I had a fascinating conversation with Bryan Westmiller of Meistersinger USA. Mr. Westmiller waxed philosophical about the changing nature of time during Coronageddon; how his employer’s single-hand watches fit the temper of the times. “A lot of people woke up to the fact that they were chained to the clock. Suddenly, exact time wasn’t so important.” Which is, of course, how Meistersinger watches roll. The new Meistersinger Urban Date TODAY LE takes that [down] to the next level . . .
The Urban Day Date “Edition Today” has quite an extraordinary way of displaying the current day of the week: In the arch-shaped aperture of the dial at 12 o’clock, instead of the English days of the week from “MONDAY” to “SUNDAY” in white lettering on a grass-green background, this model displays the word for today seven times, i.e., “TODAY”, “HEUTE”, “AUJOURD’HUI”, “VANDAAG”, “HOY”, “OGGI”, and “HODIAU” in English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, and Esperanto. Each day at midnight, the display moves to the next language and correctly shows a new today.
Esperanto? Just in case you’re wondering, wikpedia.org tells us that it’s “the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language . . . created by Polish ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887.”
The presser proclaims that the “day” window would have displayed Carpe Diem, but the company behind Dead Poets Society copyrighted the expression. JK. It wouldn’t fit. Anyway, the sentiment’s the same . . .
The message is clear: It reminds us that nothing is as important as today – the here and now – and that the wearer of the watch shouldn’t allow himself to be hurried by the passing of time, but should enjoy experiencing and making good use of the present moment.
If your wallet’s looking thin at the present moment, good news: the 40mm Urban Date Today uses a Miyota 8285 movement to keep the price down. It’s $1,295, but it’s a limited edition. So if you want a Meistersinger Urban Date TODAY you need to act . . . wait for it . . . today. Click here for your nearest MS dealer. (No commission on link.)
A philosophical watch indeed. That JK though!