Junghans

The Junghans dynasty was founded in April 1861 by Erhard Junghans and his brother-in-law in the Upper Palatinate. The beginning was a rather bumpy one. In the former buildings of the oil mill, which the two abandoned after moderate success, the two implemented the first watch manufactory. The beginnings were such that they produced components for large Black Forest clocks, such as the wooden case, bronze shields, hands and glass pieces for the same. In other words, they were what today would be called subcontractors. This period was a time of learning for Erhard Junghans and his partner. A time that was to be decisive for the later worldwide success of the Junghans brand. It would take a good 20 years for Junghans to make its presence felt on the market with the production of its own watch brand. This activity effectively began with the creation of the Junghans sign. The 5-pointed star, which was later redesigned to eight points. The "J" was added later. This new self-image heralded the real beginning of the Junghans watch brand.

Junghans, the 1930s

During this period, the family business produced the first self-constructed watch movements, which found their way onto the first German market in bracelet format. The first success of Junghans came in 1936 with the caliber J80, which was equipped with indirect center second. Shortly thereafter, this caliber under the designation J80/2 experienced the first finest movement version, which was decorated with the Geneva stripe. This represents one of the most sought-after pieces among collectors. Over the years, the production of this masterpiece of the watchmaker's art was given the predicate "Master" and is still used today. It therefore represents a special seal of quality.

Junghans, the 40s and 50s

These years were marked by the development of the first chronographs. The caliber J88, which was built into hand-wound chronographs, with 19 jewels, switching wheel and stop function, represented the first typical pilot-style watches. The 14-jewel caliber with the gold-plated movement was chosen by the German Army as the basic equipment for its pilots because of its precision and robustness. This can be seen as the beginning of the worldwide success of the Junghans manufacture. By 1951, Junghans was already the largest German chronograph manufacturer and the 3rd largest in the world.

From quartz to radio control

In the 1960s, the factory focused on quartz-controlled wristwatches, which powered the J83 caliber. Many years later, Junghans was the manufacture that mass-produced the first radio-controlled table clock. The eternal German striving for perfection found its expression with the caliber model RCS 1. This caliber promised a maximum deviation of one second in a million of years and was solar controlled.

Aesthetics, design and perfect craftsmanship

No other watch manufacture can claim to be able to achieve such a level of material quality, perfect craftsmanship, simple noble design and aesthetics. This is confirmed in no small measure by the Junghans Meister Pilot chronographs, which saw the light of the watch world in 2019. The Junghans manufacture represents the best proof that (German) quality, perfect craftsmanship and aesthetics can go hand in hand.