Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. A Delectable Retro Flair for the Junghans Meister Telemeter Edition JF
Junghans’ take on a 1951 chronograph with tachymeter and telemeter scales is an eye-catching blast from the past.
Founded in 1861 in Schramberg, Germany, Junghans was once the largest clock manufacturer in the world, renowned by many for Max Bill’s famous Bauhaus kitchen clock. Moving from clocks to more specialised timing devices, Junghans produced everything from flight instruments to speedometers and from pilot’s watches to chronometers and chronographs, without forgetting the brand’s role as the official timekeeper of the Summer Olympic Games of Munich 1972. The latest Telemeter Edition JF is a throwback to a 1951 Junghans model with a telemeter and tachymeter display, a rare combination of functions produced by only a handful of manufacturers. Playing the retro card with conviction, the new Telemeter Edition JF comes in a gold-plated case with an attractive black dial similar to the original.
Managing director of Junghans, Hannes Steim, acquired the 1951 model and decided to recreate it as a one-off piece for himself. However, it became so popular inside the company that it has been produced in a small series of 150 pieces for the Meister collection. Created in the 1930s, the Meister family is home to refined models like the Chronoscope, the Worldtimer and the slim Fein dress watches.
The 40.8mm stainless steel case of the Telemeter has a thickness of 12.6mm and is treated with a yellow gold-coloured PVD coating to emulate the original. The short lugs, rounded pushers and thin bezel are polished, giving the watch a dressier, more vintage vibe, a feature that is further underscored by the black leather strap.
With its domed profile, the black dial pays tribute to the 1951 model and is finished with a circular-brushed finish. The two snailed sub-dials relay the running seconds at 3 o’clock and 30-minute elapsed times at 9 o’clock, both indicated with gold-plated hands. The hours are represented with Arabic numerals filled with a vintage-inspired beige luminous material, the same material used inside the lance-shaped hour and minute hands. The bright red central chronograph seconds hand stands out a mile and its tip is curved to follow the domed inclination of the dial.
However, the stars of the show are the two scales. Set on the periphery, the tachymeter scale is picked out with silver markings and flanks the silver-coloured telemeter scale with its red markings. A tachymetre is, in essence, a conversion tool used in conjunction with the chronograph, allowing you to convert elapsed time in seconds to speed (in units per hour) for events lasting up to one minute.
Telemeter scales are not as common as tachymeter scales and are designed to measure the distance from an event that emits light and sound based on the principle that light and sound travel at different speeds: light only needs three milliseconds to travel one kilometre, whereas sound needs three seconds. A vital instrument for yesteryear soldiers to calculate the firing range in battle, once a soldier spotted a flare of light on the horizon, he could activate the chronograph and then stop it when the cannon exploded to gauge the distance. Today, telemeters can be used to calculate the distance of a storm based on the time elapsed between lightning and thunder.
Protected by an anti-reflective sapphire crystal, the combination of the gold-plated case and lively black dial does a great job of capturing the look and feel of its 1951 ancestor. The caseback has a mineral glass held in place by four screws offering a view of the automatic J880-3 calibre, an ETA 2892 base with a Dubois Depraz 2030 chronograph module.
Availability & Price
The Junghans Meister Telemeter Edition JF is limited to 150 pieces. Only available in retail stores, the watch has a price tag of EUR 2,490 (incl. tax). For more details, please visit www.junghans.de.
