The Charming Old-School Spirit of the MeisterSinger Enamel Edition 1Z

With their single-handed time indications, MeisterSinger’s watches offer a refreshing change of tempo to our fast-paced, hyper-accurate digital universe. Founded in 2001 by Manfred Brassler in Münster, Germany, the brand’s inspiration resides in the sundials and single-hand tower clocks of the Middle Ages. In 2004, the brand released a special watch called the Edition 1Z. Flaunting a genuine enamel dial and a single blued steel hand, the Edition 1Z was powered by a modified Unitas 6497 pocket watch movement. Fast-forward twenty years, and MeisterSinger returns with another limited edition fitted with a modified Unitas 6498 manual-winding pocket watch movement with more classical and elegant accents on the handmade enamel dial.

Although the premise of a single hand might be equated with simple watches, MeisterSinger defies expectations and has escalated the complications ladder with everything from calendar indications to moon phases and even a chiming watch, incarnated by the Bell Hora. Style-wise, the German brand also offers plenty of choice with contemporary dials and colours, as seen in this Perigraph and more classical versions like this Pangaea Day Date. Alongside the 14 collections are the Edition models, limited editions with something special, like the Enamel 1Z we are looking at today.

Sharing a handmade enamel dial like the original Enamel 1Z of 2004, the new model embraces a far more classical and refined style. It’s worth noting that the ‘1Z’ suffix in the name refers to ‘1 Zeiger’, which is the German for ‘one hand’. Given the time and skill required to make a handmade enamel dial, these are usually reserved for high-tier brands. The process involves various steps over several days. The first consists of grinding the raw material into a fine powder, which is then applied to the copper blank. This is fired in a kiln at 800º C several times. Having discarded the rejects, only the best dials make it inside the MeisterSinger watch.

The warm, lustrous ivory-coloured enamel gives the watch a wonderful old-school look and feel. Four years ago, we covered a similar model, the MeisterSinger 366. While this one was equipped with the same pocket watch movement, the dial is white opaline and doesn’t transmit quite the same warmth or organic appeal of enamel.

Working with a specialised typeface designer, MeisterSinger uses an elegant cursive typeface for the inscriptions on the dial and a typeface that evokes the hand-painted numerals on 19^th-century pocket watches for the numerals. The hours are represented by black, double-digit Arabic numerals reinforced by a thick black line on the minutes track. The second 24-hour track is picked out with slightly smaller blue numerals and placed nearer the centre. Like other MeisterSinger single-handed watches, the black minutes track is divided into sections: five-minute intervals are indicated by a short black line; quarter hours by a longer black line with a dot on the periphery; half hours with a slightly longer and thicker line reinforced with a blue numeral 30 on the periphery of the dial. Once you get the hang of it, reading the time becomes intuitive. For example, the time represented in the image is 13:45 / 1:45.

Another delightful detail is the unusually long heat-blued arrow-tipped central hand with its solid circular counterweights. The large 43mm polished, stainless steel case has a thickness of 12.4mm with a domed sapphire crystal over the dial and a mineral crystal on the caseback. A relatively straightforward, classical case, its ample diameter allows full enjoyment of the dial and manual-winding Unitas 6498 movement.

The ETA/Unitas 6498-1 pocket watch movement has been modified for the brand’s single-hand indication. Known as a savonette or hunter-style pocket watch calibre, the large 36.6mm x 4.5mm movement features clean-cut bridges with ribbed finishings, blued screws, ruby bearings and a large balance. Beating at 18,800vph, the power reserve is of 46 hours. The watch comes with a cognac calfskin leather strap with a crocodile imprint and a double-folding clasp.

Availability & Price

The MeisterSinger Edition Enamel 1Z is limited to 24 pieces and retails for EUR 4,990. For more information, please consult meistersinger.com.