Junghans

Who are Junghans?

Junghans is a German clock and watch maker based in Schramberg, in the Black Forest, founded in 1861 by Erhard Junghans and his brother-in-law Jakob Zeller-Tobler (Europa Star). It is known for the max bill watches designed by the Swiss artist Max Bill from 1961, and for the MEGA 1 of 1990, the first radio-controlled wristwatch (Europa Star). This page covers its history, collections and ownership, then what to check when buying a Junghans watch second-hand in the UK.

Junghans has been owned by the Steim family of Schramberg since 2009, and Europa Star described it in 2024 as “still a German family-owned company”, making about 40,000 watches a year. Germany is its largest market (Europa Star).

The history of Junghans

Junghans’s history runs from a clock-parts business in 1861 to the world’s largest clock maker by 1903, through chronometers, quartz and radio-controlled watches, to insolvency in 2008 and new owners in 2009. The key dates are the founding (1861), 1903, the first in-house wristwatch movement (1936), max bill (1961), the MEGA 1 (1990) and the Steim purchase (2009).

The founding. Erhard Junghans and Jakob Zeller-Tobler founded the company in Schramberg in 1861 to make clock parts, and its own timepieces followed in 1866 (Europa Star, 2021). Europa Star dates the founding to 14 April; Wikipedia gives 15 April. By 1903, with about 3,000 workers and more than three million timepieces a year, Junghans was the largest clock maker in the world, with plants in Germany, Austria, Italy and France (Europa Star, 2021). Its nine-level Terrassenbau factory, designed by Philipp Jakob Manz so every workstation had daylight, was finished in 1918 (Europa Star, 2021).

Wristwatches and chronometers. Junghans began making wristwatches in 1927 (Wikipedia). In 1936 it introduced its own movement, the J80/2, the basis of the Meister line, and in 1949 it unveiled the hand-wound J88 chronograph movement (Europa Star, 2021). Junghans was Germany’s largest chronometer maker in 1951 and the world’s third largest in 1956, behind Rolex and Omega (Europa Star, 2021; Wikipedia). Wikipedia says a Junghans watch designed for the West German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, was first issued in the late 1950s. The Junghans family ran the company until 1956, when the Diehl group took a majority stake (Europa Star, 2024).

Max Bill. Max Bill, a Swiss designer trained at the Bauhaus, designed a kitchen clock for Junghans in the 1950s, and the first max bill wristwatches followed in 1961 (Europa Star, 2024; Wikipedia).

Quartz and radio control. The Astro-Quartz, Junghans’s first quartz watch, launched in 1971, and in 1972 Junghans was official timekeeper of the Munich Olympic Games (Europa Star, 2024). Europa Star’s 2021 anniversary article gives 1971 in one place and 1972 in another for the Astro-Quartz. Junghans made the first radio-controlled table clock in 1985, the MEGA 1 radio-controlled wristwatch in 1990, and the first solar-powered radio-controlled wristwatch in 1993 (Europa Star, 2024).

Insolvency and new owners. Sources differ on when Diehl sold Junghans: the business magazine Unternehmeredition says EganaGoldpfeil, a Hong Kong-based group, took over the watch division in 2000, while Wikipedia says only that Egana owned it from the 1990s. EganaGoldpfeil collapsed in mid-2008 and Junghans filed for insolvency (Unternehmeredition). In 2009 Dr Hans-Jochem Steim and his son Hannes Steim, whose family firm Kern-Liebers had supplied Junghans, bought the company (Europa Star, 2021; Unternehmeredition). Wikipedia gives the year of the purchase as 2008. About 90 people worked at Schramberg in 2009 (Unternehmeredition).

Recent years. Junghans marked 150 years in 2011 and revived the Meister line (Europa Star, 2021). It opened the Terrassenbau Museum in 2018, and Hannes Steim became chief executive in June 2022 (Europa Star, 2021 and 2024). Junghans set up a US business in 2024 (Europa Star, 2024).

What is Junghans known for?

Junghans is known for German design, especially the max bill watches, for radio-controlled and solar watches, and for its history as a mass maker of clocks and chronometers.

Max Bill design. Europa Star reported in 2024 that the max bill wristwatch, first made in 1961, was still one of Junghans’s biggest sellers.

Radio control. A radio-controlled watch sets itself from a time signal broadcast by a transmitter. Junghans makes its radio-controlled movements itself (Europa Star, 2024). Its multi-frequency movement, which took eleven years to develop, can receive signals in Europe, Asia and North America (Europa Star, 2021 and 2024).

Movements. Junghans gives its movements J numbers, but its mechanical movements come from Switzerland and its quartz movements from Japan or Switzerland (Europa Star, 2024). The J800.2 in the FORM A, for example, is described by Monochrome Watches as an ETA 2824 clone. Hannes Steim told Europa Star that making its own mechanical movements would cost at least ten million euros and is a long-term aim. Our guide to in-house and outsourced movements explains the difference.

Chronometers. In the 1950s Junghans was a large maker of chronometers (Europa Star, 2021). Our guide to COSC certification explains what chronometer certification means today.

Which Junghans collections are there?

Europa Star named four main lines in 2024: Meister, FORM, Sports and max bill. Among the sports watches are the 1972 chronographs, named after the Munich Games (Time+Tide). The collections table on this page has a line on each. Points that help when reading listings:

• Mechanical, quartz or radio-controlled. One family can include more than one kind of movement: the max bill and Meister families both have radio-controlled MEGA models, launched in 2018, alongside other movements (Europa Star, 2021). Our guide to mechanical and quartz watches explains the difference.
• Reference numbers. Junghans references take a form such as 27/4152.00 (Europa Star, 2021). Match the reference on the papers to the caseback.
• Limited editions. Junghans makes numbered editions, such as the 2021 Meister Signatur Edition 160, limited to 160 pieces (Europa Star, 2021). Match the edition number to the papers.
• Vintage pieces. Older Junghans watches, such as J88 chronographs, were made with Junghans’s own movements of the time (Europa Star, 2021), and need a watchmaker who knows them.

Who owns Junghans?

Junghans is owned by the Steim family of Schramberg, who bought it in 2009 after its insolvency (Europa Star, 2024; Unternehmeredition). Dr Hans-Jochem Steim and his son Hannes Steim were the buyers; their family firm, Kern-Liebers, had already supplied Junghans (Unternehmeredition). Hannes Steim has been chief executive since June 2022 (Europa Star, 2024).

Junghans is not part of a watch group. Before 2009 it belonged to the Diehl group, from 1956, and then to EganaGoldpfeil (Europa Star, 2024; Unternehmeredition). Wikipedia’s infobox names a single owner, Hans-Jochem Steim; neither it nor the press sources give current shareholdings. As another German family-owned watchmaker outside the big Swiss groups, Junghans is sometimes compared with Sinn, based in Frankfurt.

Buying a Junghans watch second-hand in the UK: what to check

Check which movement the watch has, match the reference and any edition number to the papers, check what remains of the warranty, and run a stolen-watch check before you pay.

1. The movement. Junghans sells mechanical, quartz, solar and radio-controlled watches, often under the same collection name (Europa Star, 2021 and 2024). Read the movement line in the listing. If it is radio-controlled, ask the seller to show that it sets itself.

2. Papers and the full set. Ask which items come with the watch and whether they are originals. Our guide to what “full set” means explains what each item proves.

3. Warranty. Ask when the watch was first sold and whether it is still under the manufacturer’s warranty. See watch warranties explained.

4. Bought abroad. Germany is Junghans’s largest market (Europa Star, 2024), and many second-hand Junghans watches are sold from there. If you buy from a seller outside the UK, our guide to import duty and VAT explains what you may pay on arrival.

5. Servicing. Ask when a mechanical Junghans was last serviced, by whom, and for the paperwork. Our guide on how to care for a mechanical watch covers what a service involves.

6. Stolen-watch check. Check the serial number against a stolen-watch register before you pay. Our stolen-watch check guide lists the UK registers.

For the full process from setting a budget to collecting the watch, see the guide to buying a luxury watch.

Frequently asked questions

Is Junghans a German brand?

Yes. Junghans was founded in Schramberg, in Germany’s Black Forest, in 1861 and is still based there (Europa Star).

Who owns Junghans?

The Steim family of Schramberg, since 2009 (Europa Star, 2024).

Who was Max Bill?

A Swiss designer trained at the Bauhaus who designed a kitchen clock for Junghans in the 1950s and wristwatches from 1961 (Europa Star, 2024; Wikipedia).

Does Junghans make its own movements?

Its radio-controlled movements, yes. Its mechanical movements come from Switzerland and its quartz movements from Japan or Switzerland (Europa Star, 2024).

What was the first radio-controlled wristwatch?

The Junghans MEGA 1, presented in 1990 (Europa Star, 2024).

Was Junghans the largest clock maker in the world?

Yes, in 1903, with about 3,000 workers and more than three million timepieces a year (Europa Star, 2021).

Can I visit Junghans in Schramberg?

The Junghans Terrassenbau Museum opened in the company’s listed factory building in Schramberg in 2018 (Europa Star, 2021).

What is Junghans FORM?

A collection of plain, modern watches launched at Baselworld in 2017, starting with the FORM A automatic (Monochrome Watches).

Is Junghans still family owned?

Yes. The Steim family has owned it since 2009, and Hannes Steim, son of one of the buyers, has been chief executive since June 2022 (Europa Star, 2024).

This page is general information. Watch60 is independent and has no commercial relationship with Junghans.

We check the facts on this page against the sources listed, and it is correct to the best of our knowledge as of October 2026. Brands change their warranty, servicing and sales terms, so confirm them with the brand or the seller before you buy.