The Fibonacci Sequence Strikes Again! Nomos and Revolution Team Up for the Tangente Neomatik 41 Update “Resilience”

The latest limited edition produced by Wei Koh and our friends at Revolution is a high concept variant of the Nomos Tangente Neomatik 41 Update that uses one of our favorite mathematical principles as a starting point. Longtime readers might recall Blake’s dive into the Rolex Explorer 124270, and pondered what the dimensions of that watch and their relationship to the Golden Ratio meant for comfort on the wrist. The so-called Golden Ratio is derived from dividing each number in the Fibonacci series by its predecessor, and the results, in an almost mystical way, seem to line up with natural phenomenon, like the way leaves, branches, and petals grow in a predictable spiral, and the shape of the shell of a snail. This new watch, dubbed “Resilience,” is so-named because the helix shape, a pattern linked to the Fibonacci sequence, is the symbol for resilience in nature, a concept that Revolution and Nomos were interested in exploring coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Before we get to the watch, a brief refresher/math lesson is required to get everyone up to speed on the Fibonacci numbers. This will be coming from someone with a liberal arts education, so please do feel free to check my work in the comments below, as I just barely passed introductory calculus. The easiest way to understand the Fibonacci sequence is to observe that they’re a set of numbers where the next digit is always the sum of the two digits immediately preceding it. Dividing any two successive Fibonacci numbers will tend to get you very close to the Golden Ratio, which, as a measurement, is found all over the natural world, as well in the arts, both intentionally and (seemingly) by accident. 

Rather than build the Fibonacci numbers into the dimension of the watch, as Rolex may or may not have done with some degree of intention with the previously mentioned Explorer, the Fibonacci sequence has been discreetly integrated into the dial design of this new Tangente. You’ll notice that the minute track is made up only of numbers in a Fibonacci set. So, we get 1 and 2, then 3, then 5 (3+2), then 8 (5+3) and so on. The final number in the set, 55, is the sum of 34 and 21. Visually, it’s notable how well these numerals blend into the rest of the dial. Even though there’s a natural asymmetry, they don’t call too much attention to themselves. 

In terms of the watch itself, the Tangente Neomatik 41 Update is (you guessed it) 41mm in diameter, and finds itself in the familiar Tangente shape, with a polished, circular case and thin, straight lugs, that have long defined what has come to be Nomos’ signature watch. The dial is rendered in a deep midnight blue, with the running seconds subdial at 6:00 in silver. The date indicator on this watch is rather ingenious, with the current date read via a ring at the dial’s perimeter made up of a series of apertures. Each day, a bright blue (and on this watch, fully lumed) indicator moves around the dial, framing the current date. It’s a little unusual, but very intuitive, and the DUW 6101 movement allows for quick setting the date in either direction.

The Nomos Tangente Neomatik 41 Update “Resilience” will be made in a very limited run of just 55 pieces. The retail price is $4,100, and it will go on sale at Revolution’s website tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM EST. For more information, head over to Revolution.