Nomos has been impressing us with its in-house movements for years, but at Baselworld 2014 the German brand showed us something that takes the definition of "in-house" to the next level: a true, in-house escapement. Few manufactures have the know-how or the technological capabilities to create escapements in-house, with even many revered manufactures bringing them in from one of a handful of creators. Today we bring you the Nomos Metro, the first watch to exclusively utilize the new Swing System escapement made right in Glashütte. This is big news, people.
As the supply chain tightens up, cutting off access to components and ebauche movements, it's getting harder and harder for small, independent brands to compete in the marketplace. Prices are high, quantities are limited, and the customer ends up paying a lot of money for relatively modest base components to get a creative end product. Nomos wanted to free itself from these shackles and invested 12 million Euro in the development of the Swing System, its own house-made escapement, over the course of a seven-year collaboration with a technical university.
The escapement is arguably the most difficult part of a mechanical watch to create. The apparatus includes the balance wheel, balance spring, escape wheel, and pallet, all of which are high-precision components that ultimately determine the accuracy and longevity of a watch. Everything else can be perfect, but if you don't have a great escapement, you won't end up with a great watch.
Nomos plans to slowly transition all of its in-house calibers to utilize the Swing System, and certain older models are already available with the new escapement. The current timeline has Nomos on track to complete the transition within two years. But, to debut the Swing System, Nomos created a new watch, the Metro, in collaboration with Berlin-based designer Mark Braun.
The Metro starts with a 37mm stainless-steel case with wire lugs that is rather slim at 7.65mm. The curved sapphire crystal adds a little height, but not much. The dial is galvanized and silver-plated, with a soft white color punctuated by black, red, and mint green markings. The mint is an unusual color, but one that adds just a little bit of personality without going overboard. You'll notice the large date window down at 6 o'clock and the off-center power reserve indicator around 1 o'clock. For those of us who favor symmetrical dials, the power reserve indicator can be a bit of a drawback, but this kind of off-beat design was clearly intentional.
Turning the Metro over you can see the DUW 4401 caliber, the first movement from the brand built around the new Swing System escapement from the ground up. You can see the bright blue tempered balance spring that sets the Swing System apart from the previous Nomos-used escapements (brought in from Switzerland). The DUW 4401 is manually-wound and has a 42-hour power reserve.
The Metro is a handsome, slightly idiosyncratic watch, but at its heart is a serious technological development. The importance of being able to make escapements in-house cannot be overstated when it comes to ensuring a manufacture's future capacity and control over its production. We're glad to see Nomos pushing things as usual.
