The new Norma series by NOMOS Glashütte consists of black with a matte finish variations of the brand’s popular Tangente, Tetra, Tangomat models. These watches do their job just as perfectly as the other models from NOMOS Glashütte, but they do it with black on white and dressed all in black. And it is precisely this deep black case that underscores the character of this watch: the watch as instrument – an instrument for a lifetime.
The black matte material that coats the tempered surgical steel case, making it even harder, is called titanium aluminum carbo-nitride (TiAlCN). There’s more at stake here than just beauty: this type of extra layer, which is deposited using a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process and measures less than a thousandth of a millimeter thick, is also commonly added to tools such as milling cutters and drill bits to protect them against abrasive wear.
The models for these watches were the machines that hang on the walls of the cellar or in the niche of the storage room that are used to gauge water, electricity, and gas usage. But, when you see them in the daylight, you’ll realize that these watches are far too beautiful to hide away like that. They are unerring embodiments of the laws of measurement and counting. This is why these black versions of Tangente, Tetra, and Tangomat are called Norma – just like the word NOMOS itself, “norma” signifies “rules” and “order.”
The black, matte-finished models cost 160 Euros more than the original versions with polished cases. The manually wound Tangente Norma and Tetra Norma are powered by the NOMOS manufactory caliber alpha, while the Tangomat Norma contains the automatic manufactory caliber epsilon. All three watches have a sapphire crystal glass back.
