Nomadic Goes Traveling With the Fíor 555

If there’s one thing I enjoy more than discovering a brand new watch, it’s a party with food and free booze. Very occasionally the stars align and I get to experience  both in one evening.

Said evening in question was 19^th September this year when Belfast-based Nomadic Watches held a launch event for their newest creation, the Fíor 555. 

Regular readers will know we are big fans of the label here, so I was delighted to be invited along to the shindig held, very appropriately, onboard The Nomadic, the last surviving ship built by the White Star Line. 

Nomadic’s Success Story

It is almost unbelievable just how well Nomadic Watches has fared in the cutthroat world of horology since they were founded in 2021. Under the stewardship of CEO Peter McAuley, they are now established as the largest luxury watch brand on the island of Ireland and are among the fastest-growing in the whole of the U.K. 

Their two previous pieces, the Maraì 401 and the Turas 914, have been unqualified successes, focused on delivering the four key elements of any accomplished watch—style, robustness, precision and value for money.

The company now exports to 39 countries worldwide and for those of us living in Northern Ireland, you can’t go outside these days without encountering one of their adverts on a billboard or passing bus.

This latest addition to the line-up is only going to see them ascend to greater heights because it is the one we’ve all been waiting for; their first GMT.

The Launch Event

As with the Maraì and Turas, the name of Nomadic’s most recent piece encompasses two great influences for the brand and its owner. McAuley is fiercely proud of both his Irish roots and his hometown, so Fíor 555 is taken from the coordinates of Belfast itself—54°34′ North, 5°55′ West—with Fíor the Gaelic word for ‘True’, to remind wearers that no matter how far you wander, home is a constant.

The previous launch event was held in the brand’s swanky headquarters right in the heart of the city. This time around we venture a little further out into the Titanic Quarter where sits not only the spectacular Titanic Belfast exhibition center, but also the last of the ill-fated liner’s tenders, The Nomadic. Built in 1911, this is one of the boats used to transport passengers and mail to and from the great ship. Now sitting in dry dock and converted into a museum, it is the perfect location for the evening’s reveal.  

The 220’ long vessel is packed to the gunwales with press, industry leaders and loyal fans of the brand, all relishing the flowing Irish hospitality. At the appointed hour, we descend to the lower deck where Peter has arranged a rather touching surprise. It turns out the Fíor isn’t the only new watch he’s been working on. Before the main event, we get to see him present the first example of another unseen model, the Cior 928, to his mother on her 60^th birthday! A 36mm dress piece with a diamond-set bezel, it makes a wonderful precursor to the headline act.

The Fíor 555

Those of us on Nomadic’s mailing list have been drip fed details about the Fíor over the course of several weeks, so we knew to expect the long-awaited GMT model. We got a few teaser shots too, meaning we could see the basic silhouette. The one big unknown is that most essential aspect of a dual time zone watch—its bezel colors. 

With the brand’s respect for all things vintage, my money was on a good old fashioned Pepsi. I was wrong. Five times.

The unveiling presents a collection of models, four in all steel and a ‘Prestige’ two-tone with 18k gold-plated bezel and center links.

All measure 41mm, the ideal balance between wrist presence and t-shirt to tuxedo versatility; with a thickness of just 12.5mm, shirt sleeves are no problem.

Unlike the Maraì, there are no retro lug holes here, and it is also the first offering from Nomadic with crown guards, leaving the whole thing appearing an all-round more modern design than its stablemates. Water resistance remains at 200m, extremely impressive for a GMT.

The new bracelet is a suitable fit too. A Jubilee-style, five-link band called the AeroLink, with brushed outers and polished inners, it’s in that sweet spot between refined and rugged as befits a luxury tool watch. It is held in place with a MicroGlide clasp to give a perfect fit, and quick-release spring bars allow wearers to switch bracelets easily—with a 20mm diameter at the lugs, it is compatible with both the Maraì and Turas.

And so to the colorways, where there’s a commendable amount of subtlety on display. The ‘Crimson Dawn’, for example, has a dial in a sophisticated deep red, the shade mirrored on the top half of its ceramic bezel. The ‘Emerald Abyss’ is a similar setup but in a fetching green. Neither overpower but still attract the eye. 

‘The Prestige’ is an all-black model, but the steel ‘Pitch Black and Grey’ is more understated still, with its surround the most discreet bicolor you can get, à la Rolex’s latest ‘Bruce Wayne’ GMT-Master II. 

The one real overt attention-grabber is an ode to Belfast’s industrial past. ‘The Shipyard’ also has a black dial, but the lower half of its bezel comes in a blinding yellow. Anyone who has visited the city will know Samson and Goliath, the two massive yellow dock gantries which dominate the skyline and have become tourist attractions in their own right, and it is after them that the Shipyard takes its coloring. Each Fíor model has its own nod to the cranes, with bright yellow dial signature and GMT hands. 

Hour markers are a mix of dots and batons, with the 12 in Nomadic’s proprietary font and a date display as the six. Best of all, everything is lashed in X-1 Grade SuperLuminova, including the bezel numerals, meaning legibility is superb in any condition. 

And inside is the rock-solid Sellita SW330-2, driving the quickset GMT hand and lending a weekend-proof 56-hour power reserve. Accuracy is excellent, rated to +/- 6 seconds a day.

The Fíor 555 joins an ever-growing collection of first-rate watches from Nomadic, and is perhaps the most befitting model to date. A brand centered around the love of global adventure, but always with one eye on home, what could be better than a GMT.

Featured & Post Photo Credits: Nomadic Watches & Andy Callan.