DUW 5101

The DUW 5101 is an automatic movement with date from Nomos. It is an evolution of its predecessor, Nomos Zeta, and was introduced in 2017.

Overview

The 2005 introduction of the Alpha movement family was an important turning point for Nomos. Although based on the preceding Nomos 1 TSP, it was largely constructed in-house rather than being a refinished ebauche. This was followed in 2006 by the Nomos Epsilon, the first Nomos movement with automatic winding. The next great leap forward for Nomos was the 2014 introduction of the Nomos Swing System, an in-house assortment, in movement DUW 4401. Over the next few years, this technology moved to other models in the Nomos movement family, including the first automatic Swing System movement, DUW 5201.

Nomos introduced the Nomos Swing System slowly, beginning with hand winding movements and the slower-selling world time DUW 5201. Only once production had ramped up in 2017 did Nomos bring the Swing System to a mainstream automatic movement, DUW 5101. This automatic movement has small seconds at 6:00 and a date wheel. Like other Nomos movements, it is made in a three-quarter plate design, plated with rhodium and decorated with Glashütte ribbing and perlage. The ratchet and crown wheels are decorated with a Glashütte sunburst pattern and blued screws are used. It features Glashütte stopwork, Incabloc shock protection, and 26 jewels.

The DUW 5101 movement adds an unusual and patented date display like the Nomos Beta. Typically, a date wheel and associated gears are stacked below the mainplate between the rest of the watch movement and the dial. However, this makes these movements more bulky and thick. Instead, Nomos places the date ring around the movement, with the switching mechanism integrated into the movement itself, making the DUW 4101 nearly as thin as non-date versions at 4.3 mm. However, this adds to the diameter of the movement, bringing it to 31 mm.

Calibre DUW 5101 is a replacement for the Nomos Zeta movement, with which it shares many components. Although the DUW 5101 was introduced in 2017, the Zeta remains in production as of 2019.