The Very Yellow Junghans 1972 Competition FIS Edition Lemon

The year 1972 was an important one for the German watchmaking brand marking Junghans’s role as one of the official timekeepers of the Olympic Games (the other was Longines). In addition to supplying all sorts of timekeeping instruments, Junghans also produced a series of civilian watches, including a chronograph known as the Olympic Bullhead. Revisited in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of the brand’s Olympic partnership, the 1972 Competition watch stuck to the groovy grey and orange colour scheme of the original. Celebrating its third time as the official timing partner for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, Junghans presents an even bolder yellow dial version with black sub-dials of the 1972 Competition. Like the Olympic model, this yellow edition of 150 pieces captures the powerful elliptical design of the original 1972 model and decks it out with eye-catching colours.

Nordic World Ski Championship

Held in Planica, Slovenia, from 21 February to 5 March 2023, the 54^th edition of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship pits skiers in Nordic skiing’s three disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined. Having participated as the official timekeeper in 2019 at Seefeld and in 2021 at Oberstdorf, where it launched the compressor-style GMT model, Junghans is back for its third time at the ski rodeo with brand ambassador Karl Geiger who will be competing in the ski jumping competition. Watched by over 500 million sports fans around the world, Junghans takes advantage of the exposure to present a 1972 Competition FIS Edition Lemon.

Identical in build to the 1972 Competition chronograph released in 2022, the 1972 Competition FIS Edition Lemon adopts the profile of a handheld stopwatch with the pushers and crown placed on the top of the case (bullhead). It’s worth mentioning that Junghans also produced stopwatches in the 1920s and set timing standards in downhill and slalom disciplines.

Lively contrasts

The oval stainless steel case, with its wide 45.5mm diameter, 41mm length (12-6 o’clock) and height of 14.5mm, is sandblasted for a sporty look. The screwed crown and caseback ensure the 100m water-resistance of the case.

The powerful contrast of black counters against a lemony yellow varnished background enhances legibility and gives the watch its extroverted personality. Like the original 1972 watch, the counters are arranged vertically with a black 30-min totaliser at noon and small seconds at 6 o’clock, both with yellow hands. Matching the elliptical case shape, the counters are also slightly oval.

The short blocky applied indices, the hour and minute hands and the minute track are treated with an environmentally friendly grade of white luminescence. The periphery of the dial features a black tachymeter scale, and the date window at 3 o’clock has a black background.

Automatic Sellita-Based Movement

Hidden beneath the curved plaque on the caseback is the J880.5 automatic calibre, based on an automatic Sellita SW510 beating at 28,800 and delivering a power reserve of 48 hours. A tried-and-tested movement that will provide decent accuracy, reliability and ease of service.

Availability & Price

A lemon leather rally-style strap with perforations revealing a black lining accompanies the watch. The Junghans 1972 Competition FIS Edition Lemon is limited to 150 pieces and retails for EUR 2,540. For more information, please visit Junghans.de or the dedicated landing page of the special editions.