Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope Automatic c2005

Junghans

The company began to produce wristwatches in 1927, and over the following decades created clocks and watches for the civilian market and the German air force. Beginning in the 1950s, the Bauhaus-trained designer Max Bill created products for the firm, notably the teardrop-shaped “Kitchen Clock with Timer”, which can be found in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, and followed by a series of watches, the first of which launched in 1961. The relationship between Junghans and Bill lasted many years, and the company has continued to release new models based on his work. Many of the firm’s best-selling watches today are based on those designed by Bill. 

The company served as the official timekeeper for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. In the late 1980s, Junghans introduced the first radio-controlled table clock on the world market. In 1990 the first radio-controlled wristwatch, called the MEGA 1, followed, designed by Hartmut Esslinger and his firm Frog Design. In 1995 Junghans presented a solar-powered watch with ceramic housing. Together with the Japanese firm Seiko, Junghans developed a globally-oriented wristwatch that automatically sets the local time in respective time zones.

Description

Here we have a truly remarkable original Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope automatic chronograph which carries the highly sought after original, unrestored and untouched black dial. This watch is named the ‘Chronoscope’, ‘Chrono’ meaning time and ‘Scope’ meaning observe. This watch carries an automatic self winding chronograph calibre 880 movement, which is in sparkling condition. The outstanding dial and movement are cased within a oversized 40mm stainless steel case that is in incredible condition.

The Dial

This remarkable watch carries a beautiful, completely original, unrestored and untouched black dial with very easy to read dial furnishings. The dash hour indices are swept by very original stainless steel ‘index’ hands. All of which, look simply stunning against the black dial and the stainless steel case. This dial has the perfect addition of a date window at 3.

This dial carries a twin register, the dial at the top below 12, indicates the elapsed time up to thirty minutes while the chronograph is running, and the dial at the bottom above 6, indicates the elapsed time up to twelve hours.

The dial is simply signed ‘Junghans’ and ‘Chronoscope’ to the left of the dial by 9 and ‘Made in Germany’ at the very bottom of the dial below 6.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The movement within this watch is the Junghans calibre 880.2, 25 Jewel automatic movement which is in sparkling condition and has been fully overhauled and serviced by our vintage specialist watchmaker. This means the movement has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt using only the correct original parts where required before careful calibration and testing. Upon returning to stock, the watch is now running to within +11 seconds per day which is truly outstanding for any vintage watch of this age!

With care and with regular servicing, say every 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run quite happily for many decades to come. We are therefore more than happy to offer this watch with our 12 months’ warranty* and to assist with servicing again in the future.

The movement is correctly signed ‘Junghans’, along with the calibre 880.2 and 25 jewels.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Watch Case

The stainless steel case is of a bold, three-piece design, measuring an oversized 40mm, excluding the correct crown, this is a very over-sized watch for the period. The case-back is of full thickness and has never been inscribed. This case has incredible straight lugs which give the watch the perfect presence on the wrist.

This watch case has been carefully inspected for fatigue marks and there are none. It has recently completed a full restoration by our team and is in excellent condition. Even under close examination, there are few scratches, dings or signs of wear visible to the naked eye, leading us to suspect that this watch has seen very little real use.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch is fitted with a high quality black leather strap and a plain stainless steel buckle, which we feel suits the watch perfectly. If, however, a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige, free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain, padded leather, alligator, crocodile or lizard skin.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to c2005.

Detailed particulars will be included with our receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with a high quality double watch leather pouch.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

This is a first class example of a top quality Junghans wristwatch in stainless steel with the superb calibre 880.2 automatic movement. The movement is of a high grade and on a par with watches far more expensive than this. Junghans watches are highly collectable and the rarity of this watch means the value will always remain strong.

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage steel watches.

Thank you.