How could they manage to create the consummate traveller’s complication within their usual price range and keep an in-house movement? Not to mention maintaining their cool, Bauhaus look. Apparently by creating the Zürich Weltzeit.
It does look a lot busier than any of their other watches but that can’t really be helped. Even with the read home symbol, the slight clash between home time and the ring of time zones isn’t ideal at all – I felt it should have been in place of the 6 o’clock subdial – but the rest of the dial is nice and succinct even with 24 cities displayed.
The Nachtblau really does live up to its name. In anything lower than direct light it seems black and the matt finish is more ‘midnight’ than any metallic sheen can manage. The white version is perhaps a little more Nomos but the Nachtblau makes a nice change and the rhodium-plated hands really stand out against it.
Most importantly, the Zürich Weltzeit is immensely fun to play with. Rather than having to cycle through the worldtimer using the same crown as the main hands, you can fast-forward an hour at the click of the button at 2 o’clock.
It’s an addictive little function to see the entire dial shift in a single snap but, even if you’re not quite as obsessed by those little satisfactions as I am it’s an immensely useful way of handling the worldtimer. My own worldtimer – a Longines Master Collection – is in my humble opinion one of the most beautiful out there, but can be a pain to make sure everything’s in line. Not so here.
The in-house calibre DUW 5201 movement itself is more beautiful than almost any other watch in its price range. That’s spectacular in itself but the rhodium-plated surfaces and finish tips it towards a well-priced watchmaking masterpiece. It could use the addition of a day/night indicator at some point, but with a 24-hour home time it’s not too much of an issue.
The comparatively small case – 39.9mm – could do with being a tiny bit larger, especially with so much information on the dial. Taken as a whole, however, the Zürich Weltzeit is everything you need it to be – and then some.
Price: £4,460; nomos-store.com
