Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Review of Junghans Meister Driver Chronoscope Automatic Chronograph


Model # 027/3684.00

Brand/Model: Junghans Meister Driver Chronoscope
Movement:  Swiss automatic w/ chronograph module
Material:  stainless steel case and leather strap
Complications: chronograph timing up to 30 minutes in 1/5 second increments
Price:  MSRP $2,095 USD


 Plenty of photos follow the review. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Here’s one of those watch brands that flies under most people’s horological radar in the 21st century but a brand that has a long, storied and real watchmaking heritage – Junghans (pronounced ‘Yo-hans’).  Based in Schramberg, which is part of the Eastern Black Forest, Junghans Uhren GmbH was at one time Germany’s (and the world’s) largest wristwatch and clock manufacturer. 

The company has been making timepieces since 1861 and today manufactures a broad range of unique, high-quality mechanical and quartz watches that have great design elements, renown German precision and pricepoints that make them accessible to many watch collectors the world over.  They were also a leader in developing the first radio-controlled wristwatches for ultimate timekeeping precision in the early 1990s.

The company’s web site is a treasure trove of information and is easy and intuitive to navigate.  I suggest anyone interested in learning more about Junghans that they spend some quality time on their site.  I certainly enjoyed my visit and learned more about this special brand.

Junghans also has a long association with automobiles and that brings us around to the Meister Driver Chronoscope model being reviewed here.  The son (Arthur) of the company’s founder loved cars and purchased a Daimler test car for personal use in 1892.  Being a car guy myself, I can fully appreciate Junghans affiliation with the automobile.

Arthur’s automotive adventures begat friendships with such early automotive luminaries as Maybach, Daimler and Bosch and Arthur even hosted these gents at his villa where they developed many early technological ideas.  I’d loved to have been a fly on the wall at those
tête-à-têtes!

Junghans designed the Meister Driver Chronoscope with elements that mimic many early automotive features.  The double arabics on the dial harken back to early automotive speedometers, as well as the attractive two-tone colors seen on the dial.

The 1932 Maybach DS 8 Zeppelin was the actual car used as the design inspiration for the Meister Driver Chronoscope.  Junghans even went so far as to have the dark brown strap resemble automobile interior colors and the perforated inner lining of the strap to resemble classic car seating surfaces.  Talk about attention to detail!

The design cues mentioned above are what drew me to this watch and since I had been interested in the Junghans brand for quite some time, I thought there would be no better model in their lineup to begin my association with them.

The Meister Driver Chronoscope is a bi-compax chronograph design (two subdials on the watch face in addition to the main hour and minute hands) and is a style favored by many watch collectors.  One thing to note about this watch is that it feels relatively lightweight in design and construction.  This is not to mean ‘light’ as in ‘cheap’, but rather, ‘light’ as in ‘precision’ and ‘fineness.’  Not every watch has to have the heft and look of a chunky diver or an oversized pie-pan 48mm wrist appendage.  Near perfect proportions are a big part of the allure of this model Junghans.

The stainless steel case is fully polished with a bit of a vintage look to it.  The case measures 40.6mm in diameter; 43.2mm including the crown.  The signed crown itself measures a super nice 5.9mm across.  Thank you, Junghans, for making a crown that is slightly larger than expected on a watch this size while not looking out of place.  I enjoy larger crowns for easy of winding and setting, as I always give my automatic watches a full winding prior to wearing them.

Case thickness on the Meister Driver Chronoscope is a somewhat surprising (on the thinner side) 13mm, surprising because this watch carries a chronograph module, which usually adds noticeable thickness to the base movement.  The caseback is a display type secured by four screws and shows off the decorated automatic movement with signed Junghans rotor.

The chronograph pushers are oval in shape and since this watch has a chronograph module inside, the pushers sit a bit higher on the case side in relation to the crown.  This is to be expected, but due to the pushers oval shape, the appearance of the spacing differential is minimized.

The lugs are the somewhat odd 21mm spacing, which makes sourcing correct fitting aftermarket straps difficult, but not impossible.  You could always put a 20mm strap on (too loose, I hate the gaps) or squeeze a 22mm strap in, but then you get stiffness, binding and bunching.  Luckily, I find the stock strap to be perfect, so no need to change straps on this one.

The lugs are fairly fine in their execution and curve down at a nice angle to hug the wrist better.  Overall fit and finish of the case, crown (signed with the Junghans logo) and caseback is of a high standard with nothing out of place or misaligned.

The Meister Driver Chronoscope is factory rated for a very modest 3 bar of water resistance, so best not to get this watch wet in any way.  A higher water resistance spec would be appreciated.

The real magic of this watch is the dial.  As previously mentioned, the design is meant to recall an early automotive speedometer in both the layout and look of the arabics and with the two-tone color scheme.  To me, both of these design elements are perfectly executed here.

Some may not care for the enlarged ‘double arabics’ indicating minutes on the dial, with very small hour arabics on the outside track, but I appreciate the uniqueness of them.  The arabics have a great art-deco flavor about them and are luminous to boot.  There is no ‘15’ or ‘45’ arabics on the dial, as the subdials impinge on the arabic track, leaving no room to elegantly include arabics.  Instead, a small luminous dot is at the 3 and 9 position instead, which works perfectly. 

The double arabics and main hour and minute hands are luminous, glowing a strong green in the dark.  Lume quality is rated excellent and is evenly applied with no weak spots or graininess (see photo).

The hands are clean sword style, black with inset lume.  The chronograph subdial and the subseconds hands are also black, as is the center chrono seconds hand.  All the subdial printing is done in black, with the subdials slightly recessed on the dial.

The dial is super clean in its layout, with minimal printing (again, thank you Junghans), with the Junghans name and logo below the 12 and ‘chronoscope’ above the 6 position.  A small ‘Made in Germany’ sneaks in on the bottom of the dial between the 25 and 35 arabics.

The dial is finished with lacquer, which adds a fineness and slight shine to the look.  The dial has a light tan inner circle, with the subdials and the outer circle that encases the arabics done in a medium tan with an ever so slight grain to it (‘sand’ colored according to Junghans).

You really have to experience the dial in person to fully appreciate its detail and overall appearance.  Under my standard 8X loupe exam, the dial and build quality exhibited total precision and cleanliness; no dust, out of register print or blemishes of any kind were seen.  Superb!

Topping this masterpiece of a dial is an equally unique crystal:  a convex (domed) hard plexiglass with a high-tech SICRALAN coating for added scratch resistance that also is said to enhance the colors of the dial and protect it from chemicals and UV exposure.  SICRALAN is an automotive technology and it’s cool to see Junghans applying it to watchmaking.

The crystal does seem to be fairly thin, so that is the only caveat I have about this otherwise nifty watch lens.

Inside the Meister Driver Chronoscope is a fairly common approach to bi-compax layouts, that would be the use of a chronograph module laid atop a standard automatic movement.  Junghans calls the caliber in this watch J880.3, in which they chose the outstanding ETA 2892-A2 automatic as the base movement, which is a great movement that is found in many higher-end watches.  The 2892-A2 runs in 21 jewels and beats at 28,800 bph. 

Added to this base movement is the ubiquitous  24-jewel Dubois Depraz 2030 chronograph module, making the engine inside the Meister Driver Chronoscope a 45-jewel masterpiece.  As seen through the display caseback, the movement is nicely decorated, showing off blued screws, perlage and Cotes de Geneve finishing.

Testing in my atelier revealed a fine 47.5 hour power reserve, with a 24-hour accuracy of -6 seconds in the crown up position.  The movement winds and sets perfectly, hacks as it should and the chronograph functions (start, stop, reset) perform as expected with no issues.  The chronograph pushers are oval shaped and have a decent crisp, slightly cushioned action to them, with an audible ‘click’ that lends a satisfaction to the wearer when operating the chronograph.

The strap on the Meister Driver Chronoscope is on par with the quality of the rest of the watch, which is to say, high-quality.  The strap measures 21mm at the lugs and tapers to 18mm at the signed stainless steel buckle.  There are two keepers, one fixed and one floating.

The strap is a nice dark brown smooth leather with a white contrast stitch.  The strap is lined with a light mocha color perforated leather.  The strap is not padded or very thick, but is soft, flexible and of a high caliber.  The strap makes the Meister Driver Chronoscope very comfortable to wear and looks great, too!

Presentation consists of a signed white cardboard wrapper with a padded signed hinged inner box with a pull down compartment that houses the instruction and warranty booklets.  A polishing cloth is also included.  Overall, the presentation is acceptable for the pricepoint, nothing fancy, but not cheap, either.

At this point, it’s obvious what I think about the Junghans Meister Driver Chronoscope.  It’s a helluva watch.  A unique design and look, total quality and proportions that look and feel right on the wrist, it’s a watch that you don’t and won’t see in the wild very often, which is part of its cache.  As my introduction to the brand, I can say unequivocally, nice job Junghans!  You did it right!

Pros: quality through and through, reliable Swiss engine, great dial color, look and layout, high-tech crystal coating, classic bi-compax chrono functionality

Cons:  should have higher water resistance, lighter weight may be a turn-off for some, crystal does seem a bit fragile

Verdict:  superb German quality with a Swiss heart, automotive heritage included at no charge, a watch for the ages from Junghans

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics.

Excelsior!

-Marc



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