Known for good looks and good value, Nomos has just introduced a new version of its popular dual-time complication, the Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer. Thanks in part to the new DUW 3202 automatic movement, the Worldtimer offers a rare combination of functionality, robustness, and slimness.

Available in two colourways, dark blue or silver, the latter with a ‘Pepsi’ home time scale, the Worldtimer comes on a stainless steel bracelet and is rated to 100 m, making it quite versatile.

Initial thoughts

I have a soft spot for Nomos, and I like the brand’s unique approach to making sporty watches. Instead of going after the usual macho design cues like dive bezels and tachymeters, the brand has instead taken its signature Bauhaus-inspired design and just bulked it up a bit. This approach resulted in the Club Sport collection, and I was immediately intrigued to see this line-up expand to include the Worldtimer.

Key to the Worldtimer’s appeal are its dimensions, which measure a compact 40 mm by 9.9 mm. That makes it quite thin for a dual-time watch, but despite its slim form it still manages a full 100 m of water resistance. And for added security, the crown features a red anodised ring to alert the owner when the crown has been left unscrewed.

The stainless steel case is paired with a simple three-link bracelet that is quite bland and probably the weakest element of the design.

The dial features a central disc with a sunray finish in either silver or dark blue, surrounded by the city disc. Home time is indicated on a 24-hour sub-dial at three o’clock, with noon appropriately shown at the top of the dial.

While I prefer the look of the dark blue model, the blue and red scale on the silver variant’s home time dial could be seen as a cheeky homage to the category leader.

The Worldtimer is powered by the DUW 3202, which marries the brand’s slim Neomatik base movement with its signature worldtimer module. The result is a new dual-time movement just 4.8 mm thick, thinner than most peers and nearly a full millimeter thinner than the DUW 5201 in the Zürich Worldtimer, while retaining all of its functionality.

Nomos has always had a good reputation for value, but the Zürich Worldtimer is among the brand’s most expensive models. That’s part of what makes the value proposition of the this Club Sport Worldtimer so interesting; at US$4,720, it’s priced significantly lower than the Zürich, while managing to be both thinner and more water resistant. At a time when retail prices seem to be going in only one direction, the Club Sport Worldtimer bucks the trend.

A functional approach

I’ve always liked Nomos’ unusual take on the world time complication, which debuted 15 years ago in the Zürich collection. Essentially a dressed up GMT, it features a main time display with an hour hand that is synchronized to a peripheral city disc, along with a 24-hour home time display.

This approach combines aspects of a typical world timer, which indicates time in multiple time zones simultaneously, and a dual-time function, which only displays local and home time. The functionality of the Nomos is enhanced with a pusher at two o’clock that advances the hour hand and the city disc simultaneously in one-hour increments.

Flying from London to Athens? Just hit the pusher twice when you land and you’re done. What if you’re flying west? Well, the Nomos approach lacks a date, so it’s just a matter of a few more presses of the pusher until the correct city is displayed at 12 o’clock.

I personally like this approach, even if the city disc is arguably extraneous. I don’t miss the date, and the simple pusher for advancing the hour is a far more appealing proposition than using the screw-down crown.

In the Club Sport Worldtimer, the dial is given some additional GMT offset markings that one could argue make it more of a true ‘world time’ complication, but mechanically it remains a dual-time watch.

The recessed case pusher is used to synchronise the city disc to the local time hour hand. Once set, the time can be adjusted in one-hour increments using the pusher at two o’clock.

A slim dual-time caliber

The Club Sport Worldtimer succeeds in part due to its dimensions, specifically its sub-10 mm thickness. That it manages to be a full millimeter thinner than the Zürich is credit to the new DUW 3202 movement, which pairs the well-known Neomatik platform with a variant of the brand’s world time module.

The movement runs for 42 hours while ticking at 3.5 Hz, which is a bit low and slow compared to the usual suspects, but it offers a pleasing architecture with a full balance bridge, and is finished attractively with tidy perlage, clean striping, and blued screws.

Key facts and price

Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer
Ref. 790 (blue)
Ref. 791 (silver)

Diameter: 40 mm
Height: 9.9 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: DUW 3202
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, second time zone
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 42 hours

Strap: Stainless steel bracelet

Limited edition: No
Availability: Now at Nomos boutiques and retailers
Price: US$4,720 excluding tax

For more, visit Nomos-glashuette.com