The Bauhaus Sports Watch That Broke All the Rules Is Returning to Its Roots

Nomos Glashütte knows a thing or two about clean, white-dialed watches, and now its most versatile timepiece finally gets the honor.

A close up of the lower right hand corner of the dial of the NOmos Glashutte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date in White

By Ben Bowers

Published 19 hours ago

·

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

Rolex and Tudor may be carrying the torch for white-dial watches in 2025, but few watch companies have as strong a long-term track record with the color as the relatively young German brand Nomos Glashütte.

Clicking on the model family link on the brand’s website makes this abundantly clear. Of the 13 watch models the company sells, 10 are showcased with white or light silvery dials.

And yet, one of the brand’s most versatile and controversial models, at least for watch purists, had been a colorful outlier for quite a few years. Not that we’re complaining.

A close-up of the wrist of a man wearing the Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date in White on his wrist. The cuff of his light blue shirt is visible and his hand is stuffed into his pocket. — The white-dialed version of the Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date harkens back to the bigger, 40mm Ahoi model launched in 2013, which was subsequently replaced by today’s 38mm version. Until now, this smaller iteration on the sports watch was only available in colored dials.

The navy blue-hued “Atlantic” edition of the watch is stunning. And the icy-blue “Sky” edition is one of the better implementations of the trending color we’ve ever seen.

But as they say, what goes around comes around, and now the Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date is finally available again with a silver-plated white dial execution that’s nearly identical to bigger, 40mm Ahoi models originally launched back in 2013, but were subsequently discontinued.

Everything But the Bezel

close-up of the wrist of a man wearing the Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date in White on his wrist. — Since the Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date lacks a rotating bezel, it shouldn’t technically be considered a dive watch. But beyond that key missing feature and its dressy aesthetics, this watch has all the specs required to handle even intense aquatic adventures.

As nearly every watch-focused publication will incessantly quibble, even a naval-themed name can’t make the Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date technically qualify as a true dive watch.

And they’re, of course, technically not wrong.

That’s because it lacks a rotating bezel—a crucial feature that helps divers easily track the time elapsed underwater.

A detailed view of the dial of the Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date in White darkened to show its lumed dial

However, if we’re being real here, most owners of dive watches never actually dive with them, or use that all-important bezel for anything other than timing something cooking on a stove.

This technicality aside, despite its dressy, design-forward looks, the Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date has every other feature you’d expect from an aquatic adventure timepiece, including a screw down crown, crown guards, and a 200-meter water resistance rating.

A Superior Date Window

A detailed view of the crown of the Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date in White — Matching the date aperture window’s background color to the dial makes the date complication on the Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date feel much more integrated. At the same time, oversized numerals that are far larger than most other date windows still keep things legible.

Nomos already offered two white-dialed, dateless versions of the Ahoi in a smaller 36.3 mm size, though not precisely in this color execution.

But the Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date’s standout feature shouldn’t be slept on as a functional complication worth paying $120 more for.

A close-up of the wrist of a man wearing the Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik Ref 560 in White on his wrist. The cuff of his light blue shirt is visible — Nomos already offered a white-dialed version of the standard Ahoi Neomatik. But at 36.3, it wasn’t sized well for bigger wrists. The bright orange accent color of the second hand on this iteration is also bolder and arguably less timeless than the classic red second hand found on the Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date.

Yes, it shows the date like any other date window. And some watch enthusiasts will always hate how the feature disrupts the symmetry of any watch’s dial design.

Nomos’s execution has always been one of the better takes on the feature, though. Matching the date aperture window’s background color to the dial goes a long way to making the complication feel more integrated. At the same time, oversized numerals that are far larger than most other date windows still keep things legible.

The Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date in White worn on a bracelet — A version of the watch on a bracelet is also available.

The date window also boasts a quick-set function, meaning wearers can set the date in both directions and avoid having to cycle completely through the calendar to reach the day they need.

Pricing and Availability

A view of back the Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date in White — Buyers willing to admit that they’ll likely never use this watch for intense underwater excursions have the the option of selecting a sapphire crystal case back for about $400 more.

The white-dialed version of the Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date is available in four iterations, all of which can be purchased directly from Nomos’ website right now.

Buyers can select a bracelet or a strap and a stainless steel or open sapphire crystal glass back. At the time of publication, prices ranged from $4,460 to $5,150.

For comparison’s sake, the smaller, 36.3 mm dateless version of the Ahoi Neomatik starts at $4,240.

The Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date in White worn on a navy blue textile strap

Nomos Glashütte Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date (White Dial)

Specs

Case Size	38.5
Case Material	Stainless Steel
Movement	Nomos Cal. DUW 6101 automatic
Power Reserve	Up to 42 Hours
Water Resistance	200m

About the Author: Ben Bowers is the Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer of Gear Patrol. Throughout his tenure in media, Ben has written and reported on everything from consumer tech to whiskey, watches, cars, camping, and personal style. These days, he gets to write less than he’d like to.