The New MeisterSinger Bell Hora Blue & Gold

The watches by MeisterSinger are famous for having just one hand to express the idea of the slow passing of time, and the brand is well known to the design community as it received numerous awards for excelling in the field. A few years back, MeisterSinger single-handedly took the watch fans by storm when it presented the chiming Bell Hora, which featured a very much forgotten acoustic complication, sonnerie au passage. Since then, several versions of Bell Hora have been released, different only in the dial design. The Bell Hora revealed today is presented with a “medium blue” dial with gold elements.

The complication, sonnerie au passage, allows the watch to produce precisely on the hour a very soft chime that alerts the wearer to the passage of time without having to look at the dial. Unlike church bells some of us are accustomed to, the Bell Hora only rings once and indicates to its bearer that a new hour has just begun, totally en passant – as if to say, By the way, the new hour is here to pass.

Interestingly, a jumping hour module from the MeisterSinger Salthora was used to create the hour strike mechanism after some modifications. During the 60 minutes, the acoustic module accumulates the energy needed to produce just one strike on the sound fork. With a pusher above the crown at 2 o’clock, the chime of the Bell Hora can be easily switched off. A black ring on the push-piece indicates whether the watch will chime on the hour or remain silent.

The MeisterSinger Bell Hora watches come in a stainless steel case 43mm in diameter, water resistant to 50 meters, with the dial covered by a domed sapphire crystal. The distinctive feature of the new MeisterSinger Bell Hora variant is the dial. Not only is the colour different, light blue, but the digits, the hour indices and the bell that marks each watch as part of the Bell Hora collection are also gold. The single hand is standard, manometer-like; it’s a pity the brand chose not to use a finer design with an arrow pointer like in some MeisterSinger models.

The movement, the MS Bell based on Sellita 200, is automatic with 38 hours of power reserve, and it can be seen through the exhibition caseback. The MeisterSinger Bell Hora is presented on a brown leather strap, and the watch is available to purchase for EUR 3,890. It is undoubtedly one of the best brand proposals because it offers a rarely-seen complication at an excellent price.

Learn more at www.meistersinger.com.