Company: Deutsche Master
Website: http://www.dm1936.com
About Deutsche Master:
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
D.M. started its journey in the middle of 2013 as a mechanical watch brand that draws inspiration from military time instruments don by aviators, commando frogmen, infantry etc since the early 1930s. With the support of D.M owners and the watch community, D.M. has grown from strength to strength and is expanding its reach to regional countries and beyond.
The significance of military timepieces and its utilitarian intentions during the early years is extremely crucial to us today as they played a pivotal role in the evolution of horology where pocket watches slowly evolved into what we know today as a wrist watch. Due to the necessity in combat and time synchronization, pocket watches in the early 1930s were forced to innovate to ease the hassle of time reading. For instance, wired lugs were added to the top and bottom ends of a pocket watch so that a make-shift strap can be slotted through both lugs in order to be strapped around the wrist.
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These small but notable make-shift innovations are what makes a wrist watch that we know today. With the support of D.M. owners and the watch community, D.M. has grown from strength to strength and is expanding its reach to regional countries and beyond.
Watch Model: U3002-1 GMT
The Packaging:
The U-3002 comes in a very military inspired metal amo case with a camo travel pouch inside containing the watch itself. The packaging fits the overall military theme of what DM 1936 is all about, military themed/inspired watches. The all metal box is military green and features white military stenciled printed text. The lid is signed with Deutsche Master 1936, the front is signed with Military Timepieces and the back is signed Kreigsmarine. The lid closes by 2 clasps that click down in each corner. The watch is inside the box which has a camo travel pouch. The camo pouch closes with a draw string. The pouch has a carbiner attached to it as well. The box is the perfect size not too big, and is actually perfect for keeping out on display. It’s gets my approval!
The Case:
The 48mm case is sand blasted 316L stainless steel and has a water resistance of 10 ATM. The first thing I noticed about the case is what’s attached to the non crown side of the case. At first glance I thought it was a hinge to the case, thinking it opened like an old pocket watch. Further inspection revealed that it’s a mini tool that unscrew and is removable. You can use it to remove the strap and unscrew the screw that holds the buckle pin inplace. It’s quite handy actually for quick strap changes when you are on the go, perhaps on vacation or a business trip and want to change straps quickly. It is a really unique feature that I have never seen before. The tool has threads on it and it screws/unscrews into the holder which is attached to the case itself by two flat head screws. When you screw the tool back into its holder it’s a little bit hard to grip and screw in tight. I already lost the tool from the watch because apparently I did not screw it in tight enough. A easy fix would be to add some nice knurled edges to the mini tool which would allow it to be easier to grip and turn. The crown then could have matching knurling which would be really nice.
The signed DM crown is a combination of rubber and stainless steel. I’m not sure that I understand why there is rubber on the crown. It raises question in my mind because A.) it doesn’t fit the theme of the watch and B.) it’s a little too modern considering that the watch collection is vintage military. A simple knurl edged and signed stainless steel crown would have been more fitting. It’s not a major thing, just my suggestion. The bezel is matte black with a faux pearl at the 12 o’clock position and the pearl is coated in lume which is quite useful when using this watch for timing purposes,whether for traveling or diving. At the 3 and 9 o’clock positions are a single dash/line and at the 6 o’clock position is a double dash. The other hour markers are small circles. All the bezel markers are stainless steel. I used this bezel quite a bit for keeping track of times for work purposes. It received a lot of use actually for work. It’s a unidirectional 90 click rotating bezel that is easy to grip and operate. There is a little bit of extra play in the bezel and it doesn’t quite sit tight against the case. I am a stickler for bezel and crown operation, fit and design. These are the two things I immediately critique on a watch when deciding on a potential purchase. The screw down crown is easy to grip and unscrew. The first open position allows you to manually wind up the watch. The second pulled position allows you to set the GMT hand and date wheel. Turning the crown clockwise allows you to set the date and rotating the crown counterclockwise sets the GMT hand. The third pulled position allows you to set the time. The 48mm case is large but doesn’t wear larger because the lugs are very short & curved. I really like the squarish shape to the case it adds a vintage dive watch feel to the U-3002. I also like the sand blasted finish on the case. It makes it more toolwatch vs dress/blingy if the case was a high polish finish. I never quite understood why companies give their dive/toolwatches a high polish finish which shows scratches easily. A true toolwatch is meant to be put in action in the outdoors or water. The caseback is an exhibition style which allows you to view the movement inside. The caseback features some engraved text U-3002/BK, S/N 05/50, 316L, 10 ATM, Deutsche Master 1936. The crystal on the U-3002 is domed mineral crystal. I am a HUGE fan of domed crystals on watches. There is something that is so cool about them. In regards to the crystal being mineral, I have heard arguments both ways on which is more scratch resistant sapphire or mineral. I have owned both and never scratched either.
The Dial:
The large matte black dial is very legible and is my favorite part of the DM 1936. The dial contains 3 main hour marker numerals 12, 6 and 9. The remaining hour markers are elongated triangles. All the hour markers are an off white almost cream color which makes them look like a vintage watch which markers have developed natural patina. The minute hash marks are white. A detail abou the U-3002 that I do enjoy. The inner chapter ring features military/GMT time markers 2-24 which are white in color. The dial features a small amount of text, under the 12 o’clock marker is the name Deutsche Master printed in white. Above the 6 o’clock marker is U-3002 in white, GMT printed in red and Automatic printed in white. The hands of the U-3002 are really well done with nice variations. All the hands contain lume which allows you to tell the time in darkened situations. Each hand is a different shape and color. The seconds hand is long arrow shaped with a lume tip. The hour hand is short and silver edged with lumed center. The minute hand is quite large and edged with blue with a lumed center. The GMT hand is red and has a lumed center. The variations in the hands allows you to easily differentiate between them and what they are for. I absolutely love the hands on the U-3002. Telling time on the U-3002 is extremely easy.
The Strap:
The strap on the U-3002 is dark brown and made of leather featuring white stitching. The strap has both a nice vintage feel and a nice custom feel to it as well. It’s very soft to the touch. The strap edges is coated with rubber which makes it water resistant and even both the keepers are line with rubber. The inside of the shorter strap is stamped Deutsche Master and the longer strap is stamped Genuine Leather. The larger sand blasted buckle is engraved with Deutsche Master. The notches on the strap are clean cut sqaures which are equally spaced apart. Overall the strap on the U-3002 is very well done and is my second favorite part of the watch. The strap is about 4mm thick and is quite comfortable on the wrist. It takes a bit of wearing for it to loosen up in terms of stiffness. I really like how nice the stiching is done and I like how the buckle matches the sand blasted case and I like the dark brown color of the strap. It’s a great strap for “factory” strap, like I said before it borders on more of a custom leather strap in terms of quality vs. that of a standard watch strap.
The Movement:
The movement is an unspecified Self-Winding Calibre: 26 Jewels, 36 hours power reserve, 21,600bph, decorated & polished. One thing about the movement that lost points with me is the movement holder itself. It’s made of plastic which over time plastic can become quite brittle and it can start to break apart. I’m personally not of fan of any plastic parts on a watch. I timed the U-3002 over a month period and it runs about +25 seconds per day. The self winding rotar on the movement is singed DM 1936. Two of the screws in the movement are blued and there is a large red gear. I like the added bits of color in the movement which adds some detail in the sea of stainless steel.
Lume and Wrist Shots:
71/2″ wrists
Conclusion:
I really like the U-3002 it is a visually pleasing watch with a great military theme. There are several details on this watch that I think are hits, the case, the dial, the hands, the strap, the unique strap tool attached to the case and the metal amo box. The misses that are on the U-3002 are the rubber on the crown, the bezel play and sides of the bezel and the plastic movement holder. You do get quite a lot of watch for the $565 delivered USD. I would recommend this watch to someone looking for an affordable tool/dive watch with a nice military theme. I really like all the watches in the DM 1936 collection. There are some really cool vintage military watches that I would love to try within the collection. I would definitely put the U 3002 into my daily wearer category, that’s how much I enjoyed wearing this watch. This watch has held up nicely against some of my tests outdoors and in different extreme temperatures. The case is built solid out of a huge chunk of 316L stainless steel. There are so many things that I absolutely love about the U-3002. A few minor changes that I suggested would make this a darn near perfect tool watch.
A very special thanks to Alvin and Freddy for allowing me the honor to review this watch. It’s always a pleasure to deal with both of you. Both of you are excellent additions to the watch community.
Thank you so much for reading.
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