Gruen and Son Watch Company

Detrich Gruen and the Gruen vintage watches of today can be dated back to the “Center-Pinions For Watch” patent Gruen applied for in 1874. Shortly after this patent, in 1876, Detrich founded the Columbus Watch Manufacturing Company. By 1879 Columbus was producing approximately 10 watches a day. As interest in these few watches grew so did the interest of local investors. In 1882 Gruen, with some new partners, reorganized into the Columbus Watch Company. Times were good for Gruan and his partners until the “Panic of 1893”, a depression in today’s terms. Combined with fierce competition from Elgin and Wathers the depression brought Columbus to its knees and in 1894 Gruen and his son left. The company lasted a few years until it folded in 1903. It should be noted that watch serial numbers were around 229,000 and did not carry a name prior to the Gruens leaving.

Detrich and Fredrick could not stay away from the watch business for long though and in 1894 they founded D. Gruen and Son. They immediately began making high-quality watches and in 1911 were able to open a watch factory in Cincinnati, Ohio called Time Hill. They continued to grow until they hit they hit their peak sales year in 1953. This year was the turning point as the Gruen family sold their interest and later the president left under a scandal. By 1958 the company, now called Gruen Industries, had lost focus, built up huge debts, and fell into legal problems. To compensate employees were laid off and properties, including the historic Time Hill, were sold. In 1976 M.Z. Berger purchased the Gruen name as the company went bankrupt. Although Gruen brand watches are still produced today they have nothing to do with the original company and this pretty much ended the era of Gruen vintage watches.

During the good times Gruen watches were some of the prestigious watches of their time and had a price to match. The UltraThin line of Gruen vintage watches was available in a platinum and diamond case and sold for $1250 in 1929 (in today’s dollars would be over $30,000). Even the lower end watches, the SemiThin line, sold for $25 compared to $1 for cheap watches of the day. Some watch lines worth noting include: The VeriThin (1904), the Cartouche (1921), the pentagon (1922), the Quadron (1925), and the Techni-Quadron (1928).

See a complete selection of Gruen watches for sale.