In 2019, the Bauhaus celebrated its 100th anniversary, and several watch brands are paying homage to the influential art school with the release of colorful timepieces.
Text by Maria-Bettina Eich
Watches celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus
Bauhaus. The word is easy to pronounce, and most people have a vague idea of what it means. Something cool. White. Clean lines. These interpretations are part of a larger picture that represents Bauhaus, a picture that can be seen in the watch celebrating the 100th anniversary of the school's founding.
In 2019, Junghans introduced the Form A, an automatic watch with a stainless steel case and small, colorful square hour markers. Its color scheme, featuring subtle tones of turquoise, pink, and violet alongside the primary colors of blue, yellow, and red, is reminiscent of the Bauhaus color theory.
The colors used in the Form A represent a characteristic that remains appealing to Bauhaus today. To develop the "Bauhaus form," the Bauhaus School of Design experimented extensively with shape, color, and function, without being bound by conventional design theory. While the design elements often associated with Bauhaus may be interpreted as "simple," they are not the result of chance but rather the product of creativity. This influence can be seen in the Junghans Form A. The vibrant colors used for the hour markers are linked to the color wheel developed by Bauhaus instructor Johannes Itten. The Form A also eschews all unnecessary decoration. Its form is limited to the basic function of a wristwatch—telling time.
Bauhaus student Max Bill
Junghans has plenty of experience with these design ideas. While the connection between Junghans and the Bauhaus dates back less than 100 years, it has been more than 60 years since former Bauhaus student Max Bill designed a kitchen clock with a built-in timer for Junghans. Introduced in 1956, this clock has left a lasting mark on design history.
By this time, Max Bill was already a significant influence in the German design world. Born in Switzerland in 1908, the artist, designer, and architect studied at the Bauhaus School of Design in Dessau, Germany, from 1927 to 1928. Fundamental ideas from this period shaped his entire life, particularly his recognition that designing our living environments can improve our lives. Based on this, Max Bill began to refer to the concept of "good form." In 1953, he was appointed the first rector of the Ulm School of Design, with his office located in a building he designed himself. The Ulm School of Design aimed to establish a new democratic design culture in postwar Germany and its mission was to carry on the legacy of the Bauhaus. Max Bill served as rector until 1955 and worked at the school until 1957. During this time, he designed the Junghans kitchen clock, in which every detail was carefully considered to maximize functionality, influencing many subsequent clocks and wristwatches. The most famous of these was the wristwatch designed by Max Bill.
Today, Junghans continues to introduce new models to the Max Bill collection, carefully reflecting the original model and making any changes. Max Bill created a round, simple watch with long minute markers every five minutes and easily distinguishable short minute markers, and a perfect balance between the length of the luminous dots every quarter hour and the minute and second hands. The collection still retains these design features today.
What's amazing about Max Bill's watch designs is how, despite their longevity, they remain fundamentally modern. Designs that are reduced to basic functionality have a timeless effect, regardless of fashion or trends. Max Bill created the original three-hand watch, proving that carefully implemented Bauhaus concepts are still relevant today.
To celebrate the Bauhaus's 100th anniversary, Junghans has made some playful changes to the original Max Bill, including the WG Max Bill Chronoscope. The case back features a depiction of the now-iconic building, complete with its red door, the Bauhaus name in vertical letters, and its famous glass facade. The red door is a clever nod to the red door Walter Gropius designed for the Bauhaus building in Dessau when political pressure forced the school to move from Weimar to Dessau in 1925. The facade is meshed, revealing the automatic movement inside.
Bauhaus look and Tangente
Junghans' historical connection with Max Bill meant it was destined to release a new watch to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus. Another watch brand that has maintained a continuing connection to the Bauhaus is NOMOS, most notably the Tangente. NOMOS introduced the Tangente in 1992 using the "Bauhaus watch" design language. The minimalist case emphasizes geometric shapes. Many of the Bauhaus design elements, such as the rectangular case back, flat crystal, and dial, are references to the Bauhaus movement. The simple dial features linear markers for odd hours and Arabic numerals for even hours. These elements emphasize the watch's functional impression. The delicately designed thin hands and the typeface of the indexes, which give it a unique elegance, are also rooted in the historic Bauhaus graphic design.
Not only does the typeface used predate the Tangente, but the dial design also predates the invention of watches. In 1937, the Bauhaus closed its doors for four years under Nazi pressure. At the time, various German watch brands all had similar dials. This can be traced back to the construction of watchmaking at the time. During this period, it was common for multiple companies to source their dials from the same dial manufacturer. The dial seen on the current Tangente was manufactured in the 1930s by Weber & Baral in Pforzheim, Germany, and is nearly identical to the one seen today.
46 yen (excluding tax)
