Imagen: NOMOS Glashütte, web oficial
The storyWhy this reference matters
Nomos was founded in 1990, with Glashütte barely out of the GDR and a factory that had to be reinvented from scratch. Roland Schwertner went looking for ideas in German watchmaking books from the thirties and in 1992 launched four models at once: Tangente, Orion, Ludwig and Tetra. The Tangente was the angular one — case flat as a coin, barely any bezel, straight lugs cut with a knife. People call it Bauhaus out of habit; the brand would rather talk about the Deutscher Werkbund, which was after the same thing but with the factory in mind.
The move to 38 millimetres came at Baselworld 2013. Nomos enlarged the Tangente, the Ludwig and the Orion in one go — three millimetres over the usual 35 — and took the chance to introduce the grey-dialled Orion 38 Grau. The series reached shops that May. Reference 164 is exactly that: the Tangente as it always was, with room to breathe, and without touching the typeface or the proportion of the bezel. Anyone who found the 35 too small and the neomatik 39 too modern landed here.
What has changed is the engine, and the name gives no warning. For years the 164 ran the Alpha calibre, a descendant of the Peseux 7001 that Nomos made its own part by part. Today the brand's official spec sheet says DUW 4001: same dimensions, same look, but with the house escapement — the swing system — and 53 hours of reserve instead of 43. Monochrome placed that changeover in the entry-level range around the start of 2025. The reference number didn't shift a digit.
SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table
| Brand | NOMOS Glashütte |
|---|---|
| Family | Tangente |
| Reference | 164 |
| Years made | desde 2013 |
| Calibre | NOMOS DUW 4001 |
| Movement | Cuerda manual |
| Frequency | 21.600 alt/h (3 Hz) |
| Power reserve | Hasta 53 horas |
| Jewels | 17 |
| Complications | Segundero pequeño · Parada de segundero |
| Diameter | 37.5 mm |
| Thickness | 6.8 mm |
| Lug to lug | 47.7 mm |
| Lug width | 19 mm |
| Case | Acero inoxidable 316L |
| Crystal | Cristal de zafiro; fondo de zafiro |
| Water resistance | 5 atm (resistente a salpicaduras) |
IdentificationHow to tell it apart
Five numerals and not one more: 12, 2, 4, 8 and 10. Six o'clock belongs to the small seconds, and the odd hours are thin batons. The typeface has been the Tangente's since 1992, with that 12 split into two strokes that looks like nothing else. The hands are steel blued over heat at 290°C, according to Nomos itself: cornflower blue, not paint, and it dies if somebody cleans them with the wrong thing.
The 164 and the 165 are the same watch from the front: 37.5 mm across — the "38" in the name is the manufacturer's own rounding — 47.7 mm lug to lug, 19 mm between the lugs, 5 atm. The difference is round the back. The 164 has a sapphire case back and measures 6.8 mm tall; the 165 has solid steel and stops at 6.7. A tenth of a millimetre in exchange for seeing the calibre.
To keep it apart from its neighbours: the 167 is this same watch with a midnight blue dial, the Tangente neomatik 39 is automatic and a fair bit bigger, and the Tangente 38 Datum adds a date. And a quick clue to its age: if the case back reads "DUW 4001", it is a recent 53-hour example; if it says "Alpha", it predates the calibre change.
CollectingWhat collectors check
The first thing anyone looks at is the hands. The blue is a heat treatment, not enamel, and a badly handled trip through an ultrasonic bath or a re-polish leaves them greenish grey for good. Second, the silver galvanised dial: it takes fingerprints and can't be cleaned without being removed. Third, the case, with very sharp edges between the polished and brushed surfaces; an aggressive refinish rounds off that razor-thin bezel and it never goes back.
Second-hand, the sapphire-backed version (164) fetches a little more than the solid-backed 165, mainly because it shows off the DUW 4001 with its Glashütte ribbing and blued screws. The special editions of the Tangente 38 — anniversaries, coloured dials — play in another league and are no guide to valuing a catalogue example.
Three practical checks before you pay. Five atmospheres means rain and washing your hands, not a swimming pool: if the watch has a few years on it, the crown gasket deserves a look. Being hand-wound, the crown is the hardest-working part; wind it to the stop and check it doesn't slip and that the seconds hand halts when you pull it out. And look at the fold in the Horween Shell Cordovan strap, which is where it cracks.
Common questionsWhat people ask us about this reference
Does the Nomos Tangente 38 really measure 38 mm?
No. The official Nomos spec sheet gives 37.5 mm across, 47.7 mm lug to lug and 6.8 mm thick for reference 164. The "38" in the name is the manufacturer's own rounding.
What is the difference between reference 164 and 165?
The case back. The 164 has sapphire and measures 6.8 mm tall; the 165 has solid steel and stops at 6.7 mm. From the front they are identical.
Does the Tangente 38 still run the Alpha calibre?
Not any more. Nomos replaced it with the DUW 4001, which keeps the dimensions and the 17 jewels but adds the brand's own escapement and lifts the reserve from 43 hours to 53.
Can you swim with a Nomos Tangente 38?
Better not. It is 5 atm and Nomos itself describes it as splash-resistant: fine for rain and washing your hands, not for getting into the water.
Keep readingWhere to go from here
Close relativesThe ones it gets confused with
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