Nomos Orion Watch

When it comes to European watchmaking, there are few towns as revered as Glashütte. It was the birthplace of watchmaking in Germany, after all, and today it’s home to a handful of the world’s most respected manufacturers. Among these is Nomos. Once a boutique operation of only a few employees, the company has grown to more than 100, and it’s no surprise why: Like its neighbors, Nomos produces its own movement in-house; unlike its neighbors, the company offers a line of luxury watches that even those without a Swiss bank account can afford.

The Orion, with its clean and simple dial, pays homage to the Bauhaus Movement. Each of these seven models is absent of numerals, instead featuring slim markers at the hour and minute positions. The hands are notably slim, too, both on the main dial and on the subsidiary seconds dial. Each of these seven models is also equipped with a domed sapphire crystal, further channeling the Bauhaus aesthetic.

While the two Datum versions are fitted with Nomos’s DUW 4101 movement, which includes a date display at 6 o’clock, the other five models are equipped with the company’s Alpha movement. Both the Alpha and the DUW 4101 offer hacking seconds and are hand-winding only—not automatic. And, like most other timepieces from Glashütte, all models are crafted with a three-quarter plate with perlage decoration to ensure stability of movement.