We love our MeisterSingers, and own four between us, all single-handed models. Of the current range, the Neo is probably my personal favourite, for its slim elegance.
MeisterSinger have now gone one step further down the ‘slow time’ path with the Soprana N°6 (above), created in collaboration with Vincenza jewellers Soprana. The ‘6’ refers to the concept of a six hour display, which apparently harks back to a 18th century clockmaker called Giambattista Rodella, who made single-handed six hour timepieces, an example of which can be seen at the Quirinal Palace, the official residence of the Italian President.
Giovanni Battista Rodella was born in Venice in 1749 and died in Padua on 19 February 1834. He was a self-taught inventor, mechanic, instrument and clockmaker who, after having worked as clockmaker in Castelfranco, was employed as the keeper of the Specola Padua, in 1780. Rodella was a fascinatingly talented man who built precision and room clocks, pocket watches with striking mechanisms, microscopes, telescopes, surgical instruments, hydraulic machines, Pretorian tables, precision pendulum clocks and even the clock on the Tower of Piazza delle Erbe 187 in Verona.
Presidential Soprana
(photo from MeisterSinger)
MeisterSinger created a special piece unique Soprana N°6 as a gift to the Italian president to celebration the sesquicentenary of Italian unity, but if you want your own conversation-stopping single-handed six hour display watch, their regular production model is selling in Australia for AUD3,500.
[AP]
I like the look of this, and while I love wearing my MeisterSinger, but I'm not sure about a 6 hour dial.
ReplyDeleteIt might be an interesting complication (is it a complication?) but can you tell time at a glance without wearing it exclusively?
I went through a number of 24 hour dial watches before realising why I never seemed to wear them: too hard to read at a glance unless it was on my wrist for a number of days at a time. For someone that likes a different watch every day (sometimes one a day isn't enough!) this was never going to happen.
On my MeisterSinger the hand is where you'd expect it to be, but on the 6 hour dial?
Regardless, further proof that there is nothing much that hasn't already been done in the world of horology.
@NickO - I think it's pretty cool and part of me wouldn't mind having one, though in reality, as you say, it would be kind of challenging, from a practical point of view. Re: your last point - it's a rather obscure 'complication' this one, it would be interesting to know who dug it up and though about doing a modern version.
ReplyDeletehello friends,
ReplyDeletei know another german watchmaker "NEUHAUS" who offered the same watch prinziple on his webpage www.neuhaus.com . The watch is there since february 2011... So this is quite a strange coincidence ;)
The Luch brand single hand is also pretty accurate.
ReplyDelete