No.01 – blue

Every MeisterSinger begins here. The No.01 is the watch the company was founded on, and it is still the only one in the range you wind by hand.

Manfred Brassler started the German brand in Münster in 2001 with a deliberately contrary idea: fewer hands, not more, following the sundials and single-hand tower clocks that told time perfectly well for centuries. The No.01 carries every signature the rest of the collection inherited, including the functional typography, the continuous double-digit numerals 01 to 12, the circumferential line structure and the fine needle hand. It has been recognized with both the Red Dot and the iF Design Award.

The blue dial makes the printed scale glow white against it. Hours are the longest markers, half hours are shorter, and the finest lines divide every five minutes, so a glance reads almost to the minute. The 43 mm stainless steel case sits on a cognac strap with 20 mm lugs, is rated to 5 bar, and closes with a solid back engraved all over with the fermata, the musical symbol for a held pause that the brand uses as its emblem. Inside is a hand-wound Sellita SW210.

A daily winding ritual, on purpose.

Perfect for: hand-wound watch enthusiasts, blue dial 43 mm buyers, collectors seeking a brand's founding model.