JUNG J43C-01 White Review

A few weeks ago a friend of mine who happens to have a large watch centric Instagram account reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing a watch from a brand that had recently reached out to him. Since he does not do reviews and the brand was interested in having one of their watches reviewed he asked if I'd like to review one of the brand's watches. I've always said that I'd like to review watches from as many brands as possible where there is passion behind the brand. I had never heard of the brand in question and after looking over their site proceeded to contact the brand and see about getting one of their watches in for review.

The brand I'm talking about is called JUNG and it was founded by a French car designer based in Tokyo, Japan named Fred Dupuis-Jung. Dupuis-Jung has over 20 years of experience designing cars for such large companies as Honda and Subaru and wanted his watch brand to bring French elegance to the precision manufacturing of the Japanese. JUNG was established in 2024 with two main models which are cushion shaped watches utilizing Japanese quartz movements.



Taking inspiration from his time in the automotive world, Dupuis-Jung settled on the idea of "less is more" for the design of his watches. JUNG watches are minimalist and focus on functionality while deploying timeless design. JUNG watches are built in Japan with all metal parts polished and brushed by hand. This allows JUNG watches to have a level of finishing not seen on machine finished pieces. More tedious handwork is then done to make sure all elements are properly aligned before each timepiece goes through three separate quality inspections.

Initial Thoughts

The watch that we will be talking about today is the J43C-01 White from JUNG. As you can tell from the name, this is the white version of the chronograph offered by JUNG. When the watch arrived, the first thing I noticed about it was the polar white color scheme. The J43C-01 uses a stark white dial with horizontal striping that is paired with a bright white rubber strap. Together they give the watch a very bold aesthetic that we personally prefer to the black version.



The next thing I noticed about the JUNG J43C-01 was its weight. Typically when thinking about quartz watches you tend to think of them as being super lightweight. The J43C-01 weighs in at 127 grams which is rather substantial. The larger size and full stainless steel construction doesn't make this too surprising but it did take me off guard. Many collectors associate heft with quality and prefer something a bit weighty on their wrists, the J43C-01 fits this bill, especially for being a quartz watch.

Being much more familiar with mechanical movements the final thing that I noticed during my initial time with the JUNG J43C-01 was its 1/20th of a second chronograph hand at 3 o'clock. Typically it is very rare to see a fast moving hand on a mechanical movement unless it is a high beat movement and the manufacture wants to show this off like on some Zenith watches. Here the Miyota movement deploys this hand at a blistering pace. It's rather hypnotic to watch, especially when there are more traditional one second ticks of the running seconds and chronograph seconds hands. It is also pleasing to see a sweeping hand on a quartz watch.



Technical Specifications

Now that we've gone over the history of JUNG as well as my initial thoughts on the J43C-01, let's now go ahead and talk about the technical specifications of the watch. The watch is crafted out of 316L stainless steel and has a case diameter of 43 mm and a lug to lug length of 48.8 mm. At its thickest point the J43C-01 has a height of 13.2 mm and weighs in at 127 grams.

The J43C-01 uses a curved sapphire crystal that conforms to the stainless steel case. Underneath the crystal clear sapphire is the white dial we previously spoke about. All of the white is broken up by a horizontal line pattern. Around the rehaut are Arabic numerals printed for every five minute increment up to 60. On the outside of the dial is a printed minute track with each minute being a tick mark and every fifth minute being done in a square.



At 12 o'clock there is the JUNG branding and logo. The JUNG logo gets its inspiration from the Japanese kanji character for the number three. The top and bottom lines are longer representing French elegance and Japanese precision while the middle line is shorter used to represent what can be created when both principles are combined. Also at 12 o'clock is "Chronograph 1/20". Like all the dial markings "Chronograph" is printed in black. "1/20" is printed in bright orange as are the chronograph minute, seconds and 1/20th second hands.

The JUNG J43C-01 uses a tricompax dial design made up of three sub-dials. At 3 o'clock you have the 1/20th of a second sub-dial used to time to an accuracy of one twentieth of a second. At 6 o'clock is the running seconds hand that shows the watch is powered. Finally at 9 o'clock you have the 60 minute chronograph totalizer.



There are three centrally mounted hands on the J43C-01 being the hour, minute and chronograph seconds hand. The hour and minute hands are traditional sword style hands while the chronograph seconds hand is a slender orange hand with a rectangle counter-balance. The hour and minute hands along with the slightly hidden hour markers on the outside of the minute track are covered with Super-Luminova BGW9 that appears white in normal conditions. The hands have a bluish green glow while the hour markers glow green in low light. I love how the white hour markers are pretty much invisible in normally lighting but really glow when light is scarce.

Finishing off the dial is the 5 ATM printing at 6 o'clock in the running seconds sub-dial. Also I should mention that the three sub-dials do not continue the horizontal line pattern seen on the rest of the dial but rather are flat. Finally at 4:30 there is a white backed date window that is really well integrated. So well in fact that I missed it the first few times I looked at the watch.



Moving on from the dial is the brushed stainless steel bezel. The case of the J43C-01 is held together by four case screws that have exposed screw heads through the bezel. It is an interesting design cue that you typically see on higher end sports watches like Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks and Hublot Big Bangs, so it's nice to see it here. As you transition from the bezel to the case the finishing changes from brushed to high polish. Looking at the profile of the case you can see that the J43C-01 does not follow the shape of your wrist but rather almost resembles the rounded shape of a pebble.

The right hand side of the watch features the non-screw down crown as well as the two tri-angular chronograph pushers. Even without a screw down crown the J43C-01 still offers 50 meters of water resistance. Pulling the crown out to position one allows you to set the date, while pulling the crown all the way out to position two allows you to set the time. When the crown is all the way out the seconds hand also stops allowing you to precisely set the time. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minute hand either.



The top chronograph pusher starts the chronograph and sets off the 1/20th chronograph on its whirlwind of movement. The top chronograph pusher also stops the chronograph. Not being a flyback chronograph, the chronograph needs to be stopped to be reset. Pushing the bottom chronograph pusher while the chronograph is stopped will reset the chronograph. As opposed to mechanical chronographs, the chronograph seconds hand doesn't snap back but rather takes its leisurely time to advance forward back to zero. This is a characteristic of the Miyota quartz chronograph movement.

The case design of the J43C-01 has integrated lugs, so no additional lug to lug length is added to accommodate the strap. The watch comes on a white silicone strap that has a width of 24 mm at the lugs and tapers down to 22 mm at the stainless steel butterfly deployant clasp. The backside of the strap is orange and the color is also visible along the profile of the strap. The strap is incredibly supple and required no break in to be very comfortable.



Flipping the watch over shows off the solid polished stainless steel case back held in place by the four exposed case screws. The horizontal line pattern found on the dial is recreated through an engraving on the case back. The JUNG logo and details about the watch are also engraved here.

Underneath the case back is the Japanese made Miyota (Citizen) 6S20 quartz chronograph movement. The movement has an accuracy of +/- 20 seconds per month and the battery should last for around 4 years. The functions are hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph and 1/20th second.



On The Wrist

Even though the JUNG J43C-01 has a lug to lug length shorter than the typical 50 mm plus measurement I prefer in my personal watches the watch looked good on my 7.25 inch wrist with a 55 mm flat area. Since the watch has a cushion shape and a white dial it actually appears to wear a lot larger than say a round watch with similar dimensions and a black dial. I felt the watch covered my wrist well and never seemed to favor one side of my wrist over the other.

The silicone strap is nice and wide and kept the watch from moving around. Even though the watch isn't exactly lightweight, the weight is evenly distributed over the wrist and never became an annoyance or caused any wrist fatigue. The width of the strap probably helped the watch not seem top heavy either. It's been rather hot and humid here in Austin and the strap handled times of wrist swelling and contraction nicely as well.



To test the legibility of a watch I like to tell the time by just glancing at the dial while driving. Since the JUNG J43C-01 does not really have well defined hour markers and the hands are white like the dial, it did take a bit of extra time to decipher the dial. I feel JUNG is going for a more minimalist design, so this is understandable.

During my time with the J43C-01 I wore it out during my normal boring everyday errands as well as out to dinner and drinks. Like I mentioned earlier, the watch wears well and is comfortable on wrist, this made running errands with it a pleasure. My typical outfit of a black t-shirt, shorts and sneakers went well with the all steel and white look of the J43C-01 as well.



I did notice that while being worn out the JUNG J43C-01 did get a lot of attention. I didn't have anyone actually come up and ask me about the watch, but that is pretty rare normally taking something like having an Ulysse Nardin Freak on the wrist. I imagine most of the attention was because of the bright white strap and dial, if you wanted a subtle watch the black dial and black strap option would work better for you. The friends I did show the watch to were impressed and loved the look and feel of the J43C-01. The price was really something they were surprised by as well.

Value and Position in the Market

Speaking of price, the JUNG J43C-01 is priced at $590. For that price you're getting a robust stainless steel cased quartz chronograph with unique design and some hand finished details. Just like every review, now would be a good time to look at other watches with similar features and see how the J43C-01 stacks up value wise.



First up we have the PRC 200 Chronograph from Tissot which has a 43 mm case crafted out of stainless steel. The PRC 200 is a more traditional looking round watch that is powered by a quartz chronograph movement. The PRC 200 does have more water resistance than the J43C-01 at 200 meters. The PRC 200 Chronograph retails for $525 on a rubber strap.

Next up we have the Coutura from Seiko which has a case diameter of 42 mm and is crafted out of stainless steel. Like the J43C-01 the watch is powered by a quartz chronograph movement. The Coutura is also more of a traditional looking watch with a bit more edge to its design. The Coutura has a bit more water resistance than the J43C-01 at 100 meters and retails for $525.



Moving on is the Lunar Pilot from Bulova which has a 45 mm case crafted out of stainless steel. The Lunar Pilot is also powered by a quartz chronograph and has the same 50 meters of water resistance as the J43C-01. The case of the Lunar Pilot is vintage inspired and has more visual interest than the Tissot and Seiko. The Luna Pilot is a bit more expensive than the J43C-01 at $695.

Finally we have the Cushion from Mondaine which has a 41 mm case diameter and is crafted out of stainless steel. The Cushion has a squared off case and white dial like the J43C-01 and is powered by a quartz chronograph. The Cushion also has the same 50 meters of water resistance that the J43C-01 has. The Cushion is a bit more expensive than the J43C-01 at $755.



As you can tell from the above four watches, the JUNG J43C-01 is priced competitively especially considering it is from a much smaller brand and has some hand finished details. At this price range and using very reliable quartz movements, picking a watch really comes down to design and how the watch fits your own style. I think the JUNG J43C-01 really succeeds here being its own unique watch.

Closing Thoughts

So in the end is the JUNG J43C-01 White for me? The watch had two hard things to overcome as it comes to watches I collect personally. First I'm really not a fan of cushion shaped watches and don't personally own any. Over the past year of reviewing watches I've had many square, rectangle and cushion shaped watches on my wrist. For some reason they just never click with me, but I am getting more used to them. Also I've never really bonded with any quartz watches in the past, really preferring mechanical watches and their quirks. This is starting to change though with a Richard Mille design Yema I picked up earlier in the year that is powered by a quartz movement that wasn't affected by magnetic fields at the North and South Polls for expeditions it took there. Also my wife picked up her first two quartz watches this year as well.



Otherwise I did really enjoy the J43C-01, my personal preferences are very tough to overcome. The watch does offer great value and comes in a very handsome package. The speed and sweep of the 1/20th second hand is a real treat to watch as well. The all white dial design along with the white silicone strap also makes the watch have a bold appearance. Having some hand finished details is also something you will never see in this price range of watch. I'm not sure how JUNG accomplishes that at this price range, but it's a huge added bonus. For those reasons I'd have no pause in recommending the JUNG J43C-01 to somebody who likes the design language of the watch.

I'd really like to thank JUNG for sending us this watch and it was a nice introduction to the brand. Right now the brand just has other variations of the J43C-01 with different color dial and strap options, but hopefully in the future the JUNG will expand to other designs and movements as well. So far the J43C-01 is a great start for the JUNG brand and I'm excited to see what's next.



For more information about the J43C-01 please visit : JUNG

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: J43C-01

Retail Price: $590

Case Size: 43 mm

Lug to Lug: 48.8 mm

Thickness: 13.2 mm

Weight: 127 grams

Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel

Bezel: 316L Stainless Steel

Strap: White Silicone Strap with a Stainless Steel Butterfly Deployant Clasp

Movement: Japanese Made Miyota (Citizen) 6S20 Quartz Chronograph Movement

Functions: Chronograph, Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date, 1/20th Second

Power Reserve: 4 Years

Water Resistance: 50 Meters