During the middle of the last century, the Swiss architect-designer Max Bill began, through his Concrete Art movement, to reshape popular graphic design. Bill — who most notably co-founded the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Germany, the most progressive design school at the time — started focusing his design prowess on everyday products, at a time when other legendary designers were doing the same. Think Schlumbohm’s Chemex from 1941 or Eames’ lounger from 1956. It was time chronographs joined the trend.

The opportunity came when Junghans, the German watch manufacturer, approached Bill and asked for two clocks. The resulting designs, which now both reside in the collection at the MoMA, launched a lasting relationship between designer and brand. And so, in 1961, Junghans turned Bill’s attention to crafting purist wristwatches that paired his elegant styling with their precise movements. A decade later, Junghans landed the role of official timekeeper at the 1972 summer Olympics. Today, the technical construction of the Max Bill by Junghans collection is state of the art, while the designs remain timeless Bill.

Junghans Max Bill CollectionJunghans Max Bill Collection

1. Fit Your Budget:
The Max Bill by Junghans collection comes in a range of price points, and each watch face features the designer’s iconic styling. From the self-winding chronoscope to the more budget-friendly quartz movement, the tenant of “good design” in everyday objects is the democratization of functional beauty.
2. Find Your Strap:
The collection is available in a simple array of color combinations, allowing wearers to tailor the watch face’s go-with-anything-aesthetic to well… go with anything. The dials come in white, black, silver, and anthracite, while the straps are available in black, brown, tan, and felt grey leather, in addition to stainless steel Milanese.
3. Distilled Functionalism:
“Functional design considers the visual aspect, that is, the beauty of an object as a component of its function, but not one that overwhelms its other primary functions,” said designer Max Bill about his iconic design philosophy.

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