Here’s an American brand that once was: Gruen. Unlike Hamilton, Bulova, Elgin, Waltham, etc… they are not as popular or sought after. The history of the brand is very interesting. For a detailed look you may want to review this thoroughly researched on-line book by PaulSchlisser:http://www.pixelp.com/gruen/introduction.html Mr. Schlisser breaks down the story of Gruen from the arrival of Dietrich Gruen in America to the closing of their Ohio plant, Time Hill, in 1958. In the time that Gruen was around, they were a truly an innovative watch brand. They designed and manufactured many of their own movements, some of which had interesting complications, in facilities in Biel, Switzerland called the “Precision Factory” (which are now owned by Rolex, and apparently used as admin facilities). They were a US based company with headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, where they received the movements, and assembled them into American made cases. Their Ohio facilities were also a thing to behold, with architecture that gave it a fairy tale quality. Unfortunately, the brand fell apart in the late 50’s following the departure of the original Gruen family, scandal and financial disarray, which led to the selling of the name and closure of their Ohio offices. Under new ownership, Gruen continued producing watches until the mid 70’s, with offices in NYC. After poor management and financial instability took hold, the second wave of Gruen closed in 1976. Shockingly, the records of the brand pre-1958 were destroyed, which may have affected their collectability as Gruens are difficult to date and price. Gruen is a fascinating brand. Their history is very rich, albeit obscure. Though they produced their movements in Switzerland, they were a major US brand for a long time, one that produced some pretty excellent watches. Had it not been for mismanagement and a loss of records, Gruen would likely be alongside Bulova today. Comments are closed.
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Old Time WatchesI enjoy collecting mechanical (manual wind and automatic) and early electric and quartz timepieces. I take great pleasure in researching and writing about the companies and people that created these beautiful watches. PF
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September 2018
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