In Depth · Nomos Glashütte

Does the NOMOS Metro's power reserve earn its dial space?

The ice-blue Metro puts a hand-wound movement, date and reserve display inside a compact case. Its balance depends on how those functions share the dial.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 3 min read · 9 October 2026

A power-reserve display seems like an obvious kindness on a hand-wound watch: it tells you when to reach for the crown. Then it takes a bite out of the dial, which is exactly where a watch as restrained as the NOMOS Metro can least afford clutter. The question with the Metro date power reserve ice blue is whether that little indication earns the space it occupies, or whether the watch would be calmer without it. NOMOS's current reference 1121 gives a useful answer.

The indicator is part of the composition

Look just above the hands and the reserve appears as a small round opening, with a white, light-blue and teal display that changes as the movement runs down. It is away from the small seconds at six and the date below, so the three functions have separate addresses rather than fighting for the same corner. The ice-blue metallic dial, made by galvanising and lacquering according to NOMOS, gives the display a colour to answer. On a plain white dial the same device might command more attention; here it feels measured.

The rest of the Metro face helps that balance. Dots mark the hours and each minute, numerals sit on the minute track, and the narrow stepped hands leave a good deal of empty space. NOMOS designed the original Metro date power reserve with Mark Braun in 2014, and the maker says that watch marked the debut of its own swing system in the DUW 4401 calibre. This ice-blue reference uses DUW 4701. The design history matters because the power-reserve aperture belongs to the Metro's original idea, rather than reading as a feature squeezed into a finished dial.

A hand-wound movement with a useful reminder

NOMOS specifies 52 hours of reserve for the hand-wound DUW 4701, along with a quick-set date and 23 jewels. The small display above the hands answers a practical question when the watch has been left on a desk for a day. I can see the objection that a 52-hour movement does not need a gauge; most owners will wind it by habit. But habit is precisely what the display makes visible, and on a manual watch that feels more relevant than another decorative complication.

Turn the watch over and the sapphire back shows sunburst finishing, perlage and blued screws. NOMOS says the movement itself is only 2.8 mm high, which helps explain how the complete watch stays at 8 mm despite carrying both date and reserve displays. This is not a hands-on judgement about finishing under a loupe; it is what the maker's photographs and specifications establish. The question for a buyer is whether those functions have made the watch too busy to remain a Metro. From the published views, I do not think they have.

Small dimensions, substantial dial space

The polished steel case measures 37 mm across, 8 mm high and 43.6 mm from lug to lug. Its rounded wire lugs and narrow bezel let the dial occupy much of the face, while a domed sapphire crystal changes the profile at the edge. That compact length should be more useful in comparing wrist fit than the diameter alone, though a photograph cannot settle how the lugs sit on every wrist. NOMOS rates the watch to 5 atm and calls it splash-proof, a clear reminder that this is a city watch rather than a swimming companion.

A black Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan strap with quick-change spring bars completes reference 1121; the lug width is 18 mm. The dark leather is a quiet frame for the coloured dial and keeps the watch from becoming a pastel exercise. I would not trade away the date to gain more blank space either: its window sits low, close to the small seconds, and serves a different purpose from the reserve. The Metro can accommodate all three indications because each is small, legible and anchored to a particular part of the dial.

NOMOS Metro date power reserve ice blue pricing and availability

NOMOS lists the sapphire-back reference 1121 on its Australian online store at A$6,750, with an Add to basket option. Its US storefront lists US$4,500, while the European store lists EUR 3,500; these are regional list prices, not conversions. The maker's Australian page shows a seven-working-day delivery estimate. The power-reserve indicator earns its place here because it turns the act of winding into information without making the dial read like an instrument panel.