Having made its debut in 2013, the Lambda raised the ambitions and positioning of Nomos, a brand best known for its affordable, honest watches backed by quirky, appealing marketing. The Lambda is available only in 18k gold, while being equipped a highly finished in-house calibre. Originally offered only with a 42mm case, the Lambda is now available with a smaller, 39mm case, along with a new black dial.

he Lambda 39 is available only in rose gold, with the 39mm case measuring 9.11mm high. Inside each Lambda is the DUW 1001 movement, an in-house, hand-wound calibre with an 84 hour power reserve.

Like the other DUW movements – an appellation given to its in-house movements, DUW stands for “NOMOS Glashütte Deutsche Uhrenwerke” – the DUW 1001 in the Lambda is elaborately decorated in a style typical of modern Glashütte watchmaking, meaning blued steel screws, jewels in chatons and a balance cock that’s hand-engraved.

The Lambda 39 is available with a silver dial fitted with either gold-plated or blued steel hands, as well as a new “black velvet” dial that’s available only on the Lambda 39.

The Nomos Lambda 39 retails for €11,800 or US$17,000. It’s available online from the Nomos Store.

A unique version of its convertible pocket watch is Hermes’ choice for its contribution to charity auction Only Watch 2015.

A pocket watch that can be converted to a wristwatch thanks to a handmade leather holder, the “In The Pocket” is Hermes‘ signature pocket watch, powered by the H1837 automatic movement made by Vaucher. Originally available only with a silver dial in rose gold or palladium, a one of a kind “In The Pocket” has been produced for Only Watch 2015. The “In The Pocket” for Only Watch has a rose gold case, and a black dial with white numerals and hands, along with a red minute track. It’s paired with a Barenia leather cord for use as a pocket watch, and accompanied by a leather wrist strap that allows it to be worn as a wristwatch. Being Hermes, the leather cord and wrist strap are entirely handmade, with the wrist strap requiring multiple straps including cutting, moulding and stitching.

Slated to go under the hammer on November 7, 2015, the “In The Pocket” joins 42 other timepieces made for Only Watch, a charity auction that raises funds for research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 

The special exhibition at the German Watch Museum Glashütte, located just round the corner from the premises of Glashütte Original and A. Lange & Söhne, covers post-war watchmaking in Glashütte, a small town near Dresden. Its exhibits cover the timepieces and literature of state-owned, East German watchmaking, which despite it drabness, was responsible to rebuilding the watch industry in the town, keeping it alive until the Berlin Wall fell, allowing the Glashütte brands to thrive as a capitalist enterprises.

Many of the historic timepieces in the exhibition have a style distinctive to East German watchmaking, functional and inexpensive looking yet charming. Several of them are the signature Spezimatic self-winding wristwatches, arguably the best known product of the VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB), the state-owned enterprise that controlled all the watchmaking in Glashütte.

A specific model of the Spezimatic – a contraction of spezial automatik – from the 1960s with distinctive Arabic numerals serves as the inspiration for the Senator Sixties from Glashütte Original, whose parent company the Swatch Group sponsors the foundation that runs the museum.

The Spezimatic that inspired the modern Senator Sixties

The special exhibition dedicated to GDR watchmaking is open till November 1, 2015. The German Watch Museum is located at Altenberger Straße 1, D-01768 Glashütte i. Sa., and also online.

A watch start-up based in Spain, Ophion’s goal is to make affordable, classically styled timepieces, as illustrated by its first model, the OPH 960. Hand-wound with a retro 1960s design, the OPH 960 is assembled from components made by Swiss, German and Spanish suppliers.

Named after an ancient Greek god who was the father of Kronos, the god of time, Ophion’s first wristwatch is powered by a manual-wind movement with a five day power reserve made by Technotime, similar to the calibre used in several Speake-Marin watches, like the Mark 2 and Veshelda.

Ophion opted for decorative finishing on the calibre, including polished bevels on the bridges which are straight grained, as well as blued steel screws.

Inspired by gentlemen’s watches of 1960s, the OPH 960 has a domed dial and crystal, with gently curved hands that echo the plane of the dial. The indices are applied and raised, with a polished finish. The Super-Luminova is applied on the dial flange, rather than the indices, which means it is less obvious during the day.

Like the dial, the case is made in Germany. It’s steel with a polished finished, and a diameter of 42mm. The case height is 8.85mm, giving it wide but slim proportions, a familiar formula for an elegant profile on the wrist.

The OPH 960 is priced at €1305 before taxes (equivalent to about US$1450), and available direct from Ophion Watches. A Teju lizard skin strap is standard for the OPH 960, but for orders received before the watch is delivered in end July or August, the strap will be upgraded to alligator skin instead.