Pangaea – ivory

Ivory dial, brown strap, one hand, no complications. The Pangaea reduced to its essentials, which is roughly the whole point.

MeisterSinger built the Pangaea as its most elegant proposition: a slim case, a curving serif typeface and hour marks drawn to lengthen optically toward the dial's center. The German brand has been making single-hand watches in Switzerland since 2001 on a simple premise, that removing the minute and second hands changes how you relate to time rather than merely how you read it. Without hands racing around the dial, the hours pass more slowly.

On the warm ivory dial that serif lettering reads almost like print on paper. The scale beneath it is precise, with markers at the half hours, the quarters and every five minutes, so the single needle gives the time almost to the minute. The 40 mm stainless steel case has 20 mm lugs, 5 bar of water resistance and the slim Sellita SW300 automatic, on a brown strap.

Understated to the point of near invisibility on the wrist, and quietly excellent company.

Perfect for: ivory dial dress watch shoppers, slim case automatic buyers, gifts for lovers of restrained design.