BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
Founded in 1919, German art and design school Bauhaus has turned 100 this year. To celebrate the occasion watch brand Junghans has added a new watch to its Bauhaus inspired Max Bill collection. The Max Bill Chronoscope 100 Jahre Bauhaus is a watch that follows the Bauhaus design principles and features several intriguing details influenced by the Bauhaus premises at Dessau.
The brainchild of renowned industrial designer and Bauhaus disciple Max Bill, the simple yet highly functional dial on the Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope is a masterclass in minimalism. From the printed minute hash marks to the elongated hour markings, to the bicompax layout and the lume plots at the four quadrants, everything on this dial has been thoughtfully designed and placed to ensure that readability of time is never compromised. As this watch celebrates the centenary of Bauhaus, Junghans made some interesting color choices to make the dial special. The Matt silver dial is meant to evoke the color of the walls of the Bauhaus building in Dessau and the red color found on the baton-style handset and the date window mimic the color of the doors.
The tribute does not end with the dial and continues through to the case as well. Measuring a modest 40mm in diameter the case which is made from stainless steel gets a PVD treatment to achieve an anthracite shade which is reminiscent of the striking facade of the Bauhaus building. Sitting proudly on top is a dramatically domed crystal that blends well with elegant case design and gives the watch a nice vintage vibe. The crystal has an anti-reflective coating on both inside and outside and interestingly is made of sapphire instead of Plexiglass which is more commonly used by the brand.
Flipping the watch over you will find an exhibition case back which has been nicely decorated. A printed Bauhaus logo covers the entire mineral glass except for the window section which has been left transparent to give a glimpse of the mechanical internals of the watch. Powering the watch is the Junghans caliber J880.02, which is an automatic chronograph movement based on the venerable Valjoux 7750. It operates at a frequency of 4Hz and offers a power reserve of around 48 hours.
The Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope 100 Jahre Bauhaus would come attached to a grey leather strap and would retail for EUR, 1995. Production would be limited to just 100 pieces.
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