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The original MeisterSinger was a small icon, a true classic. What made the watch so unmistakable at that time was its minimalist, timeless design and the single hour hand, with which the time could only be read to about five minutes. MEISTERSINGER N°01.

A reminiscence of watches of past centuries. Now the classic is back – albeit with a slight shrinkage. The original MeisterSinger comes back as N°01 with a diameter of 40mm. The perfect dream watch?

MEISTERSINGER N°01 Test
The case buttom MEISTERSINGER N°01 – Photo: WATCHDAVID®

The N°01 is a MeisterSinger through and through. It embodies exactly what the German watch manufacturer from Münster in Westphalia is supposed to make: a very noble and high-quality workmanship, a hand-wound Swiss movement with visible mechanics, a reduced dial with clean printing and the trademark, the characteristic hour hand. Does this sound like a typical MeisterSinger watch that you have seen many times before and whose special features you are now familiar with? Wrong! Because it is precisely the elegant understatement that makes this watch so special. A closer look at the details is therefore worthwhile.

A typical MEISTERSINGER N°01

The first impression is of the usual high quality. Also in the 3mm smaller version the watch does not look too dainty, but proportional to the wrist almost perfect. And this, although it is the counterpart to a typical Klunker. Apart from the great design, this is also due to the thickness, which is a maximum of 11.5mm. This is filigree, especially for a mechanical watch. Inside is a Swiss Sellita SW 210 movement – hand-wound. It’s the same one that MeisterSinger used in the original. Quality is also a top priority here. The power reserve is 42 hours. The typical, six-fold screwed, semi-circular glass back allows you to admire the individual components of the filigree movement.

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MEISTERSINGER N°01 Test
Details of MEISTERSINGER N°01 – Photo: WATCHDAVID®

The MEISTERSINGER N°01 case bottom

Also engraved in the case back is the golden MeisterSinger logo – crescent-shaped and with a dot. An interesting fact on the side: the logo as well as the name come from the music. While the logo symbolizes a Fermate (the extension of a tone), Meistersinger were bourgeois singers in the Middle Ages. But back to the watch: the sixfold screwed case back is made of polished stainless steel – Made in Germany and worldwide renowned for especially good quality. This allows the N°01 to dive up to a pressure of 5 bar, which is understandably not the point. 

True dream watches can only be recognized at second glance. MEISTERSINGER N°01

The dial is a real eye-catcher. As traditional as our big brother, “stealblue” is our colour. The special thing about it is that the dial comes in different shades of blue under different lighting conditions. In daylight and sunshine, the blue appears cool and bright, while in poor light conditions it is almost black. We like that very much! We like the watch best in combination with the light brown suede strap. The watch can also be ordered with dark crocodile-look calfskin or with a fine-meshed Milanaise bracelet. The wearing comfort is very pleasant. As usual, the stainless steel buckle of our leather bracelet bears the iconic logo of the watch manufactory. 

MEISTERSINGER N°01 Test
Open glas buttom MEISTERSINGER N°01 – Photo: WATCHDAVID®

Shrinking a watch can’t be too difficult, can it? According to MeisterSinger, however, the smaller scale presented the manufacturer with special challenges. For the transfer to the smaller scale it is not enough to design all elements smaller to fit. Pointers, markings and typography appear completely different on a smaller scale. However, in order to do justice to the large original, all elements had to be rebalanced in their design. An elaborate and lengthy design process. But this has led to the fact that the small new edition feels just like the cult model. 

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Der feine Stundenzeiger…

Right from the start, we liked the fine hour hand and the high-quality, easy-to-read printing on the original N°01. The 40mm version undoubtedly inherited these qualities. The slightly curved sapphire crystal reflects the light in an interesting way and gives the blue a very special touch. If you would like to find out more about the extraordinary way of reading time and the more relaxed sense of time that distinguishes the watch manufactory, we recommend the perigraph, which takes up the subject in more detail.

MEISTERSINGER N°01 Test
Great leather strap of the MEISTERSINGER N°01 – Photo: WATCHDAVID®

After such an impression, what else remains but to award the 40mm new edition of the MeisterSinger N°01 the seal “dream watch”? But you can only  do that at second glance, because that is decisive. The watch offers no extroverted design, has no groundbreaking features and is also not the best diver or pilot. But she doesn’t have to and doesn’t want to be. She simply likes it. The N°01 is the perfect companion for every everyday situation and every occasion. And that’s what we really want, isn’t it? Just the dream watch for life. And everything else is just for the little fun in between.

MEISTERSINGER N°01 Test
Looks so great the MEISTERSINGER N°01 – Photo: WATCHDAVID®
Meistersinger Lunascope mit goldenem Mond

Since 2001, very special mechanical wristwatches have been manufactured in the Westphalian city of Münster, Germany: They have only one single hand with a fine needle point that enables the wearer to read the time. MeisterSinger-founder Manfred Brassler and his team of 14 co-workers create their classical timepieces with this unique characteristic in the technical and cultural tradition of early watchmaking, as it were tower clocks that – ever since – needed nothing more than one single hand. Despite that one single hand, the time can be easily read in five-minute increments, because Brassler gave his watches the practical, clear readability that classical gauges and measuring instruments still have today.

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MeisterSinger is very strong within the domestic market, however the brand is also well established abroad: Barneys in New York or Le Bon Marché in Paris display the single hand watches in their stores. Today the collection includes 21 different series with over 70 watch variations, several of which were already awarded with design prizes, such as red dot Award or German Design Award.

More informations here: https://www.meistersinger.com/en

Straight to the watch: https://www.meistersinger.com/product/n01-40mm-sunburst-steelblue/

All MEISTERSINGER N°01 watches: https://www.meistersinger.com/?s=N°01&post_type=product

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Technical Details

NameMeisterSinger e N° 01

Reference numberAM3303

BrandMeisterSinger

Categoryretro watches

Price from1290 Euro

WarrantyN/A

Case Material316L stainless steel

Diameter43.00 mm

High11.50 mm

Watch GlassSapphire Crystal

Watch TypeAutomatic

Waterproof5 bar (50 m / 164 ft)

Movement NameSellita SW 210

Power Reserve42 hours

Functionshour

Dialblue

Indicesarabic indices

Bezelgrey / stainless steel

Bracelet Colorbrown

Bracelet Materialleather

Clasp316L stainless steel / pin buckle

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