Hands on with the Autobahn Neomatik

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A new achytypal sports watch from NOMOS

German watchmaking has long been a bit of a fascination for me! Like other areas around the world, the Germans have a very distinctive style and flair for watchmaking, and this has been something I’ve wanted to explore in more detail for some time.

Anyone with a similar interest in watches will, I’m sure, have heard of the region of Germany called Glashütte, where a number of the most prestigious German watch brands are located. This area is world-renowned for producing some of the most sought after pieces with some of the most elaborate finishing in the industry. Watchmaking in Glashütte celebrated its 175th anniversary back in 2020, and since 1990 Roland Schwertner has added the name NOMOS Glashütte to that distinguished list of german manufacturers in the region. Not only did Roland Schwertner found NOMOS Glashütte back then, but he has since grown the business into the largest manufacturer of mechanical timepieces in Germany. 

With around 260 employees working in a converted train station producing and finishing all the parts that go into their watches, NOMOS Glashütte pays impeccable attention to detail on the pieces they produce, from the in-house designed and made movements to the beautiful finishing on these and the simple but striking appearance of the cases and dials you really get the feeling these are a labour of love for a brand that may be new in the grand scheme of things and comparison to other Glashütte based manufacturers. Still, they are keen to uphold the traditions that have made the region so great for watchmaking. 

There is far more than could be said around the short but colourful history of NOMOS Glashütte but suffice to say, I was a fan but had never had the chance to spend any significant time with any of their pieces. Nothing beats getting hands-on with something, so I reached out to NOMOS to ask if I could get one in to look at a little more closely. The response was fast and polite, and you get the impression that all across NOMOS as a business, these people are committed to excellence and customer service! The Autobahn Neomatik was promptly sent out for me to look at, and what a watch this is as a first introduction!

The Autobahn, named after the infamous German highway system, is, as you can imagine, a racing-inspired timepiece. It is every bit as daring and striking as its namesake would imply. Looking at the 41mm Autobahn, there is no doubt of this inspiration. Its incredibly slender bezel means that the 41mm is all predominantly dial and reminds me very much of the racing dials of years gone by but with a still modern and elegant look. The case is a simple affair, all polished with strong deep lugs but with a thin profile when viewed from above. Slightly downward angled lugs mean the Autobahn sits on the wrist nicely, but it looks every one of its 41mm. 

Look closer still, and you notice that the dial itself is not a flat dial with a rehaut ring but is concave or dished to give a very smooth and sweeping appearance. Looking closer still and the second’s portion of the dial is also concave and sits into the dial. This design in itself gives the dial both depth and a smooth, elegant look. The Version of the Autobahn I was sent is probably one of the most visually striking of the three as it features bright orange accents to the hours, minutes and seconds hands but then also a very bold blue curved section to the upper dial, which is superluminova and provides a very bright blue glow across the dial when the light fades. People have mentioned that this blue curved section and that deep-dish style dial remind them of the Star-Wars character of R2D2, and you can see the resemblance! To the bottom of the dial, there is a deep cutout that displays the date, both current previous, and next. Interesting in terms of a display choice, but again it fits so well with the lines of the watch and overall dial design.

The actual indices of the dial are all very clear and call out from 12 o’clock to 10 o’clock with two-hour spaces where the outer track fills in for the minutes. The finishing touches to the dial are in the wording NOMOS Glashütte Neomatik just below noon and made in Germany below 6 o’clock. The designer of this specific model Werner Aisslinger, said he wanted nothing less than to create "the new archetype of a sports watch." and from a visual impact point of view, id say he has certainly given me a new view of what a sports watch could look like. 

But a sports watch also needs to be durable and usable in that sort of application, and at first, glace toughness and durability is not something that immediately sprung to my mind. The Autobahn looks fast, sleek, and sporty but rugged? NOMOS has ensured that the Autobahn can handle the rough stuff, with the case offering 100m of water resistance, meaning all but diving shouldn’t be an issue for the Autobahn. Crystal wise Nomos has provided domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating, meaning scratching should be nigh on impossible too. All-round Nomos have the basics covered very well for sports watch that could be a daily wear for many people and a good looking one.  

The heart of the Autobahn, though, is the Nomos produced movement, and in this instance, it is there in house developed and built DUW 6101 automatic movement. This movement features NOMOS swing system, tempered blue balance spring, NOMOS balance bridge, fixed by screws on both sides, top-seconds mechanism, bidirectional winding rotor with gold-plated embossing, Glashütte three-quarter plate, DUW regulation system adjusted in six positions, Twenty-seven jewels, tempered blue screws, rhodium-plated surfaces with Glashütte ribbing and NOMOS perlage, golden engravings. And if that’s not impressive enough, this movement is only 3.6mm thick and offers 42 hours of power reserve! All of this is visible through the display case-back on the Autobahn. I’m far from a movement expert, but in real-world usage, this movement performed well over my week or so of use and was nothing short of beautiful to look at from a finishing point of view.

So, after a week of hands-on daily wear with the Autobahn, what do I think? Is my love affair with German watchmaking strengthened or diminished by finally getting a NOMOS on the wrist? Well, as you can probably guess, I enjoyed my time with the Autobahn! The details and finishing from NOMOS on their watches are undoubtedly nothing to be questioned. From the rhodium-plated hands and orange solid accents to the sizeable stylistic use of Superluminova for the blue section on this dial, I think they did a fantastic job of creating a sporty yet elegant and usable sports watch. The Sapphire case back takes the owner a step further in seeing what goes into creating and finishing a movement, and it’s one of the few times that I’m glad a display case back was used. The strap I received the Autobahn on was the fabric version, and this is produced in France specifically for NOMOS. And it felt very nicely made, but they also offer some lovely bracelet options if you are happy to pay a bit extra. Either way, the lug width is 20mm, which is my preferred width, and I can see this one working very well on various strap options. 

At £3,800 (on the fabric strap), the Autobahn is in a sub-4k competitive segment of the watch market, which offers buyers an awful lot of options. What I cant find at this price is something quite so unique in terms of styling and details, and I think that’s a solid point for the Autobahn. From my point of view, I think this will be a popular model for NOMOS. It’s not my personal favorite in the NOMOS range, mainly due to the case shape, which wears a little high for my tastes. But there is no denying that if you like the styling details, this could be a desirable option if you’re looking for a sports watch that’s a little different from the rest. 

Specifications:

CASE: stainless steel, bipartite domed sapphire crystal glass back

GLASS: domed sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating

WINDING: automatic

DIMENSIONS: diameter 41.0 mm height 10.5 mm 

WATER RESISTANCE: 100m  (suitable for swimming)

DIAL: a galvanised, rhodium-plated blue luminous ring with superluminova (blue luminescence) 

elongated date window

HANDS: rhodium-plated

STRAP: blue-black textile strap, woven, waterproof lug width 20 mm

CLASP: Winged clasp, square, stainless steel

MOVEMENT: DUW 6101 automatic, 27 jewels, 42hrs power reserve