The Breitling Aerospace is one of Breitling's most successful watches. Why? Because it was relatively economical, masculine stylish, and housed Breitling's Super Quartz movement (thermoline Quartz which is about 20 times more accurate than a standard quartz movement). However, the last iteration of the Aerospace released was a while ago. Close to 10 years. Yes, there has been a resurgence in the popularity of mechanical movements, but there is still such a big market for them.
Realizing this, Germany's Junghans felt it had a way to offer a similar watch to the Breitling Aerospace collection while adding its own strengths to the mix. Junghans has been at the forefront of radio controlled watches for years. These watches receive signals from local atomic clocks (you have to be in a participating country which includes Germany, UK, Japan, USA, and some surrounding areas), and constantly sync themselves. This means you never need to worry about to the second accuracy, for the most part. If you are out of range of the atomic clock signals, the watch simply uses its own quartz movement until it can sync once again.
The new Junghans Aviator Chronograph has a remarkable similarity to the Breitling, which is not a bad thing. The reserve shaded LCD is of the same style that Breitling uses, and the location of the two internal displays against the analog face is the same. Functions include a split second chronograph, countdown timer, full calendar, and information regarding the atomic radio signal, including region and strength of signal. It is a pretty comprehensive set of functionality combined with the well designed analog hands and face in the style of the Breitling Aerospace.
The Junghans Aviator Chronograph is available with a leather strap or steel bracelet. Size is 42.5mm wide. The face is sapphire crystal, and the bezel is nicely tuned to be functional but not a copy of the Breitling. Junghans character abounds in this watch, and I believe it is an excellent direction from the atomic watch experts. Junghans is one of those companies that has been around for a very long time and know how to make a solid and well built watch, using the latest technology (they were one of the firsts to utilize carbon fiber in their watches). Here they begin to flex their design muscles and enter a new realm of interesting and useful watch products. Expect pricing to be reasonable and I am guess about $1000 or less.
See Junghans watches on eBay here.
See Junghans watches on Amazon here.
Antique wall clock Junghans approx.1900/1920
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US $1.50 (2 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Dec-02-2008 19:30:00 PST Bid now | Add to watch list |
WWII Junghans German Torpedo Bomber Timer Pocket Watch
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US $99.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Thursday Nov-27-2008 11:14:00 PST Bid now | Add to watch list |
RETRO EAMES JUNGHANS CERAMIC WALL CLOCK
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US $7.82 (2 Bids) End Date: Thursday Nov-27-2008 0:08:17 PST Bid now | Add to watch list |
BREITLING AEROSPACE TITANIUM REPETITION
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US $102.50 (3 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Nov-26-2008 6:57:57 PST Bid now | Add to watch list |
BREITLING AEROSPACE NAVITIMER 80360 Titanium / Gold
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US $244.50 (19 Bids) End Date: Thursday Nov-27-2008 19:56:57 PST Bid now | Add to watch list |
White ! BREITLING Aerospace Avantage pilot chronograph
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US $1,145.00 (17 Bids) End Date: Thursday Nov-27-2008 17:04:12 PST Bid now | Add to watch list |
Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com
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Thanks a lot for these information.
I have placed an order for the Junghans Aviator Chronograph with steel bracelet. Initially it was intended to be available in late June or early July, but according to Junghans they had to remit the delivery until the end of August, because of some manufacturing problems.
The retail price in Germany is 749 € (US$ 1187) with steel bracelet and 699 € (US$ 1108) with leather strap. Price entries in Germany always include sales tax, wich currently is 19%. Catch a breath.
One downside of this watch is the battery life, wich Junghans (only on request) claims is one and a half year. Some online shops have written 2 years. Where Junghans is on the forefront of radio controlled watches, they unfortunately are somewhat behind with efficient or alternative powering.
Am I the only one that got stuck on the 19% sales tax? Wow!
You should send some pictures of the watch when you get it. I can place them in this post. People will enjoy that. It is a very nice looking watch.
Thanks also for providing price information. I was pretty close!In terms of the battery life, that is the major problem with radio controlled watches. You’ll notice that most Japanese atomic clock radio watches are light/solar powered. This is because of the high power drain of constantly receiving signals. Having power generation built into the watch is very convenient. I’d like to see a Seiko Kinetic like mechanism in the Junghans as well. It would resolve the power problem. Though is Junghans made the battery easy to replace (such as on most Suunto watches) it might not be that big of a deal. Just my thoughts.
I will send you some photos, as soon as I have it.
Concerning the power drain of radio controlled watches: I thought, these watches don’t receive the signal constantly, but only a couple of times per day.
19% VAT is quite in the middle field here in Europe. Some scandinavian countries have got 25%.
Lucky you!
Looking forward to seeing the pictures. You are technically correct about how the radio controlled watches receive signals. They are not always in receive mode, but rather at various periods throughout the day. I meant to indicate that it is an ongoing process forever, not that they receive the signal once and that is it. Some radio controlled watches I hear receive signals every 15 minutes or so. And as we both know, this puts a heavy drain on little batteries not meant for such power consumption. This is the same reason mobile phones batteries are so quickly depleted in modern smart phones which receive 3G or other high data bandwidth information constantly rather than just make and receive calls.
Taxes are everywhere, but there is no Value Added Tax in the States! Lucky us