Reference Section - TONS of Rare Material

Reference Material, Documents, Photographs, Fun and Serious Educational Stuff

This page is crammed with links to 100s and 100s of pages of Gruen documents and research findings. Spend some times exploring. Each link often goes to a page that you can drill down a very long ways into the vast amount of reference material. 

This stuff was gathered, purchased, scanned, photographed, etc (i.e. lots of energy expended) so that you can be better educated about Gruen watches. Most importantly, it is meant to be a springboard for further research. These documents are not the end but rather the beginning of the Gruen story

Gruen Publications

Enormous numbers of pages of documents coming straight from Gruen. THIS is where the factual history is located!

Annual Shareholder Reports 1936-1956

These are your Gruen history books! 342 pages of wholly factual information. Perhaps the most important documents on this site!

Booklet - How To Select and Care for a Fine Watch

25 page booklet that was pasted into the Guild Book. Has Gruen's recommended maintenance info PLUS many watch models with their names and specifications

 List of Models from 1951

A list of all model names of Gruens for sale for the year 1951 found in documents required by the government

 Gruen Time Magazine

Gruen internal company newsletter. A RARE treat. The inner workings of Gruen. Fascinating and fun reading.

 

Canadian Invoices

25 pages of invoices from Gruen sent to jewelry stores. Has a LOT of information crammed into them. Who would know that something so pedestrian could become so valuable to researchers

1917 "Blue Book" and 1918 Price List

A pocket calendar book with prices, models, and reference information. Full of company mottos and core values. 42 pages

"A Matter of Time"

Portions of the book A Matter of Time. These 79 pages use Gruen as an example to explain how watches are manufactured. Great rare photos from inside Gruen factories. Unique historical information about the Gruen company and specific employees such Benjamin Katz

"A Worthy Company of Watchmakers"

A 1918 book published by Gruen that has a number of watch models shown along with company history. One of the handful of Gruen publications that is good for helping with watch identification

 

Guild Era Books

Two books were published by Gruen in the 1920s that cataloged their watches for sale. These were the 1927 Stock Record Book and the 1929 Watchmakers Guild Book.

How Gruen Named Watches

Gruen explained in their company newsletter the process and logic behind naming their watches.

1929 Gruen Alpina Sales Conference

An original high resolution photo from the Alpina Sales Conference that Gruen printed in the 1929 Gruen Guild Book. 

Original Sketch from Gruen Book

An original sketch used in the Gruen Book "A Worthy Company of Watchmakers" 

 

1940 Price List

Price list of Gruen watch models from 1940. Fantastic resource for finding what watches were being sold in 1940.

 
 
 
 

Publications Available To Buy

These books and publications are available to purchase. NO sales pitches nor pressure... just facts....

Gruen Books In Print

:earn about the MANY Gruen books you can buy today that will greatly help your education in Gruen, their specific watch models, and even how to learn watchmaking!

 
 
 

Movements and Cases

Technical information & Serial Numbers 

Curvex & Quadron movements

List of movements from Quadron and Curvex models. If the movement isn't listed, the watch isn't one.

Serial Numbers

For 405 Family of moments including 405, 406, 410, 420, 421, 425, 426

Lifespan

Chart of lifespans of Gruen movements. Cool visual way of seeing production lifetime

Finding Movement Caliber

How to find the caliber number of your Gruen movement

 

 Mainspring Sizes

A list of mainspring sizes in BOTH Metric and Dennison. Only Metric sizes were published by Gruen

Movement Types and Sizes

Table of the Gruen movement types and sizes

Movements Used Over Time

A graphical look at Gruen movement use. A uniquely Gruen look at how much and when each caliber of movement was used.

Schematics for Cal 335

Schematics for the caliber 335 movement. Amazingly detailed and rare documents.

 

Movement Diagrams

Simple movement diagrams Gruen used in ads were very effective

Wadsworth Case Serial Numbers

Find the date your Wadsworth case was manufactured using the case serial number. GREAT resource. 

 

Advertising

Advertising was baked into Gruen's DNA. Much can be learned about Gruen from their advertising effort

 Ad Analysis

Technical analysis of several Gruen ads demonstrate that the artists traced watch photographs to achieve the level of precision Gruen demanded

Postcards & rare photos

A collection of post cards and analysis of  how they were drawn.

 1930s Carre Advertising Photos

Photographs of Carre watches being held by then famous Hollywood actresses

Walter Pitkin Advertisement's Book

Read the book that this famous Gruen advertisement references, "How to Get a Good Job and Keep It!" by Walter Pitkin. Practical advice for any new graduate.

 

Gruen Advertising Illustrators

A fascinating look at how Gruen artists traced photos of watches to create the illustrations shown in Gruen ad. This made advertised watches look exactly like the real thing.

1950s Era Gruen TV Commercials

Two TV commercials for Gruen watches made in the early 1950s

 
Legal

1913 Tariff Presentation

A presentation Fred Gruen made before the Ways and Means committee of the House of Representatives on Tariffs.

Crammed with facts about watch manufacturing

Court Cases

Briefs and articles pertaining to legal issues Gruen faced

 
 

Other Stuff

High Resolution Time Hill Photos

A collection of rare Time Hill photos taken around 1917. Scanned at HIGH RESOLUTION and posted for your enjoyment!

Gruen Dial For Your Pebble

Add a Pan American dial to your Pebble Smart Watch 

Fred Gruen's Watchmaking Notes

Some of the notes Fred took while attending watchmaking school in Switzerland

Rice Business Leaders Award

Award given to Gruen that they were quite proud of. Pictures of Gruen's lobby show it was prominently hung on the wall.

 

Fred Gruen's Travel Diary

This is something very special.  I am releasing the contents of Fred's 1934 train trip diary. This trip he took with George from Chicago to Yellowstone. The contents of this diary are unknown.  You will be reading and learning right along with me.  He's clearly a genius and my bets are that he's a good writer.  But, who knows?!  Let's read on and see!!

 
 
 
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