Nomos Glashütte is a watch brand that has no questions about its own identity. It’s modern, it’s German, it’s minimalist. Few watches express that better than the Metro, a super minimalist watch built for the urban, city landscape. The collection first debuted in 2014 with the Metro Date Power Reserve, which introduced a new movement to Nomos’ collections in the form of the DUW 4401 – 12 years later Nomos are introducing another new movement, the DUW 4701, so they have returned to the Metro collection once again. The new watch is the Nomos Metro Date Power Reserve Ice Blue.
Let’s jump straight to the new movement. The DUW 4701 is a new manual winding calibre with a 52-hour power reserve. That’s a 10-hour increase over the 4401 in the original Metro, showing the improvement of Nomos’ watchmaking abilities across the intervening year. The 4701 is also equipped with a patented quick set date mechanism at 6 o’clock as well as the titular power reserve indicator, which takes the form of a minimalist teal bar inside an ice blue aperture at 1 o’clock.
Ice Blue is the theme of the new colour scheme for the entire dial. The main face of the dial is a slightly desaturated shade of ice blue that makes it lean towards grey. However, that just provides good contrast for the more vivid shades of ice blue that are used for the small seconds subdial and power reserve indicator. The hour markers are also presented as blue dots in a deeper shade. Maintaining the minimalist vibe of the piece, the minute scale is also presented as dots with Arabic numerals every five minutes. The same colours are also being used on a new version of the Metro Neomatik 41 Update if you don’t want the power reserve indicator and date.
The Nomos Metro Date Power Reserve Ice Blue preserves the original proportions of the collection, measuring 37mm x 8mm, giving solid versatility. At that size it’s easy to slip under a cuff to protect it during cross-city transit. It’s made from stainless steel with a domed sapphire glass and a sapphire exhibition caseback through which you can view the new movement. It has a water resistance rating of 50m, suitable for inner city drizzle but not yomping through streams and rivers in the countryside.
For pricing, the new Metro Date Power Reserve Ice Blue is £3,500 and the non-date power reserve version is £3,200. That means it stays nice and close to the original which is priced at £3,440. I’m glad that it hasn’t significantly increased despite the new movement because then it would start competing with the entry-level watches from high end luxury brands like the TAG Heuer’s Carrera Date, whereas at the moment it sits in its own price bracket just below them.
Price and Specs:
More details at Nomos.
