NOMOS Glashütte named Germany’s best sports watch brand 2025

From Bauhaus-inspired minimalism to award-winning sports watches, independent German watchmaker NOMOS Glashütte is redefining what “affordable luxury” means, writes John E. Kaye. Its latest models embrace the global ‘Go Anywhere, Do Anything’ trend while keeping the precision, elegance and independence that have made the brand unique

For more than three decades, NOMOS Glashütte has been synonymous with pared-back design and slim, elegant dress watches. Tangente, with its crisp Bauhaus dial, is perhaps Germany’s best-known wristwatch and has been the company’s flagship. Model since the beginning yet while many watchmakers have chased ever more elaborate complications and eye-catching designs, NOMOS has taken a different route, expanding its appeal by entering the competitive sports-luxury segment with models that retain the brand’s clean aesthetic.

To preserve that clean elegance, NOMOS has developed its own ultra-thin automatic ‘neomatik’ calibres, unique in watches priced under €5,000 and a key factor in the brand’s appeal as an entry point into luxury horology.

The firm’s expansion into sports-luxury has already attracted attention. At Watches and Wonders in Geneva – the industry’s leading annual showcase, where the biggest names from Rolex to Patek Philippe present their new models – NOMOS unveiled Club Sport neomatik Worldtimer. The launch marked a step onto the international stage for a brand better known for minimalist design. Soon after, The European named NOMOS Glashütte Germany’s Best Sports Watch Brand 2025, an award that highlights its technical innovation and the brand’s move beyond pure Bauhaus-inspired classics.

The Worldtimer illustrates just how far the Saxon manufacturer has come: a 40-millimetre stainless steel case with 10 ATM water resistance, robust enough for everyday wear yet refined enough for the boardroom. Inside is the newly developed caliber DUW 3202, only 4.8mm high and equipped with the company’s proprietary escapement, the NOMOS swing system. Around the dial, a city disk offers 24 time zones alongside a 24-hour home display. Club Sport neomatik Worldtimer is available in silver and blue, accompanied by six limited colour editions, and at just 9.9 millimetres in height is the thinnest of its kind in this category.

These features place it firmly in the emerging GADA category, a watch world term meaning “Go Anywhere, Do Anything” and used to describe versatile timepieces that combine robustness with elegance and can move from business trips to leisure settings to time in the water without feeling out of place.

The sports-luxury market is one of the most competitive in horology, dominated by Swiss names with global marketing machines. To enter that field with an in-house worldtime movement and a design language that remains unmistakably NOMOS – and to do so at under €5,000 – is an achievement that speaks to the brand’s long-term strategy.

Rather than abandoning the principles that established its reputation, NOMOS has extended them. Clarity and restraint still define the dials, cases and typography, but beneath them lies a technical arsenal that has grown steadily: 13 proprietary calibres, multiple patents, and international awards including the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2018 for Tangente neomatik 41 Update, a 7.8-millimetre automatic model offered with either a white silver-plated or blue dial and a patented date mechanism.

What makes this all the more remarkable is the scale and structure of the company. NOMOS Glashütte is independent and owner-operated, with CEO and managing partner Uwe Ahrendt at the helm alongside founder Roland Schwertner and other shareholders. Based in the watchmaking town of Glashütte, with subsidiaries in Berlin, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Como, the company employs 240 people and has grown into the largest German producer of mechanical watches by volume.

For Ahrendt, the guiding principle remains a balance of independence and accessibility.

“With iconic design and rich Glashütte heritage, NOMOS watches are defined by independence, transparency, and the combination of tradition with innovation, all at fair prices,” he told The European.

That commitment to independence and fair pricing is what has helped NOMOS carve out its place in the sports-luxury segment, and what led to The European naming the brand Germany’s Best Sports Watch Brand 2025.

Its Managing Editor, Jon Kirk, added: “NOMOS has proved that an independent brand can make a serious impact on the global stage. This award recognises the company’s ability to innovate while staying true to its design heritage.”

ABOUT CEO UWE AHRENDT
Born in 1969, Uwe Ahrendt is a fourthgeneration resident of Glashütte. His family’s deep connection to horology spans decades, his great-grandfather, Richard Grießbach, owned a company that produced balances for A. Lange & Söhne. A skilled toolmaker by training, Uwe Ahrendt studied business administration and holds advanced degrees in precision engineering and industrial engineering. His career includes key roles at prestigious watch manufacturers, such as IWC Schaffhausen and A. Lange & Söhne, where he was Head of Production. In 2000, he joined NOMOS Glashütte as CEO, and since 2003, he has also held the role of General Partner at NOMOS Glashütte/SA Roland Schwertner KG. Beyond his professional achievements, Uwe Ahrendt is deeply engaged in civic and public life. He has been an active member of the town council since 1999, and is currently Deputy Mayor of Glashütte.

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_{Main Image: Club Sport neomatik Worldtimer Club Sport neomatik Worldtimer, shown front and back, unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2025 with six colour editions and the new DUW 3202 calibre.}