[mvk666]

Hi All!

A friend of mine inherited this Gruen from his Grandfather when he passed away.

He believes it to be a mid-1940s Gruen "Verythin". He had some clean up work done on it (new crystal, cleaning, maintenance on the movement, etc.) and when it was returned to him, the "Verythin" brand name that had been on the dial was missing.

It appears to be rose gold (though in real life, it looks a lot less rosy and a lot more just gold with a hint of rose). It is currently fitted with a springy bracelet.

Does anyone have experience with this watch? We'd love to hear anything that anyone knows about it like:

- What Movement is in it?
- What year (if you can tell from the blurry photos)
- Is the bracelet original?
- Any idea on the current value?

Thanks!!

mvk666

No markings on the crown:

Another shot closer up:

 

[CometHunter]

I agree with your dating guesstimate. I can't say exactly- so many Gruen records were lost when the original company went out of business. Although re-purposed, the Gruen factory building still stands at the corner of East McMillan Street and Iowa Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio.

They came with the manual-wind 405 movement

which is quite dependable.
Does the band have "KREISLER" stamped on the back? If it does it is probably original. Gruen supplied Kreisler expansion bands almost exclusively.
The value is also hard to determine. Gruen has a small following but they don't command the over-inflated prices that Hamilton does.
The case is probably either rolled gold or gold filled, which is a coating of gold that is thicker than plated gold, but obviously nothing like solid gold.
In good working condition, with the original expansion band, it could be worth $125-$150.

 

[mvk666]

I agree with your dating guesstimate.

Thanks Bill! This is exactly the information I was hoping for.

mvk666