NOMOS Metro Ice Blue: a playful dial and a smarter hand-wound movement

The Metro Date Power Reserve has always brought graphic-design discipline to German mechanical watchmaking. Its thin hands, tiny dot markers and generous negative space look like the work of an accomplished typographer. The new Ice Blue version adds a softly metallic dial that changes the watch’s mood without sacrificing its recognisable simplicity.

The arrangement remains delightfully asymmetrical. A small-seconds dial sits above the date window at six, while the circular power-reserve display floats above and to the right of the hands. That indicator now shifts from teal through light blue toward white as stored energy diminishes, coordinating the complication with the dial’s colour.

The bigger change is beneath the surface: the new hand-wound DUW 4701 introduces a quick-set date for the first time in this Metro family. It also raises the power reserve from 42 to 52 hours. The sapphire back showcases the in-house movement, including decorative sunburst striping and NOMOS's Swing System escapement.

The steel case retains its comfortable 37mm diameter and slender 8mm profile, with 50 metres of water resistance. Paired with a black Horween shell cordovan strap and offered at $4,500 in the United States, Ice Blue demonstrates a subtle approach to redesign: strengthen everyday usefulness, then bring renewed energy through considered colour.