Nomos Glashütte doesn’t have a long history, founded in only1990 by Roland Schwertner, Nomos Glashütte is an independently owned and operated watchmaker in the small watchmaking village of Glashütte. The initial designs were drawn up by graphic designer Susanne Günther with the Tangente, Orion, Ludwig and the Tetra all released in 1992. The reference 380 is the 38 mm diameter case fitted with a domed sapphire crystal and sapphire crystal display case back.

The bauhaus design of the Orion dial is excellent, the gold plated applied index markers on the galvanised white silver plated dial. The tempered blue baton hands are elegant, the petite second hand is also blue tempered just above the date window at the 6 o’clock position. I reckon 38 mm is the ideal size for a dress timepiece, whilst a larger size for a diver or a chronograph is an absolute must, this is the perfect size for a dress watch. The height of 8.9 mm is somewhat assisted by the inhouse hand-wound DUW4101 movement that doesn’t require a rotor.

The long angled lugs of the Orion are a major improvement on the thin squarish lugs of Tangente. The Tangente lugs just look flimsy, the Orion lugs are looking not only more secure but they are an improved style as well. This is a well crafted dress watch, the 38 mm diameter is well sized for most wrists and isn’t following the trend of the oversized watch. The clean dial and rounded case gives an understated style that suits minimalists tastes.