When it comes to the watch world there is, naturally, no one better than the Germans at producing Bauhaus watch designs. Ironically, however, history does not attribute the roots of Bauhaus design to Germany at all, in fact its popularity goes back to the minimalist art movement that started in New York City in the 1960s.
The first artwork considered minimalist, however, came decades before. It was Russian Kasimir Malevich’s painting of a black square on a white background done in 1913. Malevich was born near Kiev in 1878 and was chiefly known for founding the Suprematism school of abstract painting.
Now, many get the definition of minimalist and Bauhaus design mixed up, especially when it comes to watches and advertising them...
Bauhaus was a school, a building, founded in Germany in 1919. Its full name was ‘Staatliches Bauhaus’ and it was a school dedicated to art, design, and architecture. The school was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar and moved to Dessau after 1932. Gropius was a teacher and architect who worked on several significant design projects in the early 20th century. He then became director of three schools: the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts, the Grand Ducal Saxon Academy of Arts, and the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Arts – that were combined to form Staatliches Bauhaus. Gropius saw that with industrialization, mass production had already steered design in a more ‘democratic’ direction – with the focus going away from bespoke objects designed for the wealthy to mass-produced objects for everyone. Seeing this change, Walter Gropius started to push students towards focusing on designing ‘mass manufacture’, which gave birth to Bauhaus design.
Bauhaus Dessau / Credit: Mews/Wikimedia Commons
While Bauhaus refers to design that takes inspiration from the workshops of Staatliches Bauhaus, it is considered to have minimalist roots and oft-referred to as a ‘branch’ of minimalism, in the same way many regard brutalism.
Turning towards horology, there are two German brands that really stand out for their Bauhaus and minimalist design: NOMOS Glashütte and Junghans. While NOMOS is a well-known brand, founded relatively recently in the famed German watchmaking city of Glashütte, Junghans is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year!
The brand was founded in 1861 in Schramberg, Germany by Erhard Junghans and is today best known for its Max Bill model – a watch centered on Bauhaus design. Now, the Max Bill is actually named after the Swiss designer who created the model in the early 1960s. Bill studied at Bauhaus in his youth and was hired by Junghans to design new timepieces for the company A.such, Junghans watches are designed directly by a student from the Bauhaus School with a capital ‘S’. NOMOS, instead, takes inspiration from the, now long, German tradition of Bauhaus design, with models like the Tangente or Ludwig, specifically invoking the name of Bauhaus greats like Paul Klee.
Junghans Max Bill Kleine 027/4006.04 / Credit: Time Machine Plus
It’s important for me, as the proud owner of a NOMOS Ludwig, to point out that the true blue, German Bauhaus brands, have far different roots than many of the so-called ‘minimalist’ or ‘Bauhaus’ watch brands of today. While Bauhaus is always minimalist, minimalist design isn’t always Bauhaus. And I’m not really sure what ‘minimalist Bauhaus’ is…
Design is and will always be an important aspect of watchmaking, however, and as we go forward in the development of the watch industry (and maybe start to see new design emerge instead of more ‘vintage racing-inspired chronographs’), we mustn’t forget the base of what inspires and informs the designs popular today. The Kasimir Malevich’s of the world that is.
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
“Minimalism.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/Minimalism.
“Kazimir Malevich.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kazimir-Malevich.
“Bauhaus.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bauhaus.
Koeper, H.F. “Walter Gropius.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Gropius.
A vintage Elgin Swiss Made dress watch for sale on TVW.