Vintage Watch

Vintage Watch

The Gruen Vintage Watches Before 1930

The VeriThin line, introduced in 1904, was the beginning of thin Gruen vintage watches. Gruen already was already known for smaller sized watches and now decided to take the next step, making them thin. The VeriThin did this by eliminating a layer of overlapping parts. Standard movements of similar size had four layers of gears stacked, Gruen reduced this to 3. This was not company to attempt to reduce layer however, they were the first to have commercial and technical success. These watches were about 7mm thick, about 2/3 the thickness of a comparably sized watch. They were priced around $50 in, over $1300 in today’s dollar.

The UlltraThin line, part of the Dietrich Gruen line of Gruen vintage watches, took the VeriThin movement one step further by squeezing yet another layer out of the movement. This reduces the movement operating layers to only two. The UltraThin line could reach $1250 (1929) with a platinum and diamond, this would be over $30,000 in today’s dollars.

The SemiThin line was considered a lower end watch of the "thin" series. They were made with some of the older and thicker movements. The SemiThin were still however, a prestigious watch as they were still a Gruen. They often had attractive cases and sold for around $35 (approx. $900 today). For comparison cheap watches of this day sold for as little as $1.

The Cartouche was release in 1921. Designed as an elegant women’s watch, it had a rectangular face with rounded corners. The Gruen vintage watches used the first Gruen movement specifically designed for wristwatches. Its square case allowed for larger and more robust parts often making it more accurate and dependable than its round counterparts. There were over 500 different Cartouche models in the line.

The Baguette was another women’s wristwatch. Like the Cartouche it had a rectangular design but was smaller. It had a 17-jewel movement and like all Gruen vintage watches was pricey during the late 1920s. The case came in diamond and gold or platinum.

The Pentagon was released in 1922. This was a pocket watch in the shape of a pentagon. The practical idea of this shape was to help keep the watch from rolling over in your pocket, helping keep its movement more accurate. In reality, because the shape was patented, its look became more important as any who had a pentagon-shaped watch clearly had a Gruen. Pentagons, at a minimum, had Precision-grade, VeriThin movements. The watches started at $75 (~ $1900 in today’s dollars) and only went up in price.

The Quadron was a male strap watch released in 1925. Male wristwatches were marketed as manly strap watches as wristwatches were regarded as feminine. The Quadron had a rectangular shape, and like the cartouche had high-quality, 15 and 17-Jewel, dependable movements. The accuracy of this watch helped change the public negative attitude toward wristwatches.

About the Author

Alan Brenner enjoys the historical value of vintage watches and writer for BlueTreeVintage.com. If you interested in more information or purchasing a vintage watch, visit Blue Tree Vintage.