Any watch enthusiast who has been around the corner once or twice has no doubt discovered Nomos, Germany’s worst-kept secret in distinctive design and excellent quality and finishing for its price. Nomos’ unapologetically Bauhaus-inspired aesthetic may not be for everyone, but it’s easy to admire how far this Glashütte-based watchmaker has come in just over three decades. Today we look at the Nomos Ahoi Neomatik 38, a watch that is new inside and out.
The Ahoi is the sportiest line in the catalog, which admittedly isn’t saying much. But it does have crown guards and 200m of water resistance, considered by Nomos as “suitable for diving.” To that end, the winding stem features a red ring that is only visible when the crown is unscrewed, a reminder that full water resistance is only guaranteed when the crown is entirely secure. The case is pleasantly thin at 9.9mm thanks to a new movement – more on that in a moment. And the lug-to-lug distance has been reduced to 48.7mm, compared to 51mm on the standard Ahoi. Other nice details include a contrasting orange second hand, double-sided anti-reflective coating on the domed crystal, and a waterproof textile strap suitable for diving.
Inside, the new Ahoi is powered by the DUW 6101 for the first time. Developed by Nomos and introduced in 2018 with the Neomatik line, this caliber is both beauty and brains. The rotor and bridges get some love with ribbing polish and perlage, and the movement utilizes Nomos’ re-imagined lever escapement, the Swing System. Despite this technology, however, the power reserve is a fairly standard 42 hours. Another feature of the DUW 6101 is Nomos’ innovative date-setting solution, which allows the quickset date to be set both forwards and backwards. The smaller-than-usual date wheel is set peripherally outside of the movement, preserving thinness and reducing the locking time for date-setting to just 45 minutes before and after midnight (usually 2 hours for most quickset movements).
The new Ahoi Neomatik 38, which measures 38.5mm in reality, comes in two colors: Sky Blue and Sand. The former leans into the Ahoi’s aquatic capabilities while the latter is about as close as you’ll get to a Nomos field watch. Gentle and summer-y in nature, both colors are easy on the eyes and make these, like most Nomos watches, excellent everyday options. While shortened for this new model, the lug-to-lug distance likely means these watches wear larger than their sizes suggest (Nomos helpfully includes wrist shots on its website with various wrist sizes for reference). The minimally-inclined enthusiast looking for a robust daily companion need look no further – the Ahoi Neomatik may have you smitten from the first hello. The retail price is $4,660. Nomos
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