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Originally Posted by big fra
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I think now, not later is the time to buy Nomos watches. The reason is that they just keep gaining notoriety annually, and it won't be long before their products command the same high prices that other high end watches do. I'm not keen on the aesthetics of the model you identified, but that's me...if you like the looks and I see you wearing it, I'll tell you it looks nice because it does, it's just not the looks I'd buy.
The IWC is a fine watch and there's no reason not to buy it. I'd choose a Nomos over it because it already commands those high prices I mentioned. It's not a relative bargain whereas the Nomos is. It's price will surely in the future increase too, but it will do so as a reflection of regular price increases. Whereas "marketing" and "cachet" factors exist in IWC's current price and Nomos', a extent of them in the IWC is greater. It won't be long before Nomos acts to "catch up" in that regard.
On the basis of looks alone, I think IWC is far better looking than the Nomos you identified and so it's the one I'd pick between those two specific models. One of the things I especially like about IWC's chronographs is that they are very subtlety implemented on the main watch dial so as to not produce a visually cluttered dial. That's not readily obvious from pics, but it's very obvious when you see the watch in person. The chrono sub-dials don't draw the eye when one just glances at the watch, making basic time telling easy, yet when one wants to see them they aren't hard to see.
I've often said I don't like chronos, but the IWC Portuguese was the one I'd thought I'd buy until Gallet came out with the one pictured below. Gallet, AFAIK, only ever made one non-chronograph watch, and after fulfilling the contract that gave rise to that watch, they sold the rights to the model to Marathon, so it's certain they won't make that watch again unless they buy back the rights.
I suspect most folks have never heard of Gallet. For those who are curious:
Gallet, for the most part, only make watches in response to procurement contracts given them by industrial organizations, governments, and private individuals. They've been doing that officially since the 1600s, but Humbertus Gallet began making timepieces in the 1400s.
If one collects watches and wants a Gallet, one needs to get while the getting is good -- unless one is willing to commission them to make a watch -- as the Flight Officer is a limited edition watch. The edition isn't small, but that they rarely offer a retail watch to begin with makes the size of the edition irrelevant to consider in the same way one would limited editions from companies that regularly produce consumer watches that sell at retail outlets.
All the best.