No.03 – ivory

Warm ivory, black type, an exhibition caseback and one hand. The No.03 in 38 mm makes its case with very little.

Where MeisterSinger's founding No.01 is wound by hand behind a solid back, the No.03 winds itself and shows you how, through a sapphire window over the rotor. The dial language is shared: functional typography, continuous double-digit numerals, a line structure that runs the full circumference, and a needle hand long enough to reach the outer track. The model has been honored with a Good Design Award, and the German brand has been designing in Münster and building in Switzerland since 2001.

This 38 mm version is its own watch rather than a shrunken 43. It takes 18 mm lugs, wears a brown strap, is rated to 5 bar, and runs the slim Sellita SW300 automatic. There is no date, so the ivory dial stays symmetrical, with the five-minute divisions doing the fine work that lets the single hand be read almost to the minute.

The gentlest entry into single-hand watchmaking, and the one that suits a smaller wrist best.

Perfect for: ivory dial automatic buyers, smaller-wrist watch shoppers, first single-hand watch purchases.