Why This Watch Matters This Junghans chronograph features an in-house movement and was designed for West Germany's Air Force in the 1960s – talk about some serious tool watch pedigree. The Full Story Junghans might be best known today for its design-focused Max Bill dress watches, but it has a long history of tool watch production as well. In the late 1950s, the company won the contract to supply the West German Air Force with chronograph wristwatches, including the example you see today. In the aftermath of World War II, Germany deconstructed its military, but due to the Cold War split between Eastern and Western Germany, the Bundeswehr was reestablished in West Germany in the late 1950s. The most well known German watchmakers from Glashütte were located in East Germany, so when the Bundeshwehr was recreated in West Germany, it had to find a new watch supplier – enter Junghans. Based out of the Black Forest, Junghans was able to meet the demand with a new chronograph featuring the company's in-house, column wheel-equipped J88 chronograph movement. This gold-plated, manually wound movement was designed to be exceptionally shockproof for its era, runs in 19 jewels, and features a Breguet hairspring and a column wheel for clean, crisp actuation of the piston pushers. The watch itself stands out with its 12-sided bidirectionally rotating bezel, a glossy black dial with syringe hands, and a 38mm-diameter case that is perfect for contemporary wear. Instead of a case made entirely of steel, the J88 featured a brass case design that was plated and fitted with a screw-in steel caseback. The center of the caseback is engraved with "Bundeseigentum 12-124-8591," which translates as "Federal Property" and is followed by the watch's classification number. That's how you can tell one of these chronographs was actually intended for the Bundeswehr, as Junghans eventually produced a nearly identical variation for civilians in the mid-1960s. Today's example dates to the 1960s and is in great overall condition. The plating on the brass case is still intact, and the black dial has remained glossy over the years with light patina on the tritium lume found on the hour markers and hands. The watch even comes on an issued Bund strap with the numbers "6645-12-145-6415" stamped into its back. The Fine Print Maker: Junghans Model: BundeswehrReference: J88/0111Year: 1960s Case No: 12-124-8591Material: Stainless steel back with plated brass case Dimensions: 38mm diameter; 12mm thicknessCrystal: Plexiglass Lume: Yes, tritium Caliber: Manual wind J88 Bracelet/Strap: Bund leather strap that was issued with the watchLug Width: 20mmBox/Papers: No What we Love and What You Should Know This Junghans is in overall very nice condition for a military watch. The case is strong with scratches and nicks throughout. The back of the lugs have some scratches and light nicks along the inner caseback edge. The bottom edge of the case on the nine o'clock side has some nicks along the edge. The caseback engravings are all still clearly visible. The plating on the case is still intact. The pushers show some signs of wear. The dial has remained glossy with no noticeable blemishes. The lume on the dial has aged to a beautiful dark yellow color. The hands have developed light patina and the lume on the hour and minute hands appears to have been reapplied. The bezel is in good condition with some signs of wear and some of the black paint has come out of the numbers. The dial, case, and movement are all signed by Junghans. This watch was photographed on a 175mm/6.9inch wrist.
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