Junghans – The German watch - The success story of the watch with the star
February, 2012
The history of Junghans, founded in the Black Forest in 1861, is one of the most dynamic and fascinating success stories within the German watch-making industry.
Junghans – the German watch
For more than 150 years, the Junghans brand has been standing for a clear identification with Germany. Shaped by its long traditions, innovations and values, the name Junghans has always been associated with quality, reliability, passion and precision. During its extensive history, the Schramberg-based long-established company has successfully shaped the history of the watch industry and preserved its philosophy through new and ongoing developments in technology and through combining forward-thinking ideas with a drive for precision. Modern national and international business structures enable Uhrenfabrik Junghans to continue presenting innovative ‘Made in Germany’ products in the future and to further developing the unique success story of the watch with the star.
Tradition and modernity go hand-in-hand
The Junghans company was founded by Erhard Junghans and his brother-in-law Jakob Zeller-Tobler in Schramberg in 1861. Until today, the original site remained the company’s headquarter. Since the very beginning, Junghans has always been standing for precision and top- quality manufacturing. While the company initially specialised in the production of individual components for clock-making, Junghans began constructing and producing its own clocks in 1866. The registration of the Junghans trademark, the 8-point star, in 1890 marked the start of an era of patents and procedures which provided the company with significant advantages regarding quality and manufacturing: Junghans clocks became globally popular timepieces which were accessible to all. Junghans was already employing 3,000 workers in 1903 and selling 3 million clocks per year, making it the biggest clock factory in the world. When it comes to mechanical watches, the 1930s were of great significance. The first models from the legendary ‘Meister’ range were produced during this time and were deemed to be the finest watches the company had ever made. The 1950s also played a key role in the company’s long history. It was during this time that Junghans established itself as Germany’s biggest manufacturer of chronometers. ‘Uhrenfabriken Gebrüder Junghans A.G.’ set new standards in watch-making when it marked the company’s 100 year anniversary in 1961: Each day, 6,000 employees produced 5,000 wrist watches, more than 10,000 alarm clocks and 5,000 kitchen and living room clocks which were exported from Schramberg to a total of 100 countries.
The highest standards of technology and design
Beside ongoing technological developments, Junghans attaches particular importance to an independent design culture. With the production of Junghans clocks designed by Max Bill from 1956 on, this notion was developed further. The collaboration gave rise to a legendary watch collection which went on to become a modern design classic. Innovative design features were also launched in the form of the world’s first radio-controlled watch, Mega 1, in 1990, a fruitful cooperation project with Frog Design. The years before were also very exciting and saw the company presenting the first German quartz wrist watch, the ‘Astro-Quartz’, in 1970. Additional milestones occurred in the trend-setting 1990s with the first radio-controlled solar watch in 1993 and the use of high-tech materials such as ceramics, the first multi-frequency radio-controlled watch in 2004 and the expansion of the mechanical collection. In 2011, Junghans celebrated its 150 year success story with the launch of three limited edition mechanical models and a fresh interpretation of historic series such as the ‘Meister’ range. For the first time, Junghans combined in its ‘Force’ model the Junghans-own multi-frequency radio-controlled technology with solar technology within a ceramic case. The strikingly flat movement is fitted with the patented Junghans Autoscan technology which enables automatic identification of the current signal transmitter and synchronises the time during travel.
Time for sportive peak performance
The new line ‘1972’ reflects this year’s motto of ‘time for sportive peak performance’. The models are based on product concepts from that time and include a striking case and fresh colour accents in the 1970’s style. Equipped with the latest technology, they reflect the company’s sporting successes as the official timekeeper at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972. Thanks to Junghans’ new measuring methods, including measuring time accurate a 100th of a second using the first colour photographs of the finish line, this event saw the revolution of sports time keeping. The design classic max bill by junghans now incorporates a women’s line with enhanced wearing comfort. The re-design of a table clock, based on original Max Bill design drawings from 1958, perfectly completes the max bill by junghans range.