Tailoring The Nomos Club Sport Neomatik 39 Tabac To My Taste
At the beginning of this year, I learned from my colleague Jorg that brown would be the color of 2024. That shocked me. I have nothing against the color brown in general, but brown watch dials never captured my heart, to put it mildly. So why did I want to try out the Nomos Club Sport Neomatik 39 Tabac? It’s because the radiant dial in tobacco brown had a metallic shine with hints of other shades that struck me. It made me wonder if I could find a strap to uplift the watch that came from Glashütte on a three-row steel bracelet.
Well, 2024 is almost over, and although Jorg predicted a year full of brown-dialed watches, they seem to have stayed out of my sight of the field. I penned my objections to seemingly fashionable brown dials in an article with the headline “No Brown In Town,” in which I also promoted the timeless white dial. Only last month did I spot a brown dial that piqued my curiosity. It was when a trio of Nomos Club Sport Neomatik 39 watches arrived at Fratello HQ. Strangely enough, the darkest of the brown shades caught my attention. And that’s because the color changed dynamically and vividly when the light hit the sunburst Tabac dial. Most brown dials I have come across always looked somewhat dull. The Club Sport Neomatik 39 Tabac looked anything but dull, and I thought that I could even manage to tailor it to my taste.
Tailoring the Nomos Club Sport Neomatik 39 Tabac to my taste
Brown dials remind me of the books I had to read while in high school. For those who never had to read Dutch literature from the 1970s and ’80s (you lucky devils), the mood in every single book can be described as brown. Dutch literature of that era was, without hardly any exceptions, introverted, slow, and unadventurous. In novels of that period, the protagonist was almost without color except for the dull shade of brown of his attire. The different novelists not only painted that dreary imaginary picture in my head but also made me think of the smell of overcooked cabbage mixed with wet woolen socks drying on the central heating radiator in their dreary, plotless books. Now you know why I don’t like brown-dialed watches.
But when I noticed the Club Sport Neomatik 39 Tabac, I saw something that intrigued me. Maybe I was in a bit of a gloomy autumn mood, but I picked up the watch on its polished and brushed bracelet and immediately took that off. I don’t think the Oyster-style bracelet does the Club Sport any favors; it’s a bit too shiny. Its polished center links match the Club Sport’s polished case but push the overall look over the top. I perceive the rather robust Club Sport, which is water resistant to 200 meters, as a next-generation field watch, and the bracelet doesn’t match my vision. It also served as a distraction from the intriguing hue of the dial. A strap, on the other hand, would solve that issue. But what color strap would do the job and match my taste?
Dimensions of all sorts
Before I get to my strap of choice and dive into color dimensions, I will first address the watch’s physical dimensions. The fully polished 39.5mm case has an 8.5mm thickness (with an all-steel case back, it’s 0.1mm slimmer) and significantly long lugs, creating a 49.5mm span from tip to tip. The long, curvy lugs are a polarizing feature and the subject of fervent debate. While I understand that the design doesn’t work on some wrists, the 39mm version, with its nearly 5cm case length, sits well on my 18cm wrist. I also like the “long-legged” look of the watch. The slim and long case is elegant, and the rounded bezel on top is a bit muscular. These combined characteristics result in an elegant all-arounder with a sporty twist.
Now it’s time to dive into color dimensions. Once freed from the bracelet, the metallic sunburst dark brown dial is ready to shine. When the light hits the dial, it reflects hints of orange, but more often, it gives off purple hues with some casual gray notes. A brown strap is out of the question because I don’t want to create the brownest of brown watches, but all other colors have a chance. I went through our large assortment in the Fratello Shop and settled on a gray nubuck strap. The gray softens the brown dial quite a bit and brings out the hints of purple even more.
The gray brings out many details
On a gray strap, the functional details on the dial also get more room to express themselves, so to speak. The combination of white Arabic numerals and rectangular hour markers encircled by a smaller 60-second/minute scale, also in white, has a refreshing clarity. Also, the circular graining of the sub-seconds register at 6 o’clock becomes more apparent as it contrasts subtly with the rest of the dial’s sunburst finish. The pencil-style hands, which are exactly the right length and width and filled with Super-LumiNova, are a functional fit that looks the part. Speaking of functionality, the absence of a date indicator (or even two) keeps the dial tidy and clean. A date function would not do the dial layout of this Club Sport any favors.
There’s also something else I like about matching brown with gray. When you wear the watch with a third color, like dark forest green or any shade of blue, you get a tasteful and moody mix of hues. At first glance, the watch might not match your attire, but because of the subdued hues, it will complement it in a very sophisticated way. And because the Club Sport Neomatik 39 combines elegance with sportiness, the watch will suit both informal and formal contexts. In other words, it will match your sneakers just as well as your Chelsea boots. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed tailoring the Nomos Club Sport Neomatik 39 Tabac to my taste.
Final words, specs, and prices
The Nomos Club Sport Neomatik 39 Tabac I tailored is the reference 760, which comes with a display case back. The retail price for this watch on the three-row bracelet is €3,120, and you will pay €2,820 for the all-steel-back version (reference 759). Nomos also offers the watch on a blue-black 20mm textile strap, starting at €2,640 for the solid-back version and increasing to €2,940 for the version in this review. That particular strap’s dark blue, bordering-on-black hue is nice, but I’m unsure about the fabric. I feel the watch is more versatile and a tad more luxurious on a leather strap. But in the end, that’s a matter of taste and up for debate.
What’s not up for debate is the presence of the DUW 3001 Neomatik movement. The 3.2mm-thick automatic caliber operates at 21,600vph and has a 43-hour power reserve and 27 jewels. It features the brand’s signature swing system, a proprietary escapement. It’s a nice-looking movement with its three-quarter plate, Glashütte ribbing, perlage, and tempered blue screws.
If you’re still in the mood for a (friendly) debate, please leave your thoughts on this brown-dialed watch and perhaps a few others in the comment section below.
