The Junghans watch brand began in 1861 in Schramberg, Germany when the Junghans manufacturing facility opened its door and quickly grew into one of the most compelling success stories in the history of watchmaking in Germany. Even today the innovative spirit and the incessant pursuit of precision are key beliefs of the brand, proving that the demands placed on a timepiece may have evolved since then, but the Junghans philosophy has remained unchanged. The Steim family have driven the Junghans brand to where they are today through their vision and entrepreneurial energy.
The new addition to the Junghans brand portfolio is the Meister Driver Day Date which also incorporates optical elements from historical instrument displays in its design which pay tribute to the automobile designs of the 1930’s. Junghans have taken inspiration from these cars and even applied direct designs from the cars speedometers into the watches dial designs which also establishes a link to the Meister Driver of 2016.
The strong links between Junghans and the automobile have been in place since the end of the 19th century. Arthur Junghans, son of the company founder Erhard Junghans, was a close friend of Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. As a consequence, he bought one of the first Daimler test cars in 1892. Just three years later Arthur Junghans ordered a four-seater Motor-Viktoriawagen, for which he created worm gear steering. At the beginning of the 20th century the company produced car clocks. Numerous inventions were also made – in 1905 Dr. Oskar Junghans, son of Arthur Junghans, developed a speed measuring device with integral speed logging. His brother Helmut shared his passion for the automobile. In 1924, he developed a “Viadicator” driving direction indicator in co-operation with the Leitz company of Wetzlar, a predecessor of the present-day indicator. More than a century of affinity for the automobile is continued today by the Junghans owners, Dr. Hans-Jochem and Hannes Steim. The Steim car collection in Schramberg, which celebrates its 10th birthday in 2017, contains a cross section from over 110 years of automobile history – with stylish classic vehicles that serve as inspiration for the models of the Meister Driver series, bringing this passion to the wrist.
Junghans designers have focused on the kilometres display whilst designing and creating the new Meister Driver Day Date, the day and date displays are in the form of rotating columns which is a design hint towards their automobile role model and the colour scheme of the timepieces are also inspired by the tachometers of the 1930s: a refinement with polished paintwork conveys a very special flair. With a diameter of 40 mm, the new Meister Driver Day Date is a three-handed watch with an independent character.
Movement: J800.4 self-winding movement with a power reserve of up to 38 hours, rapid date correctionSpecial feature: Weekday display at 12 o’clock and date at 6 o’clockFinishing: Rotor surface with stripe finishing and engraved logo, diamond cut on barrel, train and balance bridge, blued screws Case: Stainless steel Ø 40.4, height 11.9 mm, mineral crystal back, convex plexiglass with coating for enhanced scratch resistance, 5-times screwed glass back Dial: Convex dial with effective polished lacquer, hour or minute markers with an environmentally-friendly Super Luminova luminous material Hands: Black-coated Dauphin hands with environmentally-friendly Super Luminova luminous material Strap: Calfskin strap with stainless steel buckle and lining leather with perfora-tion, stainless steel strap with folding clasp Water resistance: up to 3 bar
