NOMOS Glashütte

NOMOS Glashütte was founded by Roland Schwertner, an IT expert and photographer from Düsseldorf, in January 1990—just two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Schwertner registered the trademark NOMOS Glashütte/SA in 1990, and the first collection launched in 1992 with four models: Tangente, Orion, Ludwig, and Tetra. Designer Susanne Günther drew up the original designs, taking influence from the Bauhaus purist style. The name 'Nomos' (νόμος) means 'law' or 'rule' in Greek. Interestingly, a different company called 'Nomos-Uhr-Gesellschaft, Guido Müller & Co.' existed from 1906-1910 importing Swiss watches, but was forced to cease operations after A. Lange & Söhne took legal action—today's NOMOS has no connection to that earlier company. In its early years, NOMOS used Swiss-made ETA/Peseux 7001 movements. A major turning point came in April 2005 when the company began producing exclusively in-house movements, starting with the Alpha caliber. That same year, the first automatic NOMOS watch, the Tangomat, was introduced. In 2014, NOMOS unveiled its proprietary escapement—the NOMOS swing system—making it fully independent from Swiss suppliers. Calibers incorporating this system receive the 'DUW' designation, standing for 'Deutsche Uhrenwerke' (German Watch Works). The company currently operates three sites in Glashütte: the administration in the former Glashütte station building, watchmaking facilities on Am Erbenhang street, and since 2017, additional manufacturing in the Schlottwitz district.