The Junghans max bill Automatic belongs to the line of watches that the Swiss architect, artist and Bauhaus-trained designer Max Bill created for Junghans in the early 1960s, after his kitchen clock for the brand in the 1950s. The 38 mm stainless steel case is about 10 mm thick, measures 40 mm from lug to lug and takes a 20 mm strap. A strongly domed acrylic (Plexiglas) crystal and a thin polished bezel frame a white-silver dial with fine stick indices, slim hands and Bill’s own numerals, with no date. Inside is the self-winding Junghans calibre J800.1, based on the ETA 2824-2, with a power reserve of around 38 hours. The screwed steel caseback carries Max Bill’s signature, water resistance is only splash level, and the watch comes on a leather strap.

The max bill Automatic is one of the best-known Bauhaus designs in watchmaking and is often recommended as an affordable dress watch. Owners and reviewers praise the clean, symmetrical dial, the light and slim case and how easily it moves from a shirt cuff to jeans; the Fifth Wrist owner review called it close to a one-watch collection. The usual criticisms are the acrylic crystal at a price of around 1,000 US dollars (some owners report marks on the glass within months), the modest lume, the unsigned pull-out crown and the limited water resistance. Junghans also offers versions with sapphire crystals and different dials under other references. The max bill Automatic is part of Junghans’ permanent max bill collection and remains in production as of October 2026, with used examples trading for roughly 600 to 700 US dollars.