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. 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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