The New Nomos Metro 38 Date

A slightly more discreet member of the Nomos family, the Metro is a more youthful, cosmopolitan, and modern take on the brand’s clean design language, compared to the deliberately austere Tangente and the classic Ludwig. Soft in shape, elegant with a twist, the Metro is a watch that deserves more attention. And, with the latest addition to the collection, the Metro 38 Date, it should get that attention back. Indeed, this edition comes with the brand’s latest in-house movement, the calibre DUW 4601 we’ve seen in the funky Tangente 2date.

The Metro is available in a variety of styles and dimensions, ranging from compact 33mm models with colourful dials to much larger versions with an automatic movement and an unusual date display. In the middle, there’s the classic Metro 38 with small seconds, a no-date display and a hand-wound movement – a.k.a the purest version of this watch.

What Nomos has done with the new Metro 38 Date is pretty simple at first: a date window has been added at 6 o’clock. Except that, if you turn the watch over, you’ll see that things get a bit more complex. But more on that later. What you should know about the design of the Metro 38 Date is that it retains everything from the classic no-date version, resulting in a timeless, pure watch in typical Nomos tradition. It starts with a 38.5mm polished steel case, with almost no bezel and a domed crystal. This soft appearance is reinforced by the thin, wire-like lugs, giving the Metro its clean and contemporary style. A small but defining element of the Metro is its crown with fine diamond knurling, adding some texture to this otherwise uncluttered watch.

As with many Nomos watches, the 38.5mm is slightly deceptive, and the watch has more wrist presence than you’d expect. First, the absence of a bezel and the wide dial opening reinforce its size and, in typical Nomos style, the lugs are relatively long. Even though the lug-to-lug is 45.3mm, the watch wears very comfortably. It’s also pleasantly thin, just under 8mm. It comes equipped with a 19mm black Genuine Shell Cordovan strap with quick-change spring bars.

The dial is almost identical to the no-date Metro 38. The main difference is at 6 o’clock, with the addition of a nicely proportioned and easy-to-read date window. The rest is classic: light blue accents at cardinal points, a red small seconds hand and thin, needle-shaped oxidised black hands that recall the silhouette of the Empire State skyscraper.

The main evolution in this Metro 38 Date can be seen through the sapphire back. Instead of a date version of the Alpha calibre, Nomos opts for its latest in-house hand-wound movement, the calibre DUW 4601. Introduced last year in the Tangente 2date  and later in the Minimatik 39 Date, this movement represents the latest evolution of the Alpha calibre, a movement based on a Peseux architecture. While still showing traces of its origins, the DUW 4601 now features the brand’s in-house blued hairspring (the Swing System), a stop-seconds mechanism, a skeletonised balance cock, and an upgraded power reserve of 52 hours. Just like the Minimatik, it has a two-part construction with a date module on the periphery, but it’s hidden here. Finally, the decoration has been enhanced with fine sunbeam ribbing, radiating from the centre of the balance.

Released as part of the permanent collection, this new Nomos Metro 38 Date retails for EUR 2,780. For more details, please visit nomos-glashuette.com.