If chronographs make up the majority of your collection as does mine, a timepiece that will draw immediate attention will be the likes of the Junghans Meister Telemeter Matte-Silver (Ref. 027/3380.00).
A sleek, modern example with a definitive vintage vibe, its matte-silver plated dial with a circular brush, Arabic numerals, and a satin-finished stainless steel case has an undeniable attractive aesthetic.
The company also has a long history. Erhard Junghans founded the Junghans Watch Factory in 1861 in Schramberg, Germany. The initial Junghans watches were designed and constructed by the company’s master watchmakers in 1866. Meister Chronoscope watches and the Meister Telemeter Chronoscope were introduced in the 1930s. Today’s mechanical Junghans watches remain with a single watchmaker or a small team, responsible for its complete development from start to finish.
This self-winding watch has a caliber J880.3 movement, which is an ETA 2892-2 with a Dubois Depraz 2030 chronograph module. The movement beats at 4Hz, has 25 jewels, and a 42-hour power reserve. A presentation caseback shows off the movement and signed rotor.
The watch is designated by Junghans as a chronoscope (noun: a device for measuring short time intervals, especially in determining the velocity of projectiles, or a person’s reaction time). The right subdial is small seconds while the left subdial is a 30-minute chronograph register. This may not be the most useful configuration, but the inclusion of multiple calibration scales on the periphery of the dial can be used to provide much more information. Both tachymeter (noun, a facility on a watch for measuring speed) and telemeter (noun, an apparatus for recording the readings of an instrument and transmitting them by radio) scales are present. The result is a very legible dial, albeit busy for some and the amount of information to decipher could be overwhelming. A feature about the dial’s scales should be noted. The telemeter scale is a different finish than the rest of the dial and scales, making it stand out, almost in a 3-D, separate plane than the remainder of the dial, aiding to its legibility.
The Meister Telemeter uses convex plexiglass that’s been treated with a Sicralan MRL UV coating method that was initially developed by the automotive industry. This transparent coating provides functional and aesthetic value by increasing scratch resistance, improving UV and chemical resistance, and by creating a more intense deep gloss of the plexiglass. As a point of interest for the photography buffs, the UV coating of the crystal made a noticeable difference when photographing in my opinion. Super Luminova material is used for the dial markings, hour and minute hands, providing excellent lume.
The case measures at 40.8 mm in diameter. An almost all dial case makes for a wide range of wearability (allowing large and small wrists alike to enjoy) and functionality. With a thin case height of only 12.6 mm and lug to lug length of 45 mm, the Telemeter provides “under the cuff” dress watch possibilities and this chronograph can be worn easily in most settings from dress to sport (the watch is water-resistant to 30 meters as well).
Verdict
The watch is sold with a Junghans black saddle leather strap with stainless steel buckle. It’s extremely supple and comfortable but having an inconvenient strap width of 21 mm is slightly frustrating (the most common sizes are even in numbers such as 18 mm and 20 mm and 22 mm). Weight with leather strap is a light and pleasant 70 gram (with strap).
With a retail price of $2,295 the Junghans Meister Telemeter is slightly above the range of most everyday watch nerds but should definitely be considered when thinking of a modern chronograph with a wide range of functionality and wearability.
