IntroducingThe Nodus Contrail GMT 'Evergreen' and Duality II 'Drift Blue'

Los Angeles-based Nodus watches earned coverage on this site a few times in the past for their affordable and fun releases. They're back again with two new models that come in well under $1,000 (before tax): the Nodus Contrail GMT and Duality II Drift Blue. Both are purpose-built watches that, despite their price tag, don't sacrifice style.

First up is the new Contrail GMT "Evergreen," a compact 40.5mm by 11.8mm 316L stainless steel GMT with hours, minutes, seconds, date, and a "traveler" or "flyer" GMT that allows the independent jumping of the hour hand. That's powered by the Miyota 9075 movement, with 42 hours of power reserve, regulated in-house to ±8 seconds per day. The watch has a bi-directional 48-click bezel with a luminous sapphire insert in green and white, matching the bright sunburst "Everglade" green dial. The GMT hand is yellow (making this a great Green Bay Packers watch, coming from a cheesehead himself), and the watch is delivered on a 20-16mm tapered flat link bracelet. It also has a big knurled crown protected by decently sized crown guards.

The Duality II "Drift Blue," below, brings the brand's slightly more vintage dual-crown diver to a more modern design language. Replacing the hybrid sandwich dial, the brand has a new matte blue dial with applied indices and an internal rotating bezel. The water resistance is 300m, making this a true dive-capable watch. The brushed and polished stainless-steel case measures 40mm but measures 1.60mm thinner than its predecessor (11.50mm vs 13.10mm). A box sapphire crystal gives a vintage effect.

The Nodus Contrail GMT will retail for $825, and the Duality II Drift Blue will retail for $800 when they go on sale on Friday, Aug 15, 2025, at 9 AM PST on the Nodus website.

There's a lot of price sensitivity these days, especially with new concerns over tariffs. This is going to be a great opportunity for a brand like Nodus to step into the "itch-scratching" category of value propositions. While the Miyota movements aren't the most highly regulated watches, they're also workhorses that fit perfectly for releases like these, and the brand has regulated the movements to a higher accuracy than they are delivered at, which is another value addition. I particularly like the vintage styling of the Contrail's flat link bracelet, elongated case shape, and the sapphire bezel that evokes the old Rolex 6542 bakelite GMT.

Brand: Nodus
Model: Contrail GMT; Duality II Drift Blue

Diameter: 40.5mm (GMT); 40mm (Duality II)
Thickness: 11.8mm (GMT); 11.5mm (Duality II)
Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel
Dial Color: Green sunburst (GMT); Matte Drift Blue dial and bezel (Duality II)
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Swiss Super-LumiNova® BGW9 Grade A
Water Resistance: 200m (GMT); 300m (Duality II)
Strap/Bracelet: Flat-Link 20mm-16mm taper (GMT); 20mm-16mm taper (Duality II); both with Proprietary Adjustable Clasp Module clasp and quick-release springbars

Caliber: Miyota 9075 (GMT); Miyota Cal. 9015 (Duality II)
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, and traveler GMT (GMT); Hours, minutes, seconds, date (Duality II)4
Power Reserve: 42 hours (GMT); 41 hours (Duality II)
Winding: Automatic
Chronometer Certified: No
Additional Details: 46.6mm lug-to-lug with 20mm lug width (GMT); 48mm lug-to-lug with 20mm lug width (Duality II)

Price: $825 (GMT); $800 (Duality II)
Availability: Available for sale on Friday Aug 15, 2025, at 9 AM PST
Limited Edition: No

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