One might argue that wearing a wristwatch such as the Junghans Max Bill Automatic is no longer a necessity. Time, implements to use in the measurement of time, are all around us. On our computers, on our tablets, on our smart phone. Certainly, as I write this, the time appears in digital format in a remote corner of my favorite electronic device.

Having said all of that, I continue to glance over at my arm and this little Bauhaus marvel that has been occupying my wrist and my thoughts for the better part of the past two weeks.

The Junghans Max Bill Automatic, with its 38 mm diameter, 40 mm lug to lug dimensions and 20 mm lug width is not a large watch. It hugs the wrist at a smidge over 10mm in height. With its plain white-silver dial and stick indices, it is devoid of anything loud or flashy. There is a bit of lume on the hour and minute hands, and a double lume pip at the 12’0clock marker, and a single lume pip at the 3, 6 and 9 o’clock markers. It is certainly not a lume monster by any means. The crystal is plexiglass, domed over the dial, framed by a thin brilliantly shiny bezel. The strap is a soft black calfskin leather which terminates in a buckle inscribed with the Junghans brand name. The crown is a simple pull out device with a bit of texture. It is unsigned. The movement is a basic ETA 2824 Automatic. The case back is screwed in and inscribed with Max Bill’s signature and model number.

Max Bill was an early 20th Century designed out of the German Bauhaus School of design. He teamed up with Junghans in the middle of the last century to design clocks and watches. His designs were clean – as is this watch. There is nothing unnecessary here. Nothing superfluous. Simple. There is no date. There are no numerals. Just three hands and some hash marks against a whitish silver dial.

And therein lies the beauty.

So much of the world today is complicated.

We live in a world where some folks wear watches that are mini-computers that feed them news and text messages, take ECGs and remind them to wash their hands. Marvels, really. Wonderful and useful.

This is not that.

The Junghans Max Bill Automatic does one thing.

It tells the time.

And I keep going back to it, again and again.

I get lost in the dial. In the beauty of it. Every day, I notice something new. The symmetry of it all. The font on the dial. The way the light plays off of the plexiglass. The way the Junghans Max Bill Automatic looks under a shirt cuff, how it wears there as easily as it does with a t-shirt and blue jeans. It could, were I not addicted to this hobby, be a one watch collection at least for a while. It is that good at what it does.

I’ve begun to wonder if Max Bill designed this not merely as a timepiece, but as a statement piece. I wonder if he was trying to communicate something? Slow down, perhaps? Appreciate an object for its basic elements? Do not confuse flashy for beautiful when plain elegance will do the same job?

I don’t know.

To say that I am a fan of the Junghans Max Bill Automatic is an understatement. I’ve already begun to look at the Max Bill Chronoscope. Perhaps someday soon.

Does it have a flaw or two?

Of course.

At this price point, around $1,000.00 US, it would be nice to have a sapphire crystal. My concern is that the plexiglass will scratch easily. It is also fairly delicate. Not the most robust watch in my collection.

Maybe some of that was by Max Bill’s design?

A message.

Time is delicate and precious.

Treat it as such.