Tap the image to enlarge
Nomos Glashütte Tangente Neomatik 38 Update
Ref. 147
Sits in Nomos Glashütte’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Nomos Glashütte watches we list, which start at £1,480.
Price range £1,480 to £5,020 across 33 Nomos Glashütte watches in stock.The Tangente's Bauhaus architecture has always been about reduction — every element present because it must be, none because it could be. The "Update" models take that discipline and ask how a date complication can belong on such a dial rather than intruding on it. The answer is the peripheral ring date: a numbered track running around the outermost edge of the dial, with two small red markers closing in on either side of the current date. It keeps the centre of the white silver-plated dial entirely clear, so the oxidised black hands and the recessed small-seconds sub-dial at six o'clock read against an uninterrupted ground. The date mechanism itself is worth noting beyond its appearance — the DUW 6101's quick-set allows correction in both directions, which is a rarer convenience than it sounds. At 7.4mm thick the case disappears under a cuff, though the long, angled lugs that give the Tangente its characteristic silhouette push the lug-to-lug distance to 47.3mm, so the watch occupies more wrist than the 38.5mm diameter alone would suggest. The Shell Cordovan strap will stiffen and then soften in a way most leather straps do not, and once broken in it sits closer to the skin without prompting.
- Reference
- 147
- Brand
- Nomos Glashütte
- Collection
- Tangente
- Case size
- 38.5mm
- Case thickness
- 7.4mm
- Lug width
- 19mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- White
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Bidirectional rotating
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- DUW 6101
- Functions
- Date, Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Black
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 47.3mm
- Power reserve
- 42 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 6 collections
This watch appears in the Nomos Glashütte Tangente range (7), Stainless Steel Watches (3,355), Back in Stock (2,731), Automatic Watches (1,699), 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
- 38.5mm suits most wrists
- 7.4mm is unusually slim for a 38.5mm case
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Nomos Glashütte's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
Nomos Glashütte Tangente Neomatik 38 Update alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 147 | L16484922 | 7765-STC-20001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,680 | £3,800 | £3,550 |
| Case size | 38.5mm | 38mm | 39.5mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 42 hours | 72 hours | 62 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched | Closely matched |
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 automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
How long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 42 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
What size strap does it take?
19mm. 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 47.3mm, 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 £3,680. There is nothing to compare it against today.
More Nomos Glashütte watches like the Tangente Neomatik 38 Update
In stock, and close on style and price
