Urban Day Date “Edition Today”

 From Meister Singer -

Courtesy of MeisterSinger

I NEED this watch! Time and how we measure it has taken on some pretty wacky twists this year, and while I will not be so presumptuous as to dictate what it means to you, I can tell you that I tend to relish it more.

Those of you older readers out there will remember a watch offered by Alain Silberstein known as the "Smile Day" which (curious to relate) predated the whole concept of emoticons and modified the date function with different emoticons.

Well, as the old saying goes, TODAY IS THE DAY!

MeisterSinger opted to modify their Ubran Day Date to have the day aperture at 12 o'clock always be "TODAY".  Now as a practicing Buddhist, I'm not going to lie, this speaks to me, and my desk mate  ; )

My understanding is that this is a fairly limited edition of 100 pieces that will be offered in 7 different languages - English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, and Esperanto.

Here are the pertinents -

Model Movement Diameter Case

Urban day Date TODAY Edition
Miyota 8285, automatic; 42 hours power reserve
40 mm
Stainless steel, exhibition back, water resistance 5 bar, sapphire crystal

The Urban Day Date

From MeisterSinger -

Courtesy of MeisterSinger

This one sorta' speaks to me.  I am a MeisterSinger fan from "back in the day" (that's the early oughts), and while I do feel that at the moment there are a few too many SKUs trying to offer too much, this one is one strikes just that right note.  It is still true to the original idea of a one-handed timekeeper, but it subtly adds two nice (and subtly balanced) features - a day and date indicator.

Courtesy of MeisterSinger

The case is of stainless steel and measures 40 mm in diameter. The movement is Miyota's 8285 with a boasted power reserve of 42 hours.

Courtesy of MeisterSinger

But this one, gentle reader?  This one smacks me in the face in a very positive, happy way.  As silly as this seems coming from a 52 year-old man who used to make his living writing watch advertising copy targeted at 35-55 year old men fantasizing about punching out a Nazi on Omaha Beach...
this one makes me smile.

What is it?  It's not any one thing, but several.  A nice large dial, big bold numbers, and a slightly unusual color play with a blue/grey dial, white numbers and indices alternating every so often with red ones, and red and white day and date indicators that honestly look as if they are smiling at you.

And one other "small" consideration?  I am also a social worker. It is highly unlikely that I am going to be plumping for the latest Czapek or De Bethune in the foreseeable.  It is a much more realistic purchase than what you might be reading about in the other outlets this week ; )

Courtesy of MeisterSinger

So to be clear, I am not trying to make any value judgements about your watch choices. I suspect you tune into this space because you might be looking for a different point of view. And simply put, life is too short not to be happy, and when I look at this particular version of MeisterSinger's Urban Day Date?  I am happy!

Enjoy your watches!

The Urban Day Date

From Meistersinger -

Courtesy of Meistersinger

Okay, a bit of little known Henki lore:

Once upon a time, Wendy and I were living in San Francisco.  I had  a little surprise windfall and wanted to buy a new watch.  And Francis Z. at Seregin's sold me on a hand-wound MeisterSinger watch - the one with the cream colored dial.  

In purchasing it, I am fairly confident that I was THE very first MeisterSinger owner in the US.  Round about the same time, my mother fell ill, I had to drop my job and fly to Massachusetts to look after her in her final weeks.  I was lucky, I was able to find a new job (at a dramatically lower wage) and had to sell off my meager collection of two watches - an Omega Seamaster, and my Meistersinger.  

That was a long time ago, but I have had a bit of an aching feeling ever since.  And in fairness, I realize that sounds silly.  Yes, it was a favorite, but not a family heirloom.  But in letting the watch go, I was also crossing the line from being the child to being the care giver.  Being the younger to being the older generation.  At the time I felt that I was just doing what needed to be done, what a good son was supposed to do.  But in many ways, I was leaving behind a part of my life and entering a new one.  What felt like turning a page was really ending the first volume and starting the sequel.  Seeing the Urban Day Date has definitely stirred something in me, and maybe it's time to embrace this next phase.

At any rate, for now I will check my piggy bank, as the Urban Day Date is now pulling those visceral strings!

But for those of you so inclined, here are the pertinents -

Movement:

• Miyota 8285
• Automatic
• 21 jewels
• 21600 Semioscillations per h – 3 Hz
• Power reserve 42 h

Case

• Stainless steel case with 6-screwed exhibition back
• Diameter 40 mm
• Height 13,25 mm

Glass

• Sapphire glass

Water resistance

• 5 bar