As a watch reviewer, there’s nothing like going hands-on with a new microbrand offering. Sure, Rolex, Omega, Seiko and many other big names make exciting watches with excellent craftsmanship, but their core DNA evolves slowly. Today we have the pleasure of inspecting and experiencing the Jung J43C-01 chronograph with the black dial, which is designed by Fred Dupuis-Jung – a renowned French car designer who has worked for brands such as Subaru and Honda. He has a rather interesting combination of backgrounds that you will see reflected in his design work, Japanese and French is a combination I have personally not come across in the watch industry, and so I’m excited to explore further into this new watch offering.
Initial Impressions and Aesthetic
Being a small new startup brand, Jung currently has one watch offering which is the J43C-01, although it’s currently offered in both a white or black dial option, and you can choose between a white or black rubber strap with an orange underside. Initially, when first unboxing the watch there were no immediate associations for me in terms of it being a homage design or attempting to emulate any one of the familiar iconic watches many of us know about. It seems to stand its ground as a unique creation, which really increases its appeal for me personally.
After spending just a few minutes with it while enjoying an espresso, the clues began to emerge and I can clearly feel the French design influence coming through on the layout of the dial. The positioning of the sporty slant cut hour markers and the numeric font of the sub-dials stood out as the most apparent giveaway for me, there are hints of Monaco here almost as subtle as the notes of a well blended fragrance. All of the small details on the dial, like the embossed horizontal ridging, orange accents, and elongated “chronograph” text at 12:00 o’clock come together as one, to create an undebatable classic race car chronograph appearance.
Despite the dark hue of the dial, it remains relatively legible due to the bright orange sub-dial and chronograph hands, as well as the white minute and hour hands. I’m not sure I’m overly fond of the asymmetric date wheel that appears to be an afterthought and awkwardly positioned, albeit provides a useful function of course. The case of the watch is rather large, it’s not clunky, but it’s certainly slab like especially when viewed from the side – this is by no means a small watch coming at 49mm in length and 43mm across. It certainly lives up to the specs when on wrist, and the no lug design means the 49mm length of the case is pushing the limits for my 6.5 inch wrist. The quartz Miyota 6S20 movement does allow the case to be somewhat thin for a large chronograph, coming in at 13mm thick.
The top part of the case is completely brushed, and I’m hard pressed to call it an actual bezel since it seems to blend into the rest of the case so well. The brushing is not the finest I’ve come across but it’s acceptable for a watch in this price bracket of $500-$600 USD. On the other hand, the sides are finely polished and seem to be executed with a touch more finesse than the bezel section. Due to the size of the watch the chronograph pushers and crown feel a little bit hidden, which is nice for comfort on wrist, but they’re a little bit lost visually. They are very simple to actuate and the pushers are tactile and easy to use. I do love that the pushers are elongated and not your traditional pump style, they complement the shape of the case very well. Another neat aspect I’ll touch on quick are the 4 exposed screws in each corner of the bezel, they’re sparingly used but do add to the sporty appearance of the watch.
Wearability
The wearability of a watch is incredibly subjective. You could have a small wrist, large or medium – or perhaps a flat or round wrist. A watch that fits me well, may not fit you at all, and vice versa. What I can bring into the discussion here is my personal experience with this particular model and how it fits me. At my wrist size of 6.5 inches, the J43C-01 is pushing the boundaries for me. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t wear it or that it’s uncomfortable – but even in terms of proportional appearance on my particular wrist, this size of any watch model or brand can look oversized. The rule I’m attempting to explain here is accentuated by chronograph watches, since they tend to run on the large side due to more complex larger movements, and larger dials that require more space for the counters.
The Jung J43C-01 is a watch that will look fantastic on a wrist at least 6.75 inches and larger, with 7 inches probably being the sweet spot. The good news for Jung, and maybe you as the reader of this review, is that 7 inches is most likely the most common wrist size in the USA. The watch feels heavy in hand due to the amount of 316L steel used in its production, but the very smooth and flat caseback of the watch should allow it to fit very comfortably. Although this particular case size and shape is certainly not bespoke to my wrist, I was still able to wear it enjoyably for extended periods of time. The sizing definitely makes the watch feel sportier and more casual, and it would not be a consideration for anything remotely smart casual and certainly not formal.
Final Thoughts
As we come to our conclusion here on the Jung J43C-01, I must say that I really appreciate the intermingling of French and Japanese design. The details that have been implemented on this watch exceed most other microbrand “first attempt” watches, which comes down to the founders raw passion for horology and design. I would absolutely love to see a mechanical version of this watch, I think it would be right inline with Jung’s ethos and their association with cars. Perhaps offering different sizes in the quartz variant could also help alleviate some fitting issues for those of us with smaller than average wrists.
For more information on this newly launched watch brand visit their official website here.
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