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Nomos Glashütte Orion Neomatik Dore 36.4mm Watch
Ref. 397
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Stepping up in Nomos Glashütte's range
The Orion is the watch Nomos has long used to demonstrate that an automatic movement need not compromise a dress watch's proportions. The DUW 3001 inside is 3.2mm tall — an in-house calibre built in Glashütte to a standard that lets the whole case come in at 8.5mm, flat enough to disappear under a shirt cuff without a thought. The doré variant adds gold-coloured thread hands and applied hour markers to a galvanised white silver-plated dial, with a small gold dot at six accompanying the subsidiary seconds. It is a considered decision rather than a decorative one: the gold keeps the dial from reading as plain while leaving the minimalist architecture entirely intact. The case follows a consistent logic of softness — lenticular profile, domed crystal above and below, conical lugs and a rounded bezel that all speak the same language. The strap is Horween Shell Cordovan, which is a meaningfully different material from most dress watch leather: denser and more resilient, it holds its shape through years of daily wear rather than creasing early. The winged clasp is hand-polished in Glashütte and, despite its elegance, adjusts in half-links — practical detail in something that otherwise gives no ground to practicality at all.
- Reference
- 397
- Brand
- Nomos Glashütte
- Collection
- our remborde
- Case size
- 36.4mm
- Lug width
- 18mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- White
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- DUW 3001
- Functions
- Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Butterfly clasp
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 45mm
- Power reserve
- 43 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 Stainless Steel Watches (3,355), Back in Stock (2,731), Watches Under 37mm (1,771), Automatic Watches (1,699), Leather Strap Watches (1,083) and Dress Watches (548).
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 36.4mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
Nomos Glashütte Orion Neomatik Dore alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 397 | L16484782 | 01 403 7776 4065-07 5 19 11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,380 | £3,500 | £3,050 |
| Case size | 36.4mm | 38mm | 38mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 43 hours | 72 hours | 120 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 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 43 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
What size strap does it take?
18mm. 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 45mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16cm (6¼ 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 £3,380. There is nothing to compare it against today.
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