1920’s, Art Deco Gruen Quadron, 15 Jewel, beautiful statement timepiece.

My shop was recently selected to supply vintage American watches for a premier movie starring some major actors and a world famous director. They were looking for authentic watches that would represent the time period from 1915-1926. I was selected because of my attention to detail and originality. It is a true story of events that took place during the 1920’s. This would of been a perfect watch style for the film. Gruen "Quadron Model 63" Men's Art Deco design wristwatch in 14K yellow gold fill, circa 1930. This Quadron model has a large stepped case with a recessed crown. It was priced at $52.50 in 1930. It is in excellent condition showing only a few tiny specks of brassing to the bezel corners and a little to the tips of the lugs. The case back is excellent and unengaged, it does have a tiny flea bite. Dial is very good. Case measures 38mm long and 24mm wide. The watch is powered by its correct 15-jewel Gruen grade 157 Quadron manual wind movement, just serviced and running strong. In years from the 1920s through the 1940s, the Gruen Watch Company of USA & Switzerland was one of the leaders in wristwatch design and quality, even working together with Rolex. In 1925, Gruen introduced the men's Quadron. Similar in concept to the women's Cartouche models, these were rectangular watches containing very high-quality 15-j or 17-j tonneau-shaped movements. A larger movement is generally more reliable and accurate, and is generally more rugged, than a smaller one of the same quality, so the Gruen Cartouche and Quadron, with their case-filling, purpose-built movements performed much better than the small, round movements used by most of their competitors at the time. Round movements were still used in the less expensive rectangular Gruen wristwatches...

What a beautiful watch. This 1920’s Men’s Elgin has been restored from the ground up. The 7 jewel movement purrs like a kitten and keeps accurate time. It has recently had a complete service to insure consistent reliability. This is a harder size to find, a 3/0 size and the coveted 15 jewel...

I have another treasure for your consideration. It is one of the first Gruen Curvex models introduced in the mid 1930’s. Let me introduce you to the Gruen Curvex “ Batwing”. A highl...

Let me introduce you to the Hamilton Square B Engraved! It is a mouthful! This 14 karat white gold filled Art Deco beauty was made for approximately 2 years, a very short run. Who is the Hamilton Watch Company, read below! Think Art Deco, think Roaring 20's, think the birth of a wrist watch, that's is where this watch is placed in historical context Hamilton Watch Company, What a story! Hamilton was founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and began producing pocket watches. From the very beginning, the focus was on quality and accuracy, and these principles had made Hamilton a...

Thank you for dropping by. I have a sublime offering that is Art Deco through and through. Elgin, one of the prolific early American wrist watch manufacturers. The played a significant role during the early wristwatch era. This is just an example. This is an incredible survivor from two generations ago. This 1928, one year before “The Great Depression” hung over the US like a dark angry cloud. This could be labeled a Streamline Moderne offering in 14 karat white gold filled. The case is in remarkable condition for being almost 100 years young. Elgin “Model 621” men’s Streamline Moderne design wristwatch in 14K white gold fill, circa 1928. Let me share with you what makes this such a coveted treasure to own, if you are on my sight, you like vintage watches. With bias I know I offer some of the best in the market today, don’t take my word, read my reviews. Back to the Elgin, sorry I got lost for a moment. This dial is the crown jewel of this offering. It is called an Incuse Exploding dial...

I have a shameless commercial plug for my shop. Many of my watches were used in the filming of an Epic Film due to be released in May 2023. The studio selected my shop due to the authentic restoration couple with the time period of 1919-1926. I will mention two actors who are in the upcoming movie, Leonardo Di Capra and Robert Di Nero… more to come. It was an honor and validated my shop for its authentic restoration practices. What a treat! Have you ever run across a “Wandering Second” WW1 / Trench watch. But……it is not your ordinary offering, look at the gold colored screws and gold-colored wheels. What a treat. This combination is very difficult to source in operating condition today, so many have abused as Father Time has passed us by. This is a 15-jewel movement, this was better than most that were 7 jewels, it was more reliable. This style is called a cushion for its shape which was popular in the early wrist watch era. The often-housed round dials with no seconds or a traditional second hand at six o’clock. Many of the WW1 wrist watches use 0 size movements, see below was size reference. 5/0s 26.25 mm 1.033 in 1 130 in 4/0s 27.09 mm 1.067 in 1 115 in 3/0s 27.94 mm 1.100 in 1 110 in 2/0s 28.79 mm 1.133 in 1 215 in 0s 29.63 mm 1.167 in 1 16 in I used the terms Trench Watch. What exactly is that? History about Trench Watches What is a “Trench Watch” ? They were created using 3-0 and 0 size pocket watch movements and installing into watch cases that were meant to worn on the wrist. The watch movement companies would send their movements to independent jewelers, who in turn would select the cases to house the movement. So the ordering process might go like this. A customer walks into a jeweler, with the help of the jeweler, the customer selects a 15 jeweled movement, then they go on to the case selection. The jeweler may recommend a higher end case manufactures like Depollier, and then it is the style of case as many manufactures had several different styles. Once a complete selection was made, the jeweler put it together and delivered the watch. That is how many Trench Watches (wrist watches) were born in the early 1900's. The movements often came from women pocket watches...

FACTORY / HOUSE: Gruen Watch Company STYLE / REFERENCE: Art Deco / Tank Style / Reference 770 METAL / MATERIAL: Yellow Gold Filled CIRCA / YEAR: 1940's DIMENSIONS / SIZE: Length 41mm...

FACTORY / HOUSE: Gruen Watch Company STYLE / REFERENCE: Art Deco Tonneau METAL / MATERIAL: White Gold-filled CIRCA / YEAR: 1925 DIMENSIONS / SIZE: Length 28mm X Diameter 35mm MOVEMEN...

FACTORY / HOUSE: Gruen Watch Company STYLE / REFERENCE: Art Deco / Reference 592 METAL / MATERIAL: Gold-Filled CIRCA / YEAR: 1940's DIMENSIONS / SIZE: Length 36mm X Width 26mm MOVEMENT / CALIBER: Manual Winding / 17 Jewels / Caliber 425 DIAL / HANDS: Silvered Original Dial with Gilt Arabic Numeral Markers / Gilt Hands ATTACHMENT / LENGTH: Leather, 19mm / Regular Length WARRANTY: 18 months on the movement This is a "vault find" watch, it has been locked up for nearly 50 years, which means it needs a service. We will give it a factory quality service by our finest watchmaker as part of the purchase price before it is shipped out to you. This will delay shipping for a few days of course. LIFETIME SERVICE COMMITMENT This great looking Art Deco Watch was produced by legendary house of Gruen. The watch is dependable and easy to service. In the 1930's, we became Gruen agents in Los Angeles California. Gruen was a great company to work with because they had large collection, great styling, they were innovative and offered great service to their customers. It is sad that they could not, like so many other American Watch Companies withstand the Swiss and Japanese marketing. Founded in 1894 by Dietrich Gruen. The company had their American base in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it produced a wide variety of watches, including pocket watches, wristwatches, and chronographs. Gruen watches were known for their high quality and stylish designs, and they were popular...

FACTORY / HOUSE: Gruen Watch Company STYLE / REFERENCE: Art Deco / Cushion Shape METAL / MATERIAL: White Gold-Filled CIRCA / YEAR: 1931 DIMENSIONS / SIZE: Length 25mm X Width 27mm MOVEMENT / CALIBER: Manual Winding / 15 Jewels / Caliber 115 DIAL / HANDS: Enamel Print Dial with Arabic Numeral Markers / Blued Steel Hands ATTACHMENT / LENGTH: Original Period Leather, Strap and Buckle, 16mm / Regular Length WARRANTY: 18 months on the movement This is a "vault find" watch, it has been locked up for nearly 50 years, which means it needs a service. We will give it a factory quality service by our finest watchmaker as part of the purchase price before it is shipped out to you. This will delay shipping for a few days of course. LIFETIME SERVICE COMMITMENT This great looking and dependable watch by the renowned house of Gruen is in nearly new condition. It is done as a classic cushion shape because it looks like a pillow cushion. The watch is all original, dial and hands with beautiful blued steel hands. The dial is done in Sterling Silver with Kiln Fired Enamel Printing and was produced by the legendary house of Stern Freres. Stern was the major dial maker in Switzerland at the time and supplied dials to the finest Swiss houses. In fact in the early 1930's Stern purchased the world's most famous watch company, Patek Philippe from the bankruptcy court. The Stern family still owns Patek Philippe today. If you cannot afford a Patek, you can own a watch with a dial by the owners of the company. And, you can wear this watch all the time for all sorts of occasions. The watch is fitted with what appears to be an original period strap and buckle. The strap is too fragile to be worn however but we offer the watch with a new Lizard Strap and the original buckle as well. Founded in 1894 by Dietrich Gruen. The company had their American base in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it produced a wide variety of watches, including pocket watches...

FACTORY / HOUSE: Gruen Watch Company STYLE / REFERENCE: Art Deco / Reference 449 METAL / MATERIAL: Yellow Gold-Filled CIRCA / YEAR: 1940's DIMENSIONS / SIZE: Length 36mm X Width 22mm...

FACTORY / HOUSE: Gruen Watch Company STYLE / REFERENCE: Art Deco METAL / MATERIAL: 10Kt Gold-Filled CIRCA / YEAR: 1940 DIMENSIONS / SIZE: Length 35mm X Diameter 15mm MOVEMENT / CALIB...