20mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- White
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Manual
- Calibre
- DUW 4601
- Functions
- Date, Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 47.7mm
- Power reserve
- 52 hours
Learn more about Nomos Glashütte
Roland Schwertner, a photographer and computer technician from Düsseldorf with no watchmaking background, registered Nomos in Glashütte in January 1990 — two months after the Berlin Wall fell and before German reunification was complete. The town's watchmaking infrastructure had been state-owned for four decades and was suddenly available.
The design language was settled from the start and has barely moved: Bauhaus in the strict sense, drawing on the Dessau school's functionalism. Sans-serif numerals, no applied ornament, no unnecessary line, and dial layouts where every element earns its place. The Tangente, one of the first models, remains the flagship and looks the same today.
The technical ambition came later and was considerable for a company of its size. Nomos moved from modified Swiss ébauches to its own Alpha calibre, then to the DUW family, and in 2014 introduced the swing system — a proprietary escapement with an in-house hairspring, the component almost no independent manufacturer makes. Fewer than a dozen companies worldwide produce their own hairsprings.
The house is still independent, still based in a converted railway station in Glashütte, with design offices in Berlin. It occupies unusual territory: in-house movements and German finishing at prices closer to Swiss mid-range brands using bought-in calibres, which has made it the most common entry point into serious German watchmaking.
- 1990
- Roland Schwertner founds Nomos in Glashütte.
- 1992
- The Tangente launches and defines the house style.
- 2005
- Production shifts to in-house movements.
- 2014
- The swing system escapement with in-house hairspring is introduced.
Also in 4 collections
This watch appears in Stainless Steel Watches (3,355), Back in Stock (2,731), Leather Strap Watches (1,083) and Dress Watches (548).
What the specifications mean
A slim watch on leather, made for wearing with a shirt.
Strengths
- 39.5mm suits most wrists
- 7.5mm is unusually slim for a 39.5mm case
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- Sits in the lower half of Nomos Glashütte's range as we list it
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
Nomos Glashütte Minimatik Date Gold alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 1251 | L29604782 | R32193018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,860 | £3,350 | £2,120 |
| Case size | 39.5mm | 41mm | 39mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 30m | 100m |
| Movement | Manual | Manual | Manual |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 52 hours | 68 hours | 80 hours |
| This watch |
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Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Showering yes, swimming no. 50m covers splashes and brief immersion, but a swimming stroke generates well above the pressure that figure describes.
Will the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Does it need a battery?
No. It is hand-wound, so it needs winding every day or two but never a battery.
How long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 52 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
What size strap does it take?
20mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 47.7mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16.5cm (6½ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as unisex, and at this size it suits any wrist that takes the dimensions.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference new, at £2,860. There is nothing to compare it against today.
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