The German Bauhaus School?which ran an aggressively futuristic design agenda from 1919 until 1933, when the Nazis forced its closure?will turn 100-years-old in 2019. To celebrate, Nomos has issued three limited edition Tangente watches that pay tribute to the stripped down, post-Victorian aesthetics ushered in by The Bauhaus. Nomos is offering these watches in three primary colorways and with 33-, 35-, and 38-millimeter cases. Just 100 of each model are available, for a total of 900 pieces.Nomos cites artist Paul Klee as the inspiration for the dial colors. It?s not hard to see the connection to Klee?s Bauhaus period, with the dial?s ?sketch paper? background and thin primary-color outer ring echoing his series of ?guardian angels? drawn as the Nazi threat was mounting in the early 1930s. The Nazis singled Klee out, the Gestapo sacked his house, forced his removal from his teaching position, and he and his family emigrated to Switzerland toward the end of 1933. The historical and artistic associations add a compelling?if somewhat chilling? gravitas to these Tangentes which, otherwise, appear quite playful and innocent. “In Engelshut” (In the Angel’s Care), 1931, is Klee?s most famous guardian angel drawing, and it now lives at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Under the sapphire crystal hover black anodized hands, and all markers are also in black, creating a striking yet muted dial that?s fully in keeping with The Bauhaus School?s anti-bling aes...