All
I really like the design of the Junghans Max Bill and today managed to try both the 34mm manual and the 38mm automatic.
Keen to understand which of the two the community thinks is a "better fit" for my wrist. Intention is that it would be worn with a suit and to slip under the cuff.
Apologies these may not be the best photos - but hope it helps
First, the 38mm Automatic
Second, the 34mm Manual
I think the 38mm is not too large, nor the 34mm too small. If you have no especial preference one way or the other, I would recommend the 34mm, because of the bizarre price difference, and also because (and I've my 38mm Max Bill on my wrist right now) the thin case does allow a fair amount of tinny rotor noise out.
Last edited by Der Amf; 17th November 2015 at 17:08. Reason: typo
From personal experience I prefer the 34mm (had the White dial with numbers). The bezeless white dial looks to my eyes to big in 38mm.
The 38mm, without a shadow of a doubt. Its also a very solid choice.
Personally I went for the 34mm… but that was to get the aesthetics I wanted. No Date and the silver face. It wears bigger then its mm's due to no bezel and to the edge dial printing. Bit fiddly winding the crown, but looks lovely! I'm wearing it this week too.
I had the 38mm with silver dial and blue strap. A beautiful watch, but there is one caveat; despite having an acrylic crystal you can't use Polywatch on it. They use a scratch resistant coating called Sircralan, but if the scratch is heavy it will need to be replaced. It's the reason I sold mine (at a considerable loss) and now have a cheaper and not so pretty Junkers Bauhaus.
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f8/do-n...l-1108610.html
Last edited by bonzo697; 17th November 2015 at 17:43.
I've found that close up photos can make a watch look way bigger than it looks in real life. I'd go 38mm unless you've got really small wrists. Gorgeous watch btw.
I have read about its prone to scratching... is it really that bad?Originally Posted by bonzo697
I have had both and preferred the 38mm, although both look a good fit on you.
Regarding the crystal, yes they do have a scratch proof coating on them which I found pretty durable.
I've had 5 or 6 watches with acrylic and I've had to Polywatch all of them, and because the Max Bill is predominantly crystal I was always nervous of wearing it.
this seems a shame -
I recently bought a SKX007 as my first Automatic watch. Wore it to work (suited and booted) and it felt (to me) WAY to big and uncomfortable. Although Quartz, all my previous watches are "dress styled" and think for work I prefer the dress look, style and fit.
Therefore the Max Bill would be worn daily and not just "for dress". May be a little too delicate for this use?
I use mine as a daily and it must admit the crystal has succumbed to a few marks.
I think both fit you nicely. I guess it depends on the wrist presence you are looking for.
If you specifically want a Bauhaus style watch I'd look for a Hamilton Intramatic which has sapphire crystal. There are also a range of German brands that make the style including Nomos, Stowa and Junkers.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Watches/com..._style_watches
From the photos, the 34mm version looks better on your wrist. But wrist shots can be misleading. Try to see what they look like from a distance in a mirror if possible.
I think the last photo captures how tiny the 34mm looks. I'd go for the 38mm.
JUNKERS 6060-5 - really like the look of this one!
^ You can pick them up for around £300 too.
will it always be a poor mans Junghans though?
I'd rather have a couple of scratches on a crystal over Max Bill dial, than a perfect crystal over the Junkers dial
interesting thoughts - on the grey market, the cost of the junkers vs the 34mm junghans in not material.
The 34mm looks best to me
34mm for me also, and also for no particular reason the manual movement makes more sense to me for a no date watch. Both nice though.
34mm looks best IMO.
Having owned both I'd say there's not really much difference in quality - certainly not enough to justify the huge price difference (Junghans £825; Junkers £359). Both are German made and both have ETA movements.
Last edited by bonzo697; 18th November 2015 at 11:46.
Junghans pricing is surreal. Eg The date version of the auto can be £100 more than the dateless version, despite the only difference literally being a hole in the dial. I concluded they just like having lots of different price points, to be sure they've an option waiting for every budget.
The 34mm is quite small. It is a lovely watch though, I bought one and my wife wears it daily. She is quite hard on watches, its her only watch & she just wears it all day, every day (as we all should), gym, gardening, diy etc. for a year now. I'm amazed how well it's done, the acrylic is unmarked, a few light marks on the back that's all. The strap is just about finished though. She had a Seiko before and the hardlex glass was quite badly scratched in the first year.
The eta hand wind keeps very good time, turned out to be a cracking watch. I actually bought it for myself, it was too small & my wrists are not massive at 17.5cm.
So, I wouldn't worry too much about the acrylic, the anti scratch coating seems to work. I would go for the 38mm.
Last edited by JayGee; 19th November 2015 at 00:41.
the 34mm looks much better on your wrist in your pictures
I would say the 34mm is too small, go for the 38mm. I love these and the Chronoscope is high on my list of potential next purchases.
It is of course entirely down to personal taste, but I would go smaller. I had the 38mm version and ended up selling it, mainly because I found it a bit large for a "dress" watch. I'd like to try the 34mm myself... although I'm worried I would find it too small :)
Regarding the crystal, I would say just wear it and don't worry about it. The cost of a replacement from a Junghans dealer is £50 fitted.
Just found this comparison on my photobucket:
i certainly think the 34mm looks better in that picJust found this comparison on my photobucket:
I normally wear 38-42mm watches, can do 36mm at a push, but with a max bill, I'd go for the 34mm.
I always think the 38mm looks oversized in pictures.
That is a good comparison shot Carl… its amazing how much bigger the 38mm looks! The fact they curve away with almost and infinity edge gives the illusion I'm guess. The printing to the very edge of the dial also adds to it.
A shot of mine last week for the hell of it.
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