Meistersinger 2017

Meistersinger serves up a mixed bag of commercial bankers and a bonkers diver watch

Mesistersinger’s 2017 collections have a continuity to former best-sellers that retailers will appreciate, although its Salthora Meta X may be a tougher sale, WatchPro managing editor Rob Corder suggests.

The slim, flat Neo family, which is already popular as a unisex watch in its 36mm case could reach a more masculine metropolitan customer with a new 40mm model called the Neo Plus.

Meistersinger, which is famous for its watches presenting the time using a single hand, says it has listened to customers who have been pushing for a larger edition of the Neo, and the watch is immediately familiar in the hand.

The Neo Plus is priced to sell at £1195 and comes in a contemporary mix of colours including black on grey, cream on brown and white on blue.

The Circularis Power Reserve is at the top end of the Meistersinger line up. It comes with a hand-wound or automatic mechanical movement that offers 120 hours of power thanks to twin mainspring barrels.

The 2017 Circularis has a power reserve indication on the single-hand dial. It is an added complication on the famously minimalist dial, but immediately shows off the 43mm watch’s mechanical credentials without making it over-cluttered.

It will retail for £4995, which brings it into a highly competitive space up against major Swiss watchmakers, but the unique attractions of Meistersinger’s design and single-hand dials will make it stand out.

The Salthora Meta X is a misstep from Meistersinger. The brand, as far as the UK is concerned, is metropolitan, so the addition of a diver’s bezel is brave.

Meistersinger likens the watch to a family SUV car – not fully off-road-ready, but a little more rugged than the towncar.

The positioning is confused, even in Meistersinger’s description. The watch, the brands says, is “for people who don’t want to have to worry about their watch, whether on a country outing in the rain or playing sports on the beach – whether measuring exactly how long they’ve been lying in the sun with the precisely rotatable bezel, how long the half-time break is, or when standing in line to buy opera tickets.”

I’m not convinced, and at £2995, the price is too high as well.

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