Jack Mason JM-A102 Watch Review “The Masonry”

Jack Mason was founded in Dallas, Texas by a pair of friends who shared a passion for making best in class product. With over 25 years of combined retail experience in the retail industry, the duo decided to finally take the leap and establish their own brand. In 2013, Jack Mason was launched with a collection of watch & leather goods that combined classic Americana influences with contemporary design.

Recently, they have released “The Masonry” – a place where you can customise their already large lineup even more (mainly just by selecting straps and seeing what they look like in place). This watch is the “Black Printed Dial Chronograph” with the “Textured Mauve Leather Strap”, also known as the JM-A102. Let’s take a look to see how it fares for $290 / £210.

Also featured in this review is the wallet / leather card case, costing $65. https://jackmasonbrand.com/product/mens/leather-goods/tan-leather-card-case/

The specs

• Dimensions: 42mm diameter x 12mm height x 50mm lug to lug
• Weight: 81g
• Water resistance rating: 10ATM / 100m
• Movement:
• Lug width: 22mm
• Warranty: 10 years
• Price: $290 / £210
• Available from: https://jackmasonbrand.com/product/mens/watches-mens/aviation/aviator-chronograph-42mm-jm-a102-021/
• Or select your own strap here: https://jackmasonbrand.com/masonry/

The case

A lot of aviation themed watches tend to be 44mm, so a 42mm case is welcome in my eyes. It has impressive general finishing; primarily brushed but with polished accents – the pushers, crown and a ring around the outer edge of the bezel.

The pushers are large and easy to use, and highly polished to set them apart from the case.

The Texas lone star is etched in the end of flat topped onion crown as a homage to Jack Mason’s roots.

The caseback has an aircraft motif in the centre, surrounded by turbine / propellers in an appealing way. All detailing is lightly engraved.

The single domed sapphire crystal has very good anti-reflective coating for the price. I always say the quality of a crystal can make a watch look like a much more expensive timepiece, and this is exactly the case here.

The dial

The dial is simple yet detailed, and is in a traditional bold aviation style.

Bold, white painted numerals sit at each hour and are not lumed which is a shame. However, surrounding these are lumed blocks – and a triangle at 12 for a point of reference in the dark. The lume is SuperLuminova, and is slightly above average.

The hands are the usual aviator style diamond shape with black borders, filled with lume for the top three quarters. The big seconds hand (for the chronograph) is a thin straight point, with a white tip. The counterweight has red, white and blue paint as a nod to the Texas state colours where Jack Mason hails from.

The 3 subdials are all at a lower level; perfectly sized and positioned within the dial. The running seconds is at 6, 60 minute chronograph indicator at 12, and 12 hour chronograph at 9. All markings are neatly printed and are easy to read.

There is a discreet date window at 4:30: black wheel with white text, it is nice to see when the wheel matches the dial. The minute track around the outer edge frames everything nicely.

The strap

The JM A-102 comes loaded with a beautiful rustic and rugged leather strap. The light oaky brown compliments the dial perfectly and has a very soft top grain, which feels comfortable on the wrist.

Both sides have a cream stitch detailing at top, with a small channel around the outer edge – little touches which make the strap a little more appealing to the eye.

The brushed tang buckle flares out and has the Jack Mason logo engraved on the top bar.

The strap has quick release pins which is an added bonus – every strap should come with these in my opinion.

The movement

I’m not sure on the movement, but it’s probably a Miyota. If that’s the case, I’d guess it to be the OS10: a reliable and incredibly popular quartz chronograph that can be found in so many affordable watches. It has a decent battery life of 5 years.

Final comments

I’m going to be completely honest, I was expecting the Jack Mason JM-A102 to be a bit of a designer watch – focusing more on looks and not really having the fit and finish to back it up.

How wrong I was.

I’ve been really impressed by the entire package – the sapphire crystal with decent AR coating, perfectly executed dial, precise case machining and sumptuous leather strap have all been far superior it what I was expecting.

To top it off, Jack Mason offer a whopping 10 year warranty with these watches – an indication as to the trust they’re putting into them. Whilst $290 / £210 isn’t a massive amount when you think about it, you’re getting a watch that is going to last a while.