The MeisterSinger Bell Hora Edition Notre Dame

While single-hand watches are the mainstay of German brand MeisterSinger, it would be a mistake to associate this display with simple watches. Since its foundation in 2001, MeisterSinger has sported many complications and, in a surprising turn of events, the Bell Hora. Known as a sonnerie au passage, this complication chimes on the hour, every hour. The latest chiming reference pays homage to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris with a miniature recreation of one of its rose windows on the dial. Known as the Edition Notre Dame, this 70-piece timepiece is made in collaboration with Parisian retailer Ocarat and celebrates the cathedral’s grand reopening in December. 

MeisterSinger’s approach to watchmaking is inspired by the single-hand tower clocks of the Middle Ages. Another common way of relaying the time before mechanical clocks became household items was with bells chiming from clock towers. The Bell Hora, introduced in 2021, combines both with its single-hand indication of the hours accompanied by a chiming mechanism ringing out the hours.

Considered a masterpiece of Gothic art, Notre Dame has three magnificent rose windows on the cathedral’s north, south, and west façades. Although the stained glass windows survived the devastating fire of April 2019, they are being restored and will flood the cathedral with their vibrant colours when it reopens on 8 December 2024.

In a departure from the more understated and minimalist dials of earlier Bell Hora references, the Edition Notre Dame is beautifully decorated with a dark blue sunburst background surmounted by a sandstone-coloured dial. The sandstone dial features milled-out areas to recreate the complex tracery of Notre Dame’s 13^th-century stained glass rose windows, evoking the overlapping petals of a rose. To allow the filigree tracery the room it deserves, the blue printed hours and minutes are positioned on the dial’s periphery and indicated by a white central hand with circular counterweights and a red tip.

Like other editions of the Bell Hora, the stainless steel case has a 42mm diameter and a thickness of 12.95mm with brushed flanks and polished surfaces. The pusher above the crown lets you silence the chiming mode by pulling it out to reveal the black ring; if inserted, the watch will chime on the hour.

The reverse reveals a second rose window on the exhibition caseback, revealing parts of the automatic movement. The chiming mechanism is sandwiched between the dial and base Sellilta SW200 movement with a 38-hour power reserve. MeisterSinger used its jumping hour module as a base for the sonnerie au passage chiming mechanism. Instead of producing the jump of an hour disc, the movement was modified to trigger the hammer every passing hour and strike the sound fork located behind the dial.

The Edition Notre Dame is limited to 70 pieces. It comes on a high-quality cowhide strap tanned with oak bark and dyed by hand. Available at Ocarat in Paris and MeisterSinger, the watch retails for EUR 4,599 (incl. tax). More information at Meistersinger.com.