Interstate 35
We begin our cross-state odyssey at around 8 o’clock in the AM. I only manage to hastily and sloppily snap a quick steering wheel shot before pulling out of the driveway, presumably because the coffee hadn’t kicked in yet. Thankfully the Cream Coral dial of the Nomos Club Campus 36 flourishes rather nicely in overcast skies without any sunshine stealing its thunder.
Now I have a 6.75″/17cm wrist and had agonized about pulling the trigger on this watch because of the fear it might be too small. The 38mm version, however, has a 48.9mm lug-to-lug measurement which would’ve made it a bit too unwieldy for my liking. I’m happy to report that this 36mm variant with a 47.5mm lug-to-lug reading looks just right. I wouldn’t recommend the 38mm edition for anyone with smaller than a 7″/17.75cm wrist. It’s such a shame though that people are turned off by Nomos’s tendency to slap long lugs on their watches when really the solution is to get the smaller version. It’ll look fine I promise.
Bear Country
After yawning my way north on I-35, I finally gave in to the suspicions that I needed some more caffeine, so I decided to make a pit stop in Waco at Black Rifle Coffee Company, which is supposedly a nationwide chain. First time seeing one though. I ordered a bagel and some coffee, neither of which I could complain about. Nothing like some morning sunshine on that colorful dial in a black-and-white themed coffee shop.
Fueled and electrified, I continue my voyage north, but only for half an hour or so, in order to make my mandatory Texas roadtrip stop at Buc-ee’s. Around these parts, it’s basically illegal to not stop at a Buc-ee’s when driving more than 75 miles. I was so delighted to find it had the cheapest gas I’d seen thus far that I decided to treat myself to a chicken wrap with the savings.
I do have to say it felt more appropriate walking into a Buc-ee’s with a Nomos Club Campus than say…a Patek Philippe 5711 would’ve felt. A cheerful watch for a cheerful place. Felt right.
Dallas!
The Club Campus ships with a gray or anthracite Velour leather strap and a pin buckle. My personal tastes have dictated that I very much like the gray with the cream coral dial, so in order to prolong the life of the strap, I decided to purchase Nomos’s deployant clasp for a rather reasonable $100 (well, reasonable depending on what kind of world you live in I suppose).
I make it to Dallas with no further stops or unforeseen annoyances and beeline it straight for the office. I’ll admit, the Nomos Club Campus, especially with a non-neutral dial color, doesn’t feel the most at home in a corporate office environment. At least speaking for the cream coral variant, it’s more of watch that wants to do a couple cartwheels in field full of wildflowers. And yet, it doesn’t do half a bad job at injecting a splash of color into the thick of the weekday grind.
It wasn’t the busiest of times at work, so after twiddling my thumbs across the keyboard addressing some bugs in the code, a stretching of the legs was in order. It was an unusually warm winter day, even for Texas, so the Club Campus felt a tad more appropriate outdoors.
9-5? 5-9!
After surviving both a Canada Goose attack and the mental 4pm slosh, I check into the hotel and relax for a bit before heading out to dinner. Thank goodness I wasn’t wearing a Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Perpetual Calendar, because that meant I would’ve had to stay in a Four Seasons (yes, it’s a joke, and no, I don’t have one). A 2-star hotel will do just fine.
We tried out a relatively low-key Chinese restaurant for dinner which was surprisingly delectable, almost as much as that delectable cream coral dial. But I digress. For après-dinner we went even lower key to the Braum’s across the street. Ice cream parlors are a pretty appropriate place for such a bright little watch like the Club Campus with all the fun flavors and such. Pistachio Almond paired perfectly with Cream Coral.
Winding Down
Alas the day with the Club Campus comes to a close. It’s a manual-wind watch with something like 40 hours of power reserve, the exact figure for which is rather irrelevant as long as it’s simply “more than a full day”.
If you’re a lume guy, I’m sorry to report the lume on the Club Campus is…kind of pathetic. It’s almost as if the Club Campus is a brunch-and-mimosa watch, not one to patrol the streets of Gotham after hours. Anyway, I’m digressing again. The Nomos Club Campus is totally appropriate for many occasions, just maybe not to a funeral. Or maybe it is. Nobody told Nomos what they could or couldn’t do, and we got a fully in-house operation at affordable prices for it. Sky’s the limit pal, welcome to the Club.
Nomos Glashütte Club Campus 36 Cream Coral
Case Diameter: 36mm (Wears a bit larger because of the lug-to-lug)
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Case Thickness: 8.2mm
Lug-to-lug length: 47.5mm
Weight: 58g (with deployant clasp)
Lug Width: 18mm
Width at clasp: 16mm
Beat Rate: 21,600 vph/3Hz
Movement: Nomos Alpha