Thirty-four millimetres. That’s not a size you’ll hear many people asking for. It’s maybe a little bigger than traditional “jewellery” watches and certainly smaller than most men would feel comfortable dropping down to (in theory). Rarely, would you hear anyone describe it as a “Goldilocks” diameter. It’s an unusual size, but, as we see here, with NOMOS Glashütte’s release of Club 34mm neomatik line, a watch and the way it wears is far more than its diameter measurement alone.
The Club and Club Campus series are well known for their long lugs. These protrusive horns mean the watches wear almost comically large considering their specs in black and white. When worn on a leather band, as all early Club pieces were presented, there was a huge gap between the corners of the lugs, the case, and the strap. I used to refer to this as the “Bermuda Triangle” and wondered whether NOMOS made that decision wholly consciously with the Club, or whether it was simply a side-effect of the reasoned design choices elsewhere that either didn’t bother or perhaps even delighted, the designers.
As soon as we saw what a Club looked like with a form-fitting end-link sporting metal bracelet, it became an entirely different animal. My first words upon seeing the very first Club Sport model with a metal bracelet were, I think, somewhat prophetic.
“OP Killer,” I said. “If NOMOS rolls out this bracelet on every diameter of Club (especially the 36mm), there will finally be a viable and affordable alternative to that Rolex Oyster Perpetual vibe so many of us seek.”
Strangely, though, the bracelet has yet to make an appearance on the 36 mm diameter (a great shame that I hope NOMOS rectifies soon — they will see my order for my seventh NOMOS come in should they decide to pursue that path).
I have been desperate to see it because, unsurprisingly given the length of those lugs, the Club on a bracelet wears enormously at 38 mm. It is truly huge for a watch of such proportions — sprawling is the word.
I figured at 36 mm, it might be perfect, but, to be frank, I was still a little concerned the bracelet might add too much visual heft to the package for my liking (and I am very much talking personally here, as I do believe the 36 mm Club on a bracelet would be perfect for most men).
But then this series of three models was announced at the fifth NOMOS Glashütte Forum in October and my perception of the Club line (especially neomatik-powered Clubs) was turned upside down.
There are three colours available: a gold, a blush pink, and a rich purple. The first two are handsome and perhaps more versatile, but the purple steals the show and is the model for which I would strongly advocate.
It is, in a word, perfect. It’s proportions feel so natural, so untainted by human hands, it seems as if this model has always existed. On the bracelet it wears more like a 36 mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual because of the longer L2L than it does the Crown’s 34 mm corollary. It is powered by NOMOS Glashütte’s in-house automatic DUW 3001 calibre, which stands just 3.1 mm thick.
I was always against putting the DUW 3001 in the Club line because the former is more expensive than the standard manual wind alpha calibre and the latter was always supposed to be an entry-level collection. And yet somehow, NOMOS has kept the price for this model well under £3,000 despite the technical upgrade.
This is maybe a quiet release from this humble brand on the surface, but in my mind, it is far from that. This is a special moment. It is the maturation of a watch line. The Club has come of age and could now, in this guise, become one of the industry’s true unisex leaders.
