While now a relatively obscure name, Gruen was once among a club of notable American watch makers. The company’s history goes back to making pocket watches in late 1800s under the name Columbus Watch Manufacturing Company, founded by a Swiss-trained German immigrant in Ohio. Gruen went on to have success in wristwatches like the Curvex and even share movements with Rolex in its fascinating “doctor’s watches.” At one point, in the 1920s, Gruen was the largest watch company in the United States in terms of total sales.
Like so many watch makers of the time, however, Gruen didn’t survive into the modern era — at least not as an American company, and it ceased to be family-owned after 1953. While manufacturing later moved completely to Switzerland, this wasn’t too a big change for the company since it had always used Swiss and German movements, including those from its own factory in Bienne, Switzerland. The Swiss factory continued operation until 1977 and was later bought by Aegler (now part of Rolex). The three watches below all contain Swiss movements, but they each represent a different decade in the American company’s history, from the ’50s to the ’60s, and finally from the 1980s equipped with a sourced ETA movement.
Gruen Precision Day-Date
What We Like: From the 1960s, this is from the era during which Gruen was no longer based in America or family-owned, but was obviously still making some beautiful examples. There are plenty of Gruen Precision dress watches out there, but this one has a cool alpha-style handset, day and date display, and a range of other aesthetic touches that come together in quite an attractive way. The manually wound movement inside is the Gruen 512CB, and it’s housed in a 34mm gold-plated case.
From the Seller: Mint original condition overall with only light signs of wear; sharp case is completely unpolished with some light patina developing on the gold plating.
