MeisterSinger Strikes Again With The Bell Hora Enamel

By now you should be very familiar with MeisterSinger’s signature style of indicating the time with just one hand. It has been part of the brand’s more relaxed approach to the passage of time since its launch in 2001. Although that might limit you in terms of how much you can display, MeisterSinger has brilliantly played around with the concept in various styles, colours and materials. One thing the brand is very good at is keeping it fresh, by continuously looking for new ways to adapt and combine the concept with added complexity, such as calendar indications or a very large moonphase for instance. One of the most impressive watches is the MeisterSinger Bell Hora, first introduced in 2021. This relatively accessible chiming hour watch is now presented in a handsome limited edition with a carefully handcrafted white enamel dial.

The exterior of the Bell Hora hasn’t changed for this Enamel edition, so you still get a sturdy stainless steel case of 43mm in diameter and 12.95mm in height. This sounds quite hefty on paper, but the Bell Hora needs a bit of interior space for its party trick; the hourly chime! The case is fully polished and has a sapphire crystal on both sides. The crown can be pulled out to adjust the time and is paired with a push-piece to deactivate the striking function. Pull it out and a coloured ring appears, indicating the chiming function has been disabled and the watch is in silent mode. Push it back in again, and you’re audibly reminded of the passing of every hour. The rather narrow bezel gives way to the dial as much as possible.

Speaking of which, this special edition is all about the dial, which is crafted using traditional hot enamelling techniques. Glass and oxide powders are dusted onto a base and baked in a kiln at various temperatures and durations, to create a uniform layer. Each dial is created by hand and built up of multiple layers, each individually fired. The result is a very rich, semi-gloss white surface with a subtle orange-peal texture. Just as the Bell Hora’s that preceded it, it features a snailing hour track that spirals out from the centre. This continuous fine blue line is paired with double-digit hour numerals in black in a spiralling 24-hour scale. On the outside, the minute track is finished in blue, black and red and is divided into sections for every five minutes, quarter hours and half hours. The single central hand is heat-blued and has a very classical style.

Under that lovely new enamel dial sits the familiar MS Bell movement, which uses a Sellita SW200 as a base with an in-house hour-strike module on top. The hammer and gong system is nestled between the dial and movement. It would be interesting to see if MeisterSinger can find a way to expose it without making the Bell Hora look weird (to us, the snailing dials are very much part of the watch’s attraction!). The automatic movement runs at a rate of 28,800vph and has a maximum power reserve of 38 hours. Around the back, you can see the signed rotor with a gold-coloured outer band.

The MeisterSinger Bell Hora Enamel is worn on a brown leather strap with an embossed alligator scale pattern. It’s fitted with a stainless steel double-folding buckle. Limited to just 50 pieces, this tasteful interpretation of the Bell Hora is available as of now with a retail price of EUR 5,990 incl. VAT.

For more information, please visit MeisterSinger.com