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
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
