News · Nomos Glashütte

NOMOS gives the hand-wound Club more room, with the 38.5 mm Club 38 ruthenium

A larger classic keeps its slim case, bold typography and 53-hour hand-wound movement, with sapphire-back pricing at A$3,530.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 4 min read · 26 October 2026

• NOMOS expands its classic hand-wound Club with a 38.5 mm case, offering a larger alternative to the 36 mm model described in its announcement.
• The ruthenium version pairs an anthracite dial with yellow-outlined white numerals, orange minute-track accents and a slim case around the DUW 4001 movement.
• Reference 770.GB costs A$3,530 with a sapphire caseback and Shell Cordovan strap, including applicable import taxes and duty on the Australian store.

A watch does not need to become more complicated to become more useful. Sometimes the interesting change is a matter of proportion, especially when a design's personality already depends on a broad bezel, assertive numerals and a dial that keeps its distance from solemnity. NOMOS announced two larger hand-wound Club models on 22 October, with the darker of the pair offering a particularly convincing balance of restraint and colour: the NOMOS Club 38 ruthenium.

A larger classic without a thicker argument

NOMOS has moved the classic hand-wound Club from the 36 mm size described in its announcement to a 38.5 mm alternative. That is a meaningful change for someone who likes the original design but wants more dial presence, although the useful detail is how little height accompanies it. The steel-back model measures 8.4 mm high, while the sapphire-back reference 770.GB discussed here measures 8.5 mm. In either form, the proportions preserve a low profile rather than turning the enlarged diameter into an excuse for a bulkier case.

The sapphire-back reference spans 46.7 mm from lug to lug, which gives the diameter some necessary context. A round measurement alone cannot describe how a watch reaches across a wrist, and those curved lugs are a substantial part of the Club's outline. I would still want to try it on before declaring it a universal fit, but the published dimensions describe a watch with a different footprint from its nominal diameter. A domed sapphire crystal and a highly polished stainless-steel case keep the construction visually straightforward, with the bezel framing the dark dial rather than disappearing around it.

Anthracite gives yellow and orange somewhere to land

The dial is galvanised and ruthenium-plated, with an anthracite colour that sits closer to pencil lead than a glossy sheet of black glass. White numerals and indexes receive yellow outlines, while orange details punctuate the minute track. That small amount of colour makes the watch more engaging to me than an entirely monochrome treatment would be. The accents have room to register because the larger surfaces remain quiet, and the small-seconds display at six keeps the centre focused on reading hours and minutes.

The hands are rhodium-plated, with white Super-LumiNova inlays, and the indexes also carry white luminous material. NOMOS has retained the broad hands and bold typography that make Club recognisable, so the darker dial has not become an excuse for a harder-to-read arrangement. The white-dial Club 38 offers a separate interpretation, with black numerals and red details, but the ruthenium version is the one I find more persuasive. Its yellow and orange are small enough to feel deliberate, while giving the eye something to discover after the time has been read.

DUW 4001 makes the daily interaction explicit

Inside, NOMOS fits its hand-wound DUW 4001, developed and manufactured in Glashütte. The movement includes the brand's own swing system escapement and DUW regulation system, together with a stop-seconds mechanism. That last detail matters when setting the watch: the seconds indication can be halted so that the time can be synchronised deliberately. It is a modest convenience beside more elaborate complications, but it suits a watch whose central argument is that a straightforward mechanical object can be enough when its everyday interactions have been considered.

The calibre offers up to 53 hours of power reserve and uses 17 jewels. NOMOS describes regulation in six positions, while its three-quarter plate, Glashütte stopwork and temperature-blued screws give the movement a recognisably local construction and appearance. The sapphire caseback therefore buys a view of something specific, rather than merely a window onto an anonymous mechanism. Choosing it adds only 0.1 mm to the published height compared with the steel back. Whether that view warrants the extra purchase cost is a personal decision, but it does not meaningfully change the profile described by the specifications.

A practical rating meets a leather-strap decision

Water resistance is rated to 10 atm, and the watch comes on a black Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan strap with brown stitching and a 20 mm lug width. That combination is worth thinking about separately. The case's rating is a useful piece of everyday reassurance, while a leather strap is still a different wearing choice from a steel bracelet. NOMOS offers both its Bracelet and Bracelet Sport as alternatives, so the buyer can decide whether the watch should lean towards the supplied leather's quieter appearance or a more consistently metallic outline.

What I like most is that the larger size has not required a more elaborate identity. The dial remains playful, the movement remains hand-wound and the case remains slim. There is no need to pretend that every buyer was waiting for exactly this diameter, because the smaller classic already serves another preference. The point is the additional choice. Club 38 ruthenium makes its case through an unusually coherent set of ordinary decisions, which is often harder to sustain than one conspicuous novelty.

NOMOS Club 38 ruthenium pricing and availability

Reference 770.GB, with sapphire-crystal caseback and Shell Cordovan strap, is listed at A$3,530 including applicable import taxes and duty / €1,780 including VAT. The Australian store lists delivery in four to six working days. Its Bracelet adds A$80; Bracelet Sport adds A$560.