Perigraph – ivory

Odd dates appear as numerals. Even dates appear as index markers. Both live on a ring that turns in the middle of the dial, and a fixed red arrow at 12 o'clock tells you which one is today. The MeisterSinger Perigraph is the most literal date display in the catalogue.

MeisterSinger has made single-hand watches from Münster since 2001, designed in Germany and made in Switzerland, and the Perigraph is where the idea meets a real complication. It is not a window and not a partial aperture: the date ring is fully open, rotating concentrically, jumping instantly at midnight. One heat-blued hand handles the time against a five-minute scale.

Ivory suits this layout better than almost anything else. The warm, low-contrast ground lets the black numerals of the rotating ring sit forward without glare, and the brown strap on 20 mm lugs completes a classic combination. The case is 43 mm stainless steel, rated 5 bar, with a Sellita SW200 automatic inside.

A generous, old-fashioned-looking watch that turns out to be doing something no conventional dial does.

Perfect for: ivory and cream dial watch buyers, collectors of unusual date mechanisms, wearers of larger classic automatics.