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Nomos Glashütte Zurich Worldtimer 40mm Mens Watch
Ref. 805
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 Zürich Worldtimer was built around a specific problem: how to read global time at a glance without turning the exercise into a puzzle. The solution is a white silver-plated galvanised dial arranged in distinct layers — a city ring at the outer edge naming the zones, a 24-hour disc beneath it marking day and night, and the local time at the centre. The architecture is legible immediately, which on a world-timer is harder to achieve than it sounds. At 39.9mm the case reads as moderate, but the faceted lugs stretch the lug-to-lug distance to 49.4mm, so it sits with more presence than the diameter alone suggests. At 10.9mm it is genuinely slim for a watch carrying this much mechanism, and it wears closer to the wrist than most travel complications of any make. The rhodium-plated hands carry no lume, so the dial depends entirely on reflected light — fine in use, worth knowing. The DUW 5201 is built and finished in Glashütte using the traditional ribbing and perlage the town is known for, and it incorporates the proprietary swing-system escapement that Nomos developed in-house. The movement visible through the caseback is not decorative afterthought; the finishing is considered on the assumption that it will be looked at. The Shell Cordovan strap is an understated choice that will outlast most alternatives and soften considerably with wear.
- Reference
- 805
- Brand
- Nomos Glashütte
- Collection
- Zürich
- Case size
- 39.9mm
- Case thickness
- 10.9mm
- Lug width
- 20mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- White
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- DUW 5201
- Functions
- Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Black
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 49.4mm
- 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 5 collections
This watch appears in 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
- 39.9mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Nomos Glashütte's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 30m means keeping it away from water
Nomos Glashütte Zurich Worldtimer alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 805 | 85340AA02.BVA192 | SBGM257 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,900 | £4,950 | £4,550 |
| Case size | 39.9mm | 40mm | 39.5mm |
| Water resistance | 30m | 50m | 30m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 42 hours | 38 hours | 72 hours |
| This watch |
| Closely matched |
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
No. At 30m it will survive rain and handwashing, but not submersion of any kind.
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?
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 49.4mm, 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 men's, though at 39.9mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference new, at £4,900. There is nothing to compare it against today.
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