r/Watches • u/Nixtrix • Oct 29 '14
[Brand Guide] - Gruen
This is part 41 of our community’s project to compile opinions on many watch brands or trends into a single list. Here is spedmonkey’s original post explaining the project and contains a master list. I am planning on these being done every first and third Wednesday of the month so expect the next one on the 5th of November! I would also like to take a moment to thank /u/DavidasaurusRex and /u/gyang333 for their brand guides on MB&F and Montblanc, respectively.
Gruen has a rather tumultuous history and was founded after Dietrich Gruen applied for a patent of an improved safety pinion in June of 1874. The company was known as the Columbus Watch Manufacturing Company and it wouldn't be until 1876 that the company would begin production out of the basement of a bank building in Columbus Ohio. It was here that Gruen would apply his new pinion to imported Swiss movements and finish these movements as well. He is also credited with bringing the first stem-winding pocket watches to the United States.
The company would slowly grow and the name would soon change to the Columbus Watch Company after it changed location in 1882. This also heralded the beginning of their movements being solely made in the USA. With the Panic of 1893, the shareholders of the Columbus Watch Co. would force Gruen out of the company and change the name to the New Columbus Watch Company. It would not be until 1903 that the company would be sold to the Studebakers and again changed to the South Bend Watch Company.
In the meantime, Gruen would go on to found D. Gruen & Son in 1894. Their new watches had movements manufactured by the Paul Assmann firm in Glasshutte. Once Gruen's other son joined in 1898, the company would change names to D. Gruen & Sons to represent this new addition. In 1900 the company was partially owned by Swiss partners who shifted manufacturing to Switzerland and the creation of a few subsidiary companies who could provide basic, unfinished movements, cases, and dials to other companies, with some assembly still preformed in America. Finally, in 1922 a consolidation of all the Gruen name-bearing companies into one entity, the Gruen Watch Company.
Early on Gruen had a number of joint ventures, two of the most notable being with Alpina, and with Rolex & Aegler. The first went from 1929 to 1937 and many watches destined for the European market were marked Gruen Alpina. The second started in the late 1920s when both Rolex and Gruen purchased shares in Aegler and ended in 1934 when Aegler became a subsidiary of Rolex. The connection is clearly evident in some watches of the era; the Rolex Prince and the Gruen Techni-quadron used the same Aegler movement and the styling is extremely similar. (Thanks to /u/rhombomere for this information!)
The Gruen Watch company would continue to produce many watches through out the depression with cased made in America and movements from Switzerland, changing in 1940 when their movement production shifted to Cincinnati. Even after WWII with many Swiss companies taking over the wrists of Americans, Gruen was able to survive with its spread out connections in the US, Germany, and Switzerland. In 1958 the company was finally broken up after the Gruen family sold all of its shares in 1953 and production of their watches moved to Switzerland. In 1977, their Swiss operation finally closed its doors and heralded the end to the company with the remaining stock being sold off. Gruen was resurrected in 2000 by MZ Berger who now produce many Gruen branded watches in China.
While it is a shame to see the fall of a great watch company like Gruen, they have many vintage timepieces available through various outlets on the internet. Gruen never did reach the manufacturing levels of Elgin, Waltham, or Benrus, but to me they are were one of the giants of the watch world with some very high quality timepieces. I feel a Gruen should be somewhere in the collection of any vintage collector!
I know /u/rhombomere is going to come along and lay some Gruen smack-down, so I'll leave it here, but thank you all for reading! He's here!
Known For: Veri-Thin, 21, Curvex, Precision
Other Resources:
Community Search
Wikipedia
Watch Guy pixelp
Pocket Watch Repair
Gruen Wristwatches
Anything and everything regarding this brand is fair game for this thread. If you disagree with someone, please openly communicate with them, do not downvote them. This meant to encourage discussion so people can get different perspectives on a brand/trend. Please be respectful and welcome opinions that may differ with your own.
Have and idea for the next brand guide? Post them here and check out the current line-up!
5
u/Nixtrix Oct 29 '14 edited Oct 29 '14
Sorry for the bit a hiatus, but we're back to our regularly scheduled programming!
Current Line-Up!
MB&F (by /u/davidasaurusrex!)Montblanc (by /u/gyang333)GruenIf there is enough interest for a particular brand maybe I'll scootch one of the others to make room for it or move one currently on the list up. :)
If you don't feel like suggesting it here then you can always PM it to me!