MeisterSinger Bell Hora
The MeisterSinger Bell Hora pairs the brand’s single-handed method of imparting time with an interesting complication, the ‘Sonnerie au passage’. This new chiming model, scheduled for official release on the 8th April, is beautifully designed and has already received a Red Dot award. Angus Davies has spent the last few days wearing this timepiece and shares his thoughts.
Like many watch obsessives, I constantly dream of making new acquisitions, especially purchasing models equipped with complications. My ultimate horological fantasy would be to own a Grand Sonnerie.
Chiming watches
In bygone times, before electric street lighting was commonplace, it was difficult to read the dial of a watch. The minute repeater allowed the owner, on demand, to hear the time through a series of chimes. Normally, a minute repeater is equipped with two gongs and two hammers. After the chiming sequence is actuated, usually with a slide on the side of the case, a single hammer strikes a specific gong a number of times to impart the hours (low note). The quarters are proclaimed by both hammers striking their respective gong, albeit they are slightly staggered (low note and high note). Finally, the minutes are announced with one hammer, again striking one gong (high note).
To perform this mellifluous sequence, the movement is equipped with elaborately shaped racks, cams, snails and wheels. Often a centrifugal governor is fitted to ensure all notes of the chiming sequence are optimally spaced apart. Making the gongs alone can take two or three weeks and necessitates using steel wire, heating it and quenching it repeatedly. This process is shrouded in mystery with each artisan having their own secrets. Indeed, in the past, one Maison reputedly quenched its gongs in horse urine in order to harden the steel. The complex and protracted making of a minute repeater is inevitably reflected in its sale price, often a six-figure sum.
A Grand Sonnerie chimes the hours and quarters in passing, or ‘en passant’. The complication is often combined with a Petite Sonnerie which merely chimes the hours en passant. A discreet lever allows the wearer to switch between both of these modes. The Grande Sonnerie will usually repeat the hour every quarter, while the hour and quarter strikes can be repeated on demand.
Some Grand Sonneries incorporate a minute repeater, allowing the wearer to hear the hours, quarters and minutes, again on demand. It should come as no surprise to learn that Grand Sonneries have a tendency to cost more than ‘regular’ minute repeaters. Indeed, when the esteemed Maison Patek Philippe unveiled its Reference 6301P last year, equipped with three gongs and three hammers, the launch price was 1.25M CHF (RRP as at 11.11.2020).
Alarm watches
Sadly, unless I suddenly discover untold riches buried beneath my rose garden, I will probably have to settle for a life devoid of Grande Sonneries and minute repeaters. At this point, you may ask if there are any more affordable watches that engage aurally with its wearers. Well, an alarm function has been a popular complication for many years, however, they are intended to emit a shrill noise, loud enough to wake their sleeping owners. While Grande Sonneries and minute repeaters emit dulcet tones, an alarm watch screams at the wearer until they capitulate and get out of bed.
Although the aforementioned high complications resonate with me (pun intended), I am too old to be mithered by alarms, deadlines or rigid schedules. Luckily, MeisterSinger’s latest creation, the Bell Hora, provides a suitable alternative.
Sonnerie au passage
The new MeisterSinger Bell Hora chimes once every hour. The single note is audible but not intrusive. Having worn a press sample for a number of days, it has proved to be a useful aide-memoire. However, most of all, it has elicited a smile on my face and delivered a cathartic distraction from the hubbub of modern-day life.
The idea of pausing and reflecting is at the heart of the company’s culture. MeisterSinger is not fixated on nanoseconds, but rather moments. Its watches are precise, but with just one lone hand enunciating the time everything feels a little more relaxed.
MeisterSinger has equipped the Bell Hora with a base Sellita SW 200-1 and a module for generating the lone strike on the hour. Linked to the motion works, a hammer strikes a ‘sound spiral’ producing a clear, exquisite chime. This latter component is far simpler to make than the gongs within a minute repeater and, by default, this is reflected in the sale price, a subject I will return to later.
When purchasing a Grande Sonnerie or minute repeater, the watch manufacturer will provide a resonance holder, often formed of wood. When the watch is placed on the resonance holder, its rich sound is accentuated. I found that I could achieve a similar effect when I placed the MeisterSinger Bell Hora on a wooden table, a fact future owners should note. Never forget, this watch is meant to sing. Indeed, the brand from Münster has always appreciated the importance of sound. Even the company’s name has musical overtones and its logo, a ‘fermata’, is a musical articulation mark, indicating a pause.
However, there are occasions in life when silence is essential. Therefore, a pusher at 2 o’clock allows the wearer to arm the hourly chime or instruct the watch to assume a monastic hush. When the pusher is pulled out, the chime is switched off, indicated by a black circlet on the pusher. Personally, when wearing the watch, I preferred to press the pusher fully home and enjoy the sound of the hourly strike.
The dial
Not only does the MeisterSinger Bell Hora chime beautifully, it also delivers a plethora of additional attributes.
My press sample sported a blue sunburst dial. The brand also offers a ‘natural ivory’ option and, to be honest, that would be my preferred choice if Mrs Davies was thinking of a suitable birthday present.
While the Bell Hora is a new creation, to be officially launched on the 8th April, it subscribes to MeisterSinger’s well-proven design language. By way of validating this comment, I must point out that the brand has won many awards over the years, all recognising the firm’s notable design prowess. In fact, just in the last few days, prior to the Bell Hora’s public unveiling, the Bell Hora has received a Red Dot award.
One feature found on all MeisterSinger models is the use of double-digit numerals to mark the hours. The Bell Hora upholds this theme but also features 24 values on the dial. At first glance it looks like the hour markers are positioned on two concentric tracks, however, closer inspection reveals that the indexes are actually arranged in a gentle spiral. It’s a subtle detail, but it is the smallest details that often enrich the ownership experience. Likewise, the dial is embossed with an understated motif.
The combined hour and minute track is marked with crisp white strokes of varying length, each positioned 5-minutes apart. In my professional capacity, I have worn several MeisterSinger models and have become very familiar with reading the brand’s dials. Nevertheless, I appreciate some readers may remain a tad cautious about the unusual single-hand design. However, rest assured that with only a brief period of familiarisation the dial of a MeisterSinger proves intuitive to use.
The case
Measuring 43mm in diameter, the Bell Hora’s stainless steel case proffers much wrist presence. The bezel, upper and lower lug surfaces and the caseback are all highly polished, while the caseband, including the flanks of the lugs, is satin-finished. This blend of finishes endows the case with a harmonious appearance.
The MeisterSinger Bell Hora is fitted with an exhibition caseback affording views of its self-winding movement.
My press sample was supplied on a Cognac leather strap, enriched with a crocodile grain and tone-on-tone stitching, paired with a steel folding clasp.
The movement
At MeisterSinger’s headquarters in Münster, the firm designs its watches in-house. In fact, the company’s founder, Manfred Brassler, has designed virtually all of the brand’s models. Quite simply, ‘design’ is at the heart of this company’s paradigm.
However, MeisterSinger is not purely about style, it delivers substance with sublime habillage and Swiss movements. The luxury marque has turned to Sellita for this model’s movement, a Swiss company that delivers impressive quality at keen prices.
The Sellita SW 200-1 has a frequency of 28,800 vph (4Hz) and the movement contains 26 jewels. The chime is produced with MeisterSinger’s module, the MS Bell. Assuming the mainspring is fully wound, the watch will run autonomously for 38 hours.
Interestingly, while some chiming watches quaff energy, the MeisterSinger Bell Hora merely sips a soupçon of power every hour as it chimes just once. This energy is usually replenished within 60 minutes of wearing the watch courtesy of the oscillating mass which, incidentally is partially adorned with Côtes de Genève motif.
Closing remarks
On a rainy day, I sometimes think life is a series of bitter disappointments. I am older than I want to be, my trousers are getting increasingly tighter and my hair is receding with alacrity. But most of all, I recognise that some objects of beauty are beyond my financial grasp. My dream of owning a Grande Sonnerie or even a minute repeater will undoubtedly always remain just a fantasy.
The MeisterSinger Bell Hora does not purport to be a Grande Sonnerie or masquerade as an exemplar of Haute Horlogerie, however, what it does, it does very well. The watch displays time with an accompanying soundtrack. There is no need to look at the watch to know the hour, the sweet-sounding chime often says enough.
While I never predicted the release of this new model, the lone strike every hour seems consistent with the brand’s musical associations and its notably relaxed persona. Indeed, since its inception 20 years ago, a milestone the brand is obviously celebrating, MeisterSinger has invited clients to view time differently.
I was 50 before I recognised the futility of rushing everywhere. Indeed, as I grow older I cherish time and view it as a means of sharing moments with those I love. Perhaps wearing a MeisterSinger is good for your health, but one thing is certain, this watch delivers excellent readability, an attractively executed case and an impressive quality-price ratio. Most of all, the MeisterSinger Bell Hora makes me smile every hour and when you’re my age, that’s a good thing.
Further reading
https://www.meistersinger.com/
Video
Technical specification
- Model: MeisterSinger Bell Hora
- Case: Stainless steel; diameter 43 mm; sapphire crystal to front and exhibition case back
- Functions: Hours and minutes indicated with one hand; hourly chime – ‘Sonnerie au Passage’
- Movement: MS Bell, Sellita SW 200-1 base; self-winding movement; frequency 28,800 VpH (4Hz); 26 jewels; power reserve 38 hours
- Stap: Cognac leather strap paired with a steel folding clasp.
- Price: €3490 (RRP as at 6.4.2021)