The new MeisterSinger bronze
No. 3 and bronze Metris.
MeisterSinger Perigraph
Bronze Caseback
MANY WATCH COMPANIES HAVE UNIQUE BRAND ATTRI-
BUTES THAT ARE LEVERAGED TO GARNER MARKET DIS-
TINCTION, IN A QUEST TO BECOME A NOUN OR A VERB,
THE HOLY GRAIL OF PRODUCT ADOPTION. THINK OF THE
MOON WATCH (OMEGA), THE TANK WATCH (CARTIER), OR
THE “HEY, I JUST GOT MY FIRST RAISE WATCH,” (ROLEX
AIR KING). MEISTERSINGER BRINGS ITS OWN HIGHLY
IDENTIFIABLE TAKE ON TIMEKEEPING TO THIS GROUP,
DESIGNED AROUND THE CONCEPT OF PROVIDING JUST
ENOUGH INFORMATION TO MINIMIZE THE NECESSITY OF
MAINTAINING A GRASP ON TIME: A SINGLE-HAND WATCH.
I met up with John van Steen, MeisterSinger’s managing partner and
director sales, at the tony International Mall in Tampa, Florida, the location
of Old Northeast Jewelers, owned by the legendary Jeff Hess, the brand’s
American distributor.
Steen is tall, affable, and comports himself in a uniquely European manner
along the lines of Bond villain Auric Goldfinger. Fortunately, he was here to
present and sell, not cut anyone in half with a laser beam.
Van Steen explained the philosophy behind the relatively new (founded in
2001) Swiss watch company.
“We are selling the most precious watches in the world – on a MeisterS-
inger time is passing by slower. You cannot buy time – if you are a billionaire
or living on the street you have the same time. Quality of life is not measured
in money but in moments. People are so busy in their daily lives hunting for
those moments. As a group we are looking for an occasion – and we hit a
goal – then move to the next goal. We are constantly rushing without asking
a moment for ourselves. Our watch extends those moments by taking the
pressure of the exact minute out of the equation.”
IN SHORT, MEISTERSINGER MAKES TIME FUZZY.
The face of a MesterSinger brings Van Steen’s logic to life. The twelve-hour
dial is divided by 144 markers, each one representing five minutes. There
is no “Swiss made” printed on the dial, and most models don’t bear a date
indicator, because, “Readability of the time is the most important thing to us.
Swiss made is on the case back where we have the space,” says van Steen.
I asked van Steen which watches in his 2019 collection represent the
essence of the company’s slow time philosophy and he handed me a bronze-
cased model No. 3, the most popular watch in their lineup. The No. 3 has a
43mm polished bronze case, unique in that most bronze watches are dull.
The back of the case is stainless steel, because no one wants a green wrist.
It features either an ETA 2824-2 or Sellita 200-1, which honestly makes little
difference, as the Sellita is a respectable clone of the ETA. A domed sapphire
crystal that magnifies the dial.
MeisterSinger has rendered three models in bronze: the Metris, the No. 03,
and the Perigraph.
Other standouts in the collection include the Salthora Meta X, with a
proprietary “jumping hour” movement that literally skips to the next hour
every sixty minutes (you just have to see it). For those who want to attempt
to figure out the time as well as the day and date on a single hand watch,
there’s the Pangaea Day Date, a handsome 40mm watch with a variety of
dial treatments.
The entire company concept and resulting treatments reminded me of the
Scandinavian design movement, that embraced minimalist functionality in a
simple manner, with no distracting details or ornateness to detract from the
elegance of the core form. If you’re a collector, with a case full of luxury sport
watches, highly complicated high-end watches and intricate novelty watches,
there is room for a watch designed for a slower mood. Think of the MeisterS-
inger as a reprieve from the overburdened designs littering the showcases of
every watch store in the world, a smooth pinot noir in a world full of Franken-
cocktails. Slow down, take a breath and forget about time, for a second.
If I were to buy just one of these watches I’d opt for the Perigraph, ref.
AM1017BR, in bronze with an exhibition back. Why? At 43mm, it’s a nice,
largish (but not quite Hublot-ish) size, is made of a unique material, has a
very attractive blue dial with red accents and some interesting complications,
a Swiss movement and at around $2,200, provides a lot of wrist candy for
the money.
Stay fuzzy, my friends.
SUMMER 2019 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 65