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I have to admit that this particular watch design took awhile to grow on me. I first discovered Meistersinger while browsing WatchBuys (the site where my Sinn was purchased from) and the lack of a second hand really threw me off. Months later, when the watch popped up again on another forum I was browsing, I was intrigued. The biggest asset of their single-hand face is simplicity – it’s about as clutter free as one can get. I’m assuming that the single hand also helps the ETA 2824-2 automatic movement achieve an impressive 48-hour power reserve. Meistersinger’s unusual design is influenced by sun dials and older pocket watches, all of which featured only one hand. Thus, it only tells time in 5 minute increments – the watch shown above indicates that it’s 10 minutes after 10.

For those of us who value extreme time accuracy, this watch’s method of timekeeping might not be the right choice.  But as Meistersinger points out, in the pre-industrial age clocks only told time in 15 or 30 minute increments, and that sufficed for them; this watch design is meant to encourage people to slow down and not stress over exact minutes. The concept seemed strange to me until I realized that when asked what time it is, I often round times up or down just for ease of communication (i.e. “it’s almost 9:40″).

For what it’s worth, Meistersinger also makes some modern “traditional” three-hand watches that are quite handsome. I find the single-hand design to be the most compelling of the lot, though. I don’t know if it’s something that I can personally wear, but it’s a design I can appreciate.