Pangaea – blue

The Pangaea is the slimmest, dressiest thing MeisterSinger makes, and the blue dial is where its typography looks best.

Named for the single landmass that preceded the continents, the Pangaea trades the graphic bluntness of the brand's larger models for a curving serif typeface and hour marks that are optically lengthened toward the center of the dial. It is time only. There is no date, no seconds, nothing but the hour numerals, the half-hour and quarter markers, and the five-minute divisions that let one needle-shaped hand be read almost to the minute. The German brand has worked this way since 2001, designing in Münster and building in Switzerland.

The deep blue dial gives that serif lettering real contrast. The 40 mm stainless steel case takes 20 mm lugs, is water resistant to 5 bar and wears a cognac strap, with the slim Sellita SW300 automatic inside, chosen because it lets the case stay thin.

It slips under a cuff and looks like a watch from an older, quieter era of design, which is precisely the intent.

Perfect for: slim dress watch buyers, blue dial formal watch seekers, admirers of classical dial typography.