GRUEN Watches

The Gruen Watch Company was formerly one of the largest watch manufacturers in the United States. It was in business from about 1894 to 1958 and was based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

HISTORY

In 1900 the corporate name became D. Gruen, Sons & Co. The new company became partially a Swiss company. The movements were no longer made in Glasshütte, Germany, but in Switzerland again. 1903, a subsidiary was formed, “The Gruen Watch Manufacturing Company”, located in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.

Gruen was one of the first US watch companies to offer basic movements produced in Switzerland, in a wide variety of cases and prices, but adjusted, dialled and cased in U.S.A. Some of their finest movements were made by Jean Aegler (who became a business partner of Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex).

In 1904, the company introduced the VeriThin pocket watch movement, a new arrangement of components that allowed the movement to be made much thinner.

The first Gruen wristwatches were introduced in 1908. These found favor with women buyers, but were not popular with men at the time The company did not return to making wristwatches for men until World War I, when military use made wristwatches acceptable for men to wear.

Dietrich Gruen died in 1911, and control of the company passed to his son Frederick.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

M Gruen is owned worldwide by MZ Berger, Long Island City, and New-York, U.S.A. The China based company currently manufactures and distributes entry-level quartz wristwatches with Chinese cases mated to Chinese quartz movements into lower-end venues. Although the rights to the name "Gruen" were sold to MZ Berger, Gruen-branded watches produced after the 1970s have no other connection whatsoever to Gruen or the Gruen Watch Company.