It occurred to me one day, while explaining to a visitor to my “office” how the machine “knows” where the part is, that many people have very little exposure to the machinery that literally builds so many wristwatch components today. So for your reading pleasure, I break down the basics of milling machines and turning centers, the multi-axis machines that have become a cornerstone of modern fabrication in the watch industry.
There are an unusually large number of design awards, but not one of them holds a candle to the Red Dot, which is inarguably the most famous and important of them.
The Red Dot awards prizes for design in a multitude of categories, from refrigerators to lawn mowers and everything in between. These prizes are also awarded on many levels, e.g. Best of the Best, Honorable Mention, etc.
However, until the 2015 edition of the competition, there has never been a dedicated watch category.
Two of the watches in 2015 received the highest honor of Best of the Best: Horological Machine 6 Space Pirate by MB&F and the Apple Watch.
I clearly remember watching the history-altering events on television on November 9, 1989: the day that the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. Since then, watchmaking in Germany, just like the country as a whole, has undergone a lot of change. The rebirth of Glashütte’s horological industry is an unparalleled story, one coming with a great number of human-condition stories that will someday need lots of telling . . . and here is the first.
While the two most well known German brands are A. Lange & Söhne and Glashütte Original, there are quite a few smaller German brands deserving our attention. Some with names you may have heard of, a few you may not have: Nomos, Lange & Heyne, Tutima, Kudoke and Leinfelder among them.
Okay, so if you know me, you also know that I am a fan of Nomos. And it’s not hard to define why, including the fact that Nomos watches are the biggest bang for the buck in our industry. I defy any brand anywhere to provide the consumer with more watch for the money than Nomos!
But that still doesn’t answer why I entitled this post, “Bravo, Nomos!”