Vintage Gruen Precision

Today I'm wearing another vintage watch similar to many of my other vintage watches: It's from the 1950s or early 1960s, hand-wound, gold plated, has a non-original but probably also vintage expanding bracelet, and is from a well-known American watch company. This one has a Swiss Gruen 510 movement, but is inscribed inside the caseback with "Cased and Timed in U.S.A. by Gruen Watch Co." I suppose it has a pretty typical design for the time, although it does have a unique "bark" finish to the dial which does add some visual interest. The crystal has some crazing, possibly from some pressure placed on it, but overall it's an attractive watch that has held up pretty well over time.

Gruen Curvex Quartz

No, you're not having deja vu nor seeing double. Today's watch is also a Gruen Curvex like yesterday's. This one, however, is a pale imitation of the original. It was made sometime in the mid 1990s, I believe after the Gruen name was sold to this company. To quote this FAQ, "The Gruen Watch Company no longer exists." One need only look at this watch to know that is true. First off, while it retains the Curvex name and dial printing of the original, notice how flat this dial appears, lacking the visual depth of the original, as well as the actual sculpting of the seconds track. Also, the case is not as curved as the original, nor as long. It really ruins the design, not to mention the lack of beveling on the case, replaced by nondescript rounded edges. The movement is just as nondescript, some Japanese quartz movement, at least it claims to be Japanese. I'm not a big fan of this watch and it is not a proper homage to the original. I should probably get rid of it.

Vintage Gruen Curvex

Today I'm wearing a vintage Gruen Curvex that I got from my father. I'm certainly no expert on these but I'll pass along what knowledge I have. The Curvex was so named because the movement was specially designed to fit inside a case curved to fit the wearer's wrist. The problem with making a long, narrow, curving watch case is that a normal full-sized movement will be too large. This watch is 48mm long but less than 21mm wide. One way to fix this is to fit a smaller movement in the case which was done by Gruen (before the Curvex) as well as some other manufacturers. Gruen developed a series of movements that were full-sized but had the necessary curvature on the dial side and clearance on the back for a heavily curved case. Here's a comparison diagram from a vintage Gruen advertisement. This watch contains the original Curvex movement, the calibre 311, which was released in 1935. I don't know for how long the 311 was produced, but in 1937 the calibre 330 was released which was thinner and more curved. I haven't found a source for Gruen serial numbers that makes sense to me so I can't put an exact date on this watch, but based on the movement it's probably from between 1935 and 1940. It's an exceedingly attractive design, slender but masculine, simple but with very nice details on the dial and bevels on the case, and with a slightly domed crystal that serves to accentuate the curve of the dial and case. It is truly an iconic art deco design. Some great information about Gruen can be found here. This particular watch has been serviced throughout its lifetime, but not recently. As a result, it only runs sporadically and is definitely in need of a good cleaning. This will go on my list of watches that will be taken to my watchmaker the next time I go.