Gruen
Gruen Watch Company was an American watch manufacturer.
In 1893 Dietrich Gruen separated from the Columbus Watch Co. and together with his eldest son Frederick in 1894 opened the company "D. Gruen & Son" in Cincinnati. 1903, the Gruen Watch Bienne was founded. The movements produced there were recognized for their quality, and their names, such as Veri-Thin, Quadran, Precision or Curvex, were included on the dials of the watches.
In 1922 the D. Gruen Company, Sons & Company, The National Gruen Watch Case Company of Cincinnati and The Gruen Watch Manufacturing Company of Biel, Switzerland were merged to form the Gruen Watch Company under the direction of Frederick Green.
In 1924 the Gruen Watch Company on the 50th anniversary presented a limited pocket watch edition of 600 pieces.
To use the European distribution network of the Alpina Union Horlogère, the American company Gruen proposed a merger with the cooperative. Thus in 1929 arose the Alpina Gruen Guild SA.
The Gruen Chrono-Timer featured a pulsometric scale for doctors. Gruen also produced a counter-less chronograph movement, Cal. 450. Introduced in 1945, it was based on an 11.5 ligne Precision movement from Bienne and was part of the Veri-Thin line of watches.
In 1928 the Rolex Prince was brought on the market, which wrote history due to its then unusual rectangular case shape. It was produced until the end of the 1940s (it was also called "Doctor's Watch"). The watch was sold under the brand names Alpina, Gruen, Alpina Gruen Guild and Rolex. The calibre Gruen 877 built by Aegler in Biel met all expectations in terms of precision, and thus the Prince was the first wristwatch produced in large numbers, which received a chronometer certification.
Frederick Green retires in 1940 and dies in 1945. His brother George dies 1952. In 1953 the Green family sells its shares in the company. Although the company in 1953 has the highest revenues in its entire history, it gets into increasing difficulties. In 1958 the remnants of the company, Green Industries, are split and sold. In 1976 also the successors have to finish.
Literature
- Gruen Master Book and Price Guide: Wrist Watches; Author: Ehrhardt, Roy; ISBN 0913902683
- American Wristwatches: Five Decades of Style and Design; Authors: Edward Faber and Steward Unger; ISBN 0-7643-0171-3
- Automatic Wristwatches from Switzerland: Self-Winding Wristwatches; Author: Heinz Hampel; ISBN 0-8874-0609-2
Weblinks
- Gruen - The Art & Mystery of Watchmaking 1847 - 1958 company history by Paul Schliesser
- My Gruen Watches (Italian) - picture and download wallpaper