On 14 April 1861, Erhard Junghans and his brother-in-law founded the watch component factory "Zeller & Junghans". They chose the site in the Lauterbachtal valley as the location for their joint, albeit not very successful, oil mill. This is quickly converted and soon drives the first production machines.
However, the company is still a long way from producing complete clocks: initially, components for large Black Forest clocks such as wooden cases, bronze shields, hands, glass doors, wire hooks, hinges and pendulum discs are manufactured, followed by the first own clocks in 1866.
In the early days Junghans not only orients itself towards American movements, it also looks overseas for the factory symbol. Because as far as marketing is concerned, the Americans are pioneers at this time.
In 1888 Junghans registers a new trademark that is indicative of the new mood of confidence at the company. The five-pointed star with the letter "J" in the middle makes its first appearance. Two years later the star, which represents a stylised gear wheel, is eight pointed and receives the addition of the rest of the brand name to go with the initial.
With 3,000 employees producing over three million timepieces per year, Junghans is the largest watch and clock factory in the world. The company now maintains factories and subsidiaries in Schramberg, Rottenburg, Schwenningen, Deißlingen, Lauterbach, Ebensee, Venice and Paris.
During this time the region around Schramberg not only benefits from the size of the clock factory but also from the establishment and growth of various subcontractors for movement components such as winding and balance springs, screws and drives.
Daylight for every workplace - and this in a constrained Black Forest valley! At the steepest end of the factory site Arthur Junghans plans a terrace structure that "climbs" the slope in nine steps.
The long, narrow buildings are conceived in a way that enables the workplaces to receive optimal daylight, allowing the highest precision in manufacturing. The terrace structure is completed in 1918 and becomes the landmark of the Schramberg clock factory.
In the 1930s Junghans begins to fit movements of its own design and manufacture in wristwatches. The first movement with then indirect, central second appears in 1936 and is powered by the J80 calibre. Its finest version receives the designation J80/2 and is refined with Côtes de Genève. This becomes the heartbeat of the watches of the "Meister" series.
At the same time Junghans begins a special approach to welcoming guests: Junghans puts young employees in alarm clock costumes to boost advertising. Hats take the form of alarm bells. The legendary 16 weckermädle alarm girls prove an eye-catcher and the pictures are reproduced around the world.
In 1946 the plans for the first wristwatch chronographs with the in-house J88 calibre are on the table: a hand-wound chronograph with 19 jewels, colum wheel system and intricate Breguet spring. With its stopwatch function, the watch becomes the image of a typical "pilot watch" when the newly-formed Bundeswehr seeks a service watch for its pilots.
Junghans submits the chronograph with the highly robust and reliable J88 movement and wins the contract. Behind the 14 lignes caliber is an attractively-gilt, classic movement, produced by Junghans from 1950 to 1964. The watch later also becomes available to civilians.
With the development of precise movements for wristwatches, the chronometer occupied a key position in the market. In 1951 Junghans is the largest manufacturer of chronometers in Germany, in 1956 the third largest in the world.
The same year Diehl GmbH acquires the majority of the shares. In 1957 a further Junghans star appears in the chronometer firmament: the J83 is the first automatic chronometer caliber, now one of the most sought-after Junghans calibers amongst collectors. With its refined screw balance and attractive fine regulation, the caliber in its various forms is still one of the finest chronometer movements ever constructed in Germany.
At the beginning of the 1950s Junghans moots plans to have an everyday object such as a kitchen clock designed by an artist. The choice falls on the Swiss Max Bill, who is not only a painter, sculptor, graphic artist and architect, but also a renowned product designer.
Born in 1908, Max Bill studied at the Bauhaus in Dessau and is one of the founders of the design school in Ulm (HfG). Together with students, Max Bill develops the first designer kitchen clock from Junghans. It is the beginning of a success story for the long-standing Schramberg-based company.
Beginning in 1961, Max Bill designs the purist wristwatches and Junghans ensures that the design classics are also in keeping with the latest technical state of the art.
Since 1967 the developers at Junghans have been working on a quartz wristwatch, they tinker in search of solutions, as time is of the essence. Competitors are also working towards the same goal. And Junghans is in the lead once again.
In 1970 the time is ripe for a sensation, the presentation of a pre-production series of the first German quartz wristwatch. With the Astro-Quartz Junghans once again writes a new chapter in watchmaking history. Thanks to its complex technology, the watch gets launched with a price tag of around 800 marks. In 1972 the W666.02 caliber enters series production.
The 1972 Olympic Games. The eyes of the world are on Munich - and Junghans. As the official timekeeper of the games, Junghans sets new standards in time measurement. The electronically-connected starting blocks, start control units and light barriers enable both starts and finishes to be registered, monitored and documented accurately.
With this development the precise time measurement of sporting performances acquire an objective, incontestable value. Records become clearly measurable. In combination with the world's first colour finish line photos accurate to one hundredth of a second, Junghans makes a name for itself as a timekeeper for sporting competitions.
In 1985 comes the breakthrough: Junghans presents the first radio-controlled, series production table clock for private use. The deviation is just one second every million years – mankind's strive for absolute accuracy becomes reality!
One year later, for the 125th anniversary of the company, Junghans presents the world's first radio-controlled clock to obtain its energy from resource-saving solar technology.
The next major sensation is achieved in 1990: the Junghans engineers have miniaturised the radio control technology to such an extent that it can be installed in a wristwatch. The Junghans Mega 1 becomes the first radio-controlled wristwatch in the world. It was designed in collaboration with FROG Design and boasts a futuristic design in addition to advanced technology.
After intensive development work Junghans becomes the first manufacturer in the world to take a key step forward in the further development of radio control technology: the problem-free wristwatch, which draws its energy from the sun and uses radio signals to always tell the right time
In the spring of 1992 Junghans engineer Wolfgang Ganter unveils a prototype to the astonished trade press, in January 1993 the watch is ready for series production. Managing Director Wolfgang Fritz speaks of a moment of glory for Junghans, a milestone in the development of the watch. In 1995 the antenna is integrated into a ceramic case, with its non-scratch case the Mega Solar Ceramic is held up as the non plus ultra: the watch that "runs forever and is never wrong."
With the multi-frequency radio-controlled movement developed and patented at Junghans the dream of a watch that receives time signals in various countries and adjusts itself automatically comes to fruition. It is no longer only in Germany and Europe that the signals are received, transmitters in North America and Asia now also transmit their radio waves with the respectively-precise time signal.
The transmitters stand in Fort Collins (Colorado) for North America, on Mount Othakadoya near Tokyo, in the north-east of the country for Japan and on Mount Hagane for the south-west of Japan, the east coast of China (Shanghai), South Korea and parts of Taiwan.
With the plan of manufacturing high-quality mechanical watches in Schramberg again, 2006 sees the launch of the exclusive Erhard Junghans range of mechanical watches as an homage to the company founder. The finest movement ticks inside the “Erhard Junghans 1”, launched in 2008. The sophisticated hand-wound J325 caliber combines historic impulses with the latest technical processes. Numerous components are designed at the in-house design department using the latest CAD programmes, with blanks manufactured on the company's own CNC machine. The finishing of winding wheels, wheel bridges, balance bridges and the special regulating fixtures is conducted by hand before each of the models is carefully assembled in the Erhard Junghans atelier – with views over Schramberg. Instead of the respective time numbers each watch bears its individual limitation number. There are just 12 copies of the watch worldwide and the limitation makes each of these fine timepieces unique.
"Finally insolvent" is how the German magazine Finance reports the Junghans insolvency. And is not far wrong. After the parent company Egana Goldpfeil, which has owned Junghans since 2000, encounters difficulties Junghans makes the best of the situation by finally becoming independent again, free to develop its own strategies for the future. In Schramberg managing directors Werner Wicklein and Matthias Stotz join the insolvency administrator in the frantic search for a rescuer for the long-standing company, with Mayor Herbert O. Zinell also providing support in the search for the ideal investor for what was once the largest employer in the region. Heeding the call from the town hall, the Schramberg honorary citizen and businessman Dr. Hans-Jochem Steim inspects the factory premises and soon reaches an agreement with the management. With Dr. Hans-Jochem and Hannes Steim as new owners, February 2009 sees the dawn of a new future for Junghans.
A major event looms on the horizon: for many months now planning has been underway, the archives scoured and former employees contacted. The search is on for historic milestones and anecdotes for a special issue of the German magazine Chronos,”150 Years of Junghans” and the anniversary chronical "150 Moments from 150 Years of Junghans". Based on the historic Meister watches of the 1930s to 1960s, the Meister range is reinterpreted for the 150th anniversary. The limited anniversary models Meister Chronoscope and Meister Chronometer are available from just a few selected jewellers in the scope of a nationwide anniversary tour. The highlight of the anniversary year takes the form of a number of events at the company site, where everything all began 150 years before: the Geißhalde. On the date of the anniversary, 15 April 2011, Junghans invites guests from the worlds of business and politics to a ceremony in the historic buildings. The next day the new Junghans company museum opens and the anniversary is celebrated with an open day, attended by several thousand visitors.
In 2012 the Steim family acquires further buildings on the Junghans site on the Geißhalde. As a consequence, not only the Junghans brand but also the premises of the watch factory are once more in Schramberg family hands.
On its own premises the company expands the depth of manufacturing at the Schramberg site to include a new assembly line for radio-controlled movements as well as investing in the development of a new generation of movements for wristwatches. With this the company is making a further major contribution to increasing added value and building on the major developments of recent years.
Up to the present day radio-controlled and radio-solar-powered timepieces still constitute a significant part of the Junghans brand. Since the world premiere of the Mega 1 in 1990 and numerous further developments, they have symbolised the company's innovative power. The newly developed multi-frequency radio-controlled solar movement 615.84 first introduced in 2011, comes in 2015 in a smaller dimension for the ladies' timepiece range.
Following the successful launch of the Meister Pilot Event Edition in the scope of an event at the company headquarters in Schramberg, 2016 sees the introduction of the Meister Pilot series model. The timepiece combines the distinctive design elements of the legendary Junghans pilot watch of 1955 with the smooth, stylish appearance of the current Meister range.
Not only does the Meister Driver display the time, it also evokes an entire era: the early years of modern motoring, a time of great technological pioneers. Its appearance is inspired by the design of historically significant classic cars and their dashboard instruments. Like no other watch, the Meister Driver combines the distinctive charm of these automobiles with our passion for mechanical timepieces.
2018 is an eventful year for Uhrenfabrik Junghans. The 100th birthday of the terrace building is being celebrated with the limited-edition Meister Chronoscope Terrassenbau models.
This structure, which made architectural history, is now home to the new Junghans Terrassenbau Museum, leading guests on a vibrant, documented journey through time through the history of Black Forest clocks and watches as well as the history of Junghans.
Junghans is setting new standards with the development of an innovative, intelligent radio-controlled movement, utilised in the Meister and max bill MEGA. The new Junghans Meister and max bill MEGA models combine precision with the highest standards of aesthetics and design.
A legendary watch collection and a revolutionary new interpretation: featuring the design characteristics typical of Meister, but in a consciously sporty and masculine form, the Meister S Chronoscope sets new standards for design, features and suitability for everyday use. Hard-wearing sapphire crystal and water resistance to 20 bar withstand even the toughest of challenges.
With attention to detail, precision and inventive spirit, we continue to work on watch innovations that underline the style and personality of their wearers like no other.
From a sports-themed range of watches unveiled by Junghans at the pinnacle of their dominance in sports timekeeping in 1972, the most striking model would quickly become a much sought-after collector’s item. And remains so to this very day. Precisely 50 years later, Junghans now revive the fascination with sport from this golden era with two breathtaking new timepieces: The 1972 Competition and the 1972 Competition Edition. With their elliptical case form and push buttons and crown mounted at the top in the style of a stopwatch, both variants communicate the distinctive design language of their legendary archetypes. The totalisers and tachymeter scales in brilliant orange stand out strikingly from the anthracite coloured dial, effectuating the dynamic presentation of the timepiece. Appearance embodying the charm of the 1970s, straps secured with stainless steel screws, durable sapphire crystal, screwed crown and water resistance up to 10 bar for sportiness for the here and now.
