History, Serial Numbers, Production Dates. Brief History: Gruen Watch Company. Gruen Watchmaker's Guild, Time Hill. One of the most important and prestigious American watch manufacturers was the Gruen Watch Company, founded by a brilliant father- and- son team of horologists, Dietrich and Fred Gruen. Among the first companies to sell wristwatches, the Gruens split their manufacturing between two continents, exporting American technology to Germany and Switzerland, and bringing German and Swiss traditions of craftsmanship to America.

Dietrich was born in Osthofen, Germany, in 1. In 1. 86. 7 he went to America and settled near Columbus, Ohio. A hard- working young man, Dietrich was awarded his first watchmaking patent at age 2. At 2. 9 he co- founded the Columbus Watch Manufacturing Company; the successful enterprise was soon building complete watches in its own 3. Fred, Dietrich’s oldest son, was born in 1. In his youth Fred worked in his father’s factory, then was sent to Germany to study watchmaking. To graduate, Fred was given bars of metal from which he had to build working watch movements, designing and manufacturing all the parts.

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Dietrich Gruen. Image Courtesy Columbus Metro Library. In 1. 89. 4, after an economic depression had forced them out of the Columbus Watch Company, Dietrich and Fred formed a new partnership. Fred’s younger brother, George, joined as business manager and treasurer, and the company was moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where it became the Gruen Watch Company. Initially, Dietrich and Fred designed the watch movements in America and manufactured them in Germany. Later, they would build their own movement factory in Switzerland. Most Gruen watches have Gruen- made Swiss movements and were assembled and adjusted in the U.

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S. Throughout his career, Dietrich tried to make his watches smaller, thinner and more comfortable to carry in a vest pocket, without sacrificing reliability or accuracy. The 1. 90. 4 Gruen Veri. Thin pocket watch was a major breakthrough; although it had the same major parts as a traditional movement, Dietrich managed to rearrange components to achieve a much thinner watch. From this point on, Gruen specialized in thin, elegant pocket watches. Gruen was one of the first companies to make wristwatches – both men’s and women’s models were introduced in 1. During World War I wristwatches were used by the military, and after this men started to accept the idea of strapping a watch to their wrists. Most manufacturers, including Gruen, were careful to call these .

To honor him, Fred and George put their father’s name on the company’s most expensive watches. SPONSORED ADVERTISEMENTSIn 1.

Gruen brothers built a new headquarter outside of Cincinnati, Ohio and named it Time Hill. The building was inspired by Medieval guild halls, and became an important symbol. We believe in applying art to industry as exemplified in all of our activities, from building a plant whose style of architecture suggests craftsmanship, to making the watches most beautiful, with greatest accuracy obtainable.”Detail of classic Gruen wristwatch dial.

Wristwatches grew in popularity during the 1. American companies continued to make only pocket watches, while Gruen made both wrist and pocket watches. Wristwatches were still not considered appropriate for formal occasions, so Gruen ads tried to convince men that they needed both a wristwatch and a pocket watch.

In the 1. 92. 0s and ’3. Gruen was one of the first companies to design movements specifically for wristwatches; it made rectangular movements for rectangular watches, while most competitors still used small, round movements.

Gruen’s movements were larger because they filled the available space, and the watches were sleeker because the case designs didn't need to disguise a round movement. This was carried even further in the famous Gruen Curvex. Curved watches became popular in the 1. Gruen’s Curvex movement curved to fit the watch; Gruen’s watches could be thinner and more curved than competitor’s watches with flat movements inside. Singles Dating Oshawa on this page.

In 1. 93. 5 Fred Gruen, now 6. Chairman of the Board and Benjamin S.

Katz was brought in as President of the Gruen Watch Company. In 1. 93. 5, Gruen was about $1. USD (roughly $3. 6 million USD today) in debt; nervous stockholders and investors were behind the change. Fred would retire in 1.

After the success of the Curvex, Gruen launched a series of Veri- Thin wristwatches. Like the Curvex, the Veri- Thin was developed to fill fashionable watch case shapes. In the 1. 94. 0s, Gruen started building Veri- Thin completely in the U.

S., setting up a new factory in the Cincinnati area. After World War II, the American watch industry began to decline. Fred died in 1. 94. George died in 1. During the 1. 95. Gruen Watch Company developed serious problems, went deeply into debt, and eventually was broken up and sold. Fred Gruen retired in 1.

George died in 1. In 1. 95. 3 the Gruen family sold their interest in the company. The same year, Gruen president Benjamin Katz was forced into retirement after a scandal, and in 1.

USD. Over the years, other companies have sold watches under the Gruen name, but the original company ceased to exist in 1. Gruen Watch Serial Numbers and Production Dates. Gruen watches are notoriously difficult to date.

No accurate date/serial number records exist for Gruen watches. Gruen collectors often rely on old advertisements or watch material catalogs to determine when a particular model may have been introduced, but this doesn't establish a date for a particular watch. Our friends at Gruen. Wristwatches. com have published research on a method for dating certain Gruen wristwatches using case . It is available on their site for interested Gruen collectors. SPONSORED ADVERTISEMENTS.