MEISTERSINGER’S REINTERPRETATION OF A DIVE WATCH WAS
INTRODUCED LAST YEAR, but the Salthora continues the brand’s
original time-telling, one-handed watch ethos introduced in 2001.
Instead of its single hour hand pointing to one of twenty-four hours
in a day, this watch hand points to one of sixty minutes in an hour.
DESIGN AND FINISH
At first, I kept searching for the hour hand, or the visual anchor on a typical
analog watch. I confess I wasn’t sure how to read the time without it. First,
find the digit at 12 o’clock, then find the minute hand and add them together.
The shift in how you read time is subtle. The case is not. It’s a big clock
tower of stainless steel that stands 14.2mm high and 43mm wide. It’s a
contemporary size and the brushed and polished beveled edges play with
the light, but not in a showy way.
The case is longer than wide, measuring 51mm from lug to lug, but it rides
well on my 7.5” wrist despite the lugs that slope down from the case. Rest the
watch on its solid case back and the lugs keep it elevated above the surface
like a crab standing on the beach.
The chunky crown guards protect the fluted, screw-down crown, which
is large and exceptionally easy to grip and operate. All these case details
reinforce its 200-meter water resistance rating, and give it a dive watch vibe.
The blue ceramic bezel is easy to grip and turn the 120 clicks one way, but
there was a little more play in them as they settled into their grooves. In
varying light, the blue bezel reflected color differently, giving the subtle
impression that the color was not matching the dial. This has no impact on
its water worthiness, but it might speak to the person who cares more about
form than function.
Although its case-size is noticeable, its weight is not. It only weighs 113
grams with its rubber-coated, waterproof leather strap. The strap is stiff at
first, but gave way to my wrist eventually. The strap has a few nice details
including a dark, blue edging and a signed, polished buckle. Meistersinger
does a good job showing you what other straps and bracelets would look
like, including the meshed stainless steel Milanese bracelet.
INNOVATION
MeisterSinger has built its line of jump hour watches from the ETA 2824-2
with hand winding and hacking, although you can’t hack a second hand that
doesn’t exist. This is not that kind of watch. The jump hour module that is
added to the base movement was exclusively developed for MeisterSinger.
It operates when the swan neck spring builds up enough tension to
THE BRUSHED AND POLISHED BEVELED
EDGES PLAY WITH THE LIGHT, BUT NOT
IN A SHOWY WAY.
make the actuating lever of the hour disk jump to the next numeral. It
accomplishes this without suddenly using the energy powering the minute
hand. This module seemingly doesn’t have any effect on the reserve power
as it continues to hover around the 38 hours of reserve while it oscillates at
28,000 vph (4hz).
LEGIBILITY
The finish on this case is subservient to the blue dial and bezel. Looking at
this watch through its scratch-resistant domed crystal is like standing on a
boat in the middle of the Caribbean on a clear day. There’s blue as far as you
can see, and it’s only punctuated by white, puffy clouds.
MeisterSinger relies on Super-LumiNova to provide the same legibility at
night. The illumination is exceptional on the bezel, minute hand, numerals
and jump-hour digit. Even though the contrasting colors and illumination
offer fine legibility, give yourself a jump hour or two to stop looking for the
hour hand. Eventually, you’ll process the dial information, which felt like I
switched online calendar view from monthly to hourly.
RARITY AND VALUE
MeisterSinger offers this watch under its Classic Plus line with three models
of the Salthora: the Meta, the Meta X, and the skeletonized Transparent. The
Meta dial colors are available in green, blue, black and anthracite with white,
red and black minute hands. The Meta X comes in black and blue dial colors
with green and white minute hands.
Weekend warriors need not look any further for a unique reinterpretation
of a dive watch. The Salthora Meta X offers the legibility, color, size and
comfort, along with the water resistance features expected in a watch you
can get wet. I see it as a highly functional and fashionable dive watch but
think it might not have some of the standard dive details tool watch folks
want. Go looking for a jump hour dive watch, and you’ll be wondering how
MeisterSinger made such a novelty priced at 3,200 Euros, or about $3,700.
See more at meistersinger.com.
WINTER 2018 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | CP