1861 a commitment to excellence from the start
In 1861, the Junghans watch manufacturing was founded. In the little Black Forest village of Schramberg, businessman Erhard Junghans and his brother-in-law Jakob Zeller-Tobler established the enterprise. They first concentrated in producing individual components for the manufacture of watches. The basis for a whole watchmaking business was formed when Junghans’ accuracy swiftly came to be associated with exceptional production quality. The company’s in-house master watchmakers created and built the first timepieces carrying the Junghans brand in 1866.
Arthur Junghans in 1875
After his father passed away too soon in 1875, Arthur Junghans took over as business manager. Arthur, who had been to America and studied the most recent technical possibilities made possible by rational manufacturing, was a watchmaker by trade and training. As the company’s technical head, designer, and source of many innovative manufacturing methods, Arthur Junghans played key roles in their introduction. Numerous devices and procedures were created well before the turn of the century, giving Junghans unbeatable advantages in terms of manufacturing and quality. Arthur Junghans principally concentrated on watchmaking advances, and under his direction, no fewer than 300 ideas were patented.
Star above Junghans in 1890
It was initially registered in 1890, and the eight-pointed star that serves as the Junghans trademark today. German-made, reasonably priced Junghans timepieces gained a reputation for being of great quality and were successfully marketed all over the world. Arthur Junghans’ dream came true in 1903 when Junghans became the biggest watch manufacturer in the world. Each year, more than 3 million watches were made by more than 3,000 workers. The manufacturing plant soon required expansion. Thus, the terrace structure with its step-like design that provided natural sunshine to each and every watchmaker’s work station came into reality. The structure is currently safeguarded as a historical monument.
1946 a priceless legacy amid trying times
In 1920, Arthur Junghans’ sons Erwin and Oscar assumed control of the business following his passing. It was not an easy assignment to carry on the company’s tradition and uphold its high standards, but the brothers did it effectively. The first wristwatches were created at the beginning of the 1930s, and they swiftly overtook pocket watches as the most popular type of watch available. The master watchmakers of Junghans continued to be inventive despite the Second World War and the factory’s destruction. In 1946, Junghans created the renowned J88, the first wristwatch chronograph mechanism. In the brand-new market conditions created by post-war rebuilding, Junghans was also successful in establishing itself as a business with a rich history.
1970 During the quartz era
After the company’s successful consolidation in the years after 1945, Junghans started concentrating on new, more accurate ways to measure time. The electric movement was the first outcome of these efforts. However, it was the recently created quartz technology that Junghans truly embraced and advanced. At the end of the 1960s, the first German quartz clock was created, and the country’s first quartz wristwatch was created in 1970. As the official timekeeper of the 1972 Olympic Games, Junghans once again established history as a pioneer of chronographic progress.
Junghans and the radio-controlled watch, 1985
When Junghans invented the first radio-controlled table clock, they unleashed yet another revolution on the clock and watchmaking industries. In 1990, the first radio-controlled solar clock was followed by the Mega 1, the first radio-controlled wristwatch. The Mega 1000, a fresh rendition of the first radio-controlled wristwatch ever made, was introduced by Junghans in 2005 to commemorate the Mega 1’s 15th birthday and to pay homage to the original. It blends cutting-edge technology with modern design.