One of the most interesting qualities of the Meister collection is that Junghans has forgone sapphire crystals for Plexiglas (plexiglass). As you may know, pre-sapphire crystal watches tended to have acrylic crystals. When synthetic sapphire made its way to the watch industry, the more durable material was a clear winner over plastic mostly because of its scratch resistance. There are some watches still made with acrylic crystals but not many. In wanting to remain true to the heritage-style design of the Meister Kalendar, this watch has a Plexiglas crystal with a special automotive-grade SICRALAN coating which is said to add UV protection, protect crystal luster, and offer increased scratch resistance. Mineral glass is however used on the rear of the watch over the movement. It is an interesting and quirky choice. My first thought is… “come on just use sapphire,” but I’ll give Junghans the benefit of the doubt for now.

The Meister Kalendar watch case is 40.4mm wide, but wears larger due to the very thin bezel. This is the type of design that looks good on pretty much any wrist. All versions of the watch are in steel, but there are two PVD gold coated versions (either ref. 027/7202.00 yellow or ref 027/7203.00 rose gold). I have to say that the PVD gold versions probably look the best, though this is a gorgeous collection all around. Note that steel ref. 027/4201.44 comes on a steel metal bracelet, while the most basic model is the steel ref. 027/4200.00 that comes on a simple brown leather strap.

Of course, the dial of the Meister Kalendar is the reason you are going to love this. Junghans has gracefully adopted the traditional “triple calendar” dial style and spread out the indicators a bit. This frees up space in the middle that results in a less cluttered feeling. Thus, the day and month window are spread out relatively far to the sides which really opens the face up. The combination of minimalist baton hour markers and a few applied elements offer the right mixture of depth and space. The date dial is slightly recessed and of course contains the moon phase indicator window. If you look closely you’ll see Junghan’s star-style logo in the moon phase display next to the moon (a nice little detail).

Technically, there is lume on the dial represented as thin little strips in the hands. At least there is some darkness viewing capability. Aside from minimal lume, dial legibility is excellent. What’s inside the watch? According to Junghans, it is their caliber J800.3 automatic movement. I am guessing a base ETA with a calendar module on top of it. For retro watch lovers who want something classy but not as simple as a three-hander, the Junghas Meister Kalendar seems an excellent choice. Price for the PVD yellow gold model is $2,711, which isn’t too bad at all. Probably a little bit less for the polished steel models. junghans.de