Introducing The MeisterSinger Bell Hora Model Notre Dame

Whereas single-hand watches are the mainstay of German mannequin MeisterSinger, will probably be a mistake to affiliate this present with straightforward watches. Since its foundation in 2001, MeisterSinger has sported many points and, in a shocking flip of events, the Bell Hora. Typically often called a ringing as a result of it passesthis complication chimes on the hour, every hour. The newest chiming reference pays homage to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris with a miniature recreation of one in every of its rose dwelling home windows on the dial. Typically often called the Model 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 methodology to watchmaking is impressed by the single-hand tower clocks of the Middle Ages. One different frequent strategy of relaying the time sooner than mechanical clocks turned dwelling items was with bells chiming from clock towers. The Bell Hora, launched in 2021, combines every with its single-hand indication of the hours accompanied by a chiming mechanism ringing out the hours.

Thought-about a masterpiece of Gothic art work, Notre Dame has three magnificent rose dwelling home windows on the cathedral’s north, south, and west façades. Although the stained glass dwelling home windows survived the devastating hearth of April 2019, they’re being restored and might flood the cathedral with their vibrant colours when it reopens on 8 December 2024.

In a departure from the additional understated and minimalist dials of earlier Bell Hora references, the Model Notre Dame is fantastically adorned with a darkish blue sunburst background surmounted by a sandstone-coloured dial. The sandstone dial choices milled-out areas to recreate the difficult tracery of Notre Dame’s 13^th-century stained glass rose dwelling home 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 spherical counterweights and a crimson tip.

Like totally different 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 components of the automated movement. The chiming mechanism is sandwiched between the dial and base Sellilta SW200 movement with a 38-hour vitality reserve. MeisterSinger used its leaping hour module as a base for the ringing as a result of it passes chiming mechanism. Instead of producing the bounce of an hour disc, the movement was modified to set off the hammer every passing hour and strike the sound fork located behind the dial.

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