Junghans max bill Automatic 027/3500.02

Imagen: Junghans, web oficial

The storyWhy this reference matters

Max Bill was an architect, painter, sculptor, typographer and industrial designer, all at once. He studied at the Bauhaus in Dessau and later co-founded the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm. His first commission for Junghans, in 1957, was not a wristwatch at all but a kitchen clock with a timer. The wristwatch collaboration starts, by Junghans's own account, in 1961, though several sources put the first series in 1962.

Those first Max Bill watches were 34 mm and had "Junghans Design" on the dial. Fratello, which examined an original, points out the detail that authenticates them: three luminous dots at three, six and nine and a double one at twelve, with the markers in those four positions barely thicker than the rest. It also warns that the old lume ages towards green, so a greenish tone does not mean the watch has been relumed.

Today's watch keeps what mattered: Bill's typography, the outer minute track with the "60" at the top, and the complete absence of ornament. Everything else has been modernised quietly. The case grew to 38 mm, the crystal is domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating, and inside there is a Swiss automatic. It is rare for a 1961 design to survive six decades without retouching; this one has, because there was nothing left to take away.

SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table

IdentificationHow to tell it apart

The 027/3500.02 is the numbered version: 1 to 12 in Bill's typeface, plus the outer minute track marked every five with the "60" at the top and luminous dots at 15, 30, 45 and 60. Its twin, the 027/3501.02, shares case, calibre, measurements and price but drops the numerals: bars only, with the three dots at three, six and nine and the double one at twelve, exactly like the original from the sixties. If you see numbers, it is the 3500.

There is no date. The versions with a window are other references — the 027/4002.xx series, for one — so a max bill Automatic with a date will never be a 3500.02. The official measurements are 38.0 mm across and 10.0 mm tall, with a polished steel case, black leather strap and steel buckle.

The crystal is domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating. That matters, because the max bill family runs both sapphire and Plexiglas versions, and the difference in feel and in replacement cost is considerable. This reference, according to Junghans's own product sheet, has sapphire.

CollectingWhat collectors check

The case is polished all over and scratches at nothing. That is the obvious weak point and also the trap: the bezel profile on a max bill is very fine, and a polish with abrasive paste rounds it off, at which point the watch loses the line that defines it. Before ordering any refinishing, look at the piece in profile against the light and compare it with an official photograph.

The matt silvered dial shows fingerprints and dust, and the domed sapphire scratches right at the edge, where the curve meets the bezel. That rim scratch is common and does not always show head-on, so ask for photographs at an angle. The original leather strap is decent but thin; it cracks at the fold by the buckle.

Mechanically there is little to worry about: the J800.1 is, according to Watch Guy's teardown and the calibre databases, an ETA 2824-2 with a Junghans-signed rotor. That means parts are easy to get and any local watchmaker can open it and put it right without drama. Check the automatic winding by giving the watch a few turns, and check that the seconds hand stops when you pull the crown.

Common questionsWhat people ask us about this reference

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