Authenticating a vintage handwound Junghans (1950-1960?)
Hi all,
first post here so please bear with me.
During a recent trip to Paris, I picked up this vintage Junghans I fell in love with. The flea market vendor pitched it to me as a “rare Japanese watch” so I quickly discarded the option of asking him for more details about it.
Paid 60€ and feel I could have gotten a better deal, but I just couldn’t resist of adding this one to my collection as a souvenir of my time there.
However, I am a little puzzled that the dial only refers to the brand with no mention of i.e. number of jewels or mechanism. The caseback seems to be original though (has the typical Junghans “J” in the star).
I would have opened it up to take a look at the movement, but have never done that before and would need to go to a watchmaker.
Is there anybody here who could help me to assess the authenticity of this watch in the meantime? Thanks a lot in advance for your help!
German watch enthusiast with a below 6” wrist living in the homeland of watches. In love with the elegance of dress watches, the cleanliness of the Bauhaus design school, and the utility of tool watch...
I like vintage watches. I am very nervous about buying one for myself. I could never really be sure if I am getting a good deal.
Your watch looks very nice though.
I love Paris flea markets, the sellers are such characters. My experience with watches of this price range is mostly good. Sellers cannot be bothered messing with watches that will sell inexpensively. Junghans is not Japanese unless the seller is saying the watch came from Japan. I think Junghans is German but confess no experience with the make. I think your wmaker will tell you that it was a decent deal. Sorry I cannot be more helpful, am sure some other members will step up. Good luck.
You may just be able to pry the back off. It may be a snap on back.
When you open it up it should look like a typical 15 or 17 jewel movement with only one jewel at the balance. German watch manufacturers did not fully recover for a long time after the War. They did not have access to synthetic rubies and the Allies (mostly the USSR) wanted Germany to consume rather than produce.
The lack of text on the dial isn't surprising. Here's a photo of a 1952 model in a recent Junghans catalog.
I like vintage watches. I am very nervous about buying one for myself. I could never really be sure if I am getting a good deal.
Your watch looks very nice though.
Thank you! I feel the same as you, but in this smaller price range I can more easily forgive myself if the purchase had indeed been a mistake
I love Paris flea markets, the sellers are such characters. My experience with watches of this price range is mostly good. Sellers cannot be bothered messing with watches that will sell inexpensively. Junghans is not Japanese unless the seller is saying the watch came from Japan. I think Junghans is German but confess no experience with the make. I think your wmaker will tell you that it was a decent deal. Sorry I cannot be more helpful, am sure some other members will step up. Good luck.
Thank you! Yes, Junghans is indeed German.
You may just be able to pry the back off. It may be a snap on back.
When you open it up it should look like a typical 15 or 17 jewel movement with only one jewel at the balance. German watch manufacturers did not fully recover for a long time after the War. They did not have access to synthetic rubies and the Allies (mostly the USSR) wanted Germany to consume rather than produce.
Thanks for your input! I might give it a try to open the case myself. There are quite a few deeper scratches on the back which indicates that somebody else who is not a watchmaker had also tried to open it
Stunning piece and a great mode of comparison! Thank you
The lack of text on the dial isn't surprising. Here's a photo of a 1952 model in a recent Junghans catalog.
That’s reassuring, thanks a lot for providing this photo from the Junghans catalogue!
It's a very cool looking watch that you got for an absolute steal, there's a wealth of knowledgeable people out there who can defiantly authenticate it
It's a very cool looking watch that you got for an absolute steal, there's a wealth of knowledgeable people out there who can defiantly authenticate it
Thank you! I’m very happy with this purchase :) Hopefully, I’ll know more about this specific model soon
There is a quite voluminous archive available on the homepage of Junghans. It's a pain in the a.. to go through it, but the old catalogs are interesting pieces.
There is a quite voluminous archive available on the homepage of Junghans. It's a pain in the a.. to go through it, but the old catalogs are interesting pieces.
Appreciate the hint! Didn’t know about it and will have a look through it this week :)
Appreciate the hint! Didn’t know about it and will have a look through it this week :)
Good luck! It would be helpfull to know the movement, it could narrow the time period to look for.