The Charming & Chiming MeisterSinger Bell Hora – NL Edition

MeisterSinger is famous for its single-hand watches, but one hand doesn’t necessarily mean simple. Take the Bell Hora, for example, fitted with a sonnerie au passage of chiming hour complication. Usually the domain of high-end watches, the Bell Hora Sonnerie au Passage retails for under EUR 4k and looks unlike anything else in its genre. Having appeared in a couple of dial colours, the Bell Hora is now out to woo its Dutch fans with a limited edition for the Netherlands of 50 pieces with a distinguished green look.

This special edition for the Dutch market comes with an opaline green dial with a fine sunburst finish and features the signature engraved snailed motif that supports the 24-hour numerals (on a double scale). Like all MeisterSinger models, all numerals are double digits to balance them out, a signature touch. It might seem a little confusing at first, but the hours are clearly indicated with a double-digit and a thick white marker, and the minutes are represented by shorter white markers with slightly longer and wider quarter and half hours. Being a single-hand watch, the white central hand is exceptionally long and thin, reaching all the way to the peripheral minute track.

Housed in a polished 43mm stainless steel case with a height of 13mm and 50m water-resistance, the crown and pusher are situated on the left, with the large time-setting crown at 9 o’clock and a smaller on/off pusher to put the Bell Hora in silent mode. The position of the crown on the left is a signature feature of almost all MeiseterSinger special editions for the Netherlands. If you choose to disengage the chiming function, the pusher reveals a black mark to remind you to reactivate the chimes – or not.

To keep costs in check, MeisterSinger’s Bell Hora relies on a Sellita SW200 base calibre with a chiming module developed by the brand and based on the existing jumping hour module for the Salthora. Although there is a sapphire window on the caseback, you can’t see the striking module as it is sandwiched between the base movement and the dial. The chiming module was based on MeisterSinger’s jumping hour module and modified to trigger a striking hammer to sound every hour instead of the jump of an hour disc. The movement beats at 4Hz and delivers 38 hours of power reserve.

Another distinguishing factor is the environmentally friendly cork strap from Portugal. This eco-friendly material can be harvested several times a year without cutting down the tree and is lightweight, waterproof and comfortable to wear. The Bell Hora NL Edition is limited to 50 pieces and retails for EUR 3,790.

For more information, please visit Meistersinger.com.