Neo – white/gold

White dial, gold-colored numerals, blue strap. The Neo in its most classically dressed form.

MeisterSinger has been making single-hand watches in Switzerland to German designs since 2001, and the Neo is the line that pares that idea back to a 1960s dress-watch shape. The case rim is narrow, the sapphire crystal is domed, and the current generation exists because that crystal replaced the model's original plexiglass on a new case, which also took water resistance from 3 to 5 bar.

Here the crisp white ground makes the gold-toned double-digit numerals the dial's whole personality. Between them runs the five-minute track the brand's reading method depends on: the single needle hand points to the hour, and its exact position between numerals shows how much of that hour has gone. The 36 mm stainless steel case uses 18 mm lugs, closes with a solid back, is rated to 5 bar and arrives on a blue strap, with a Sellita SW200 automatic inside and no date to interrupt the layout.

Formal without being stiff, and small enough to wear with a jacket and forget about.

Perfect for: white and gold dress watch shoppers, wedding and occasion watch buyers, admirers of understated 1960s design.