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Home » The Gruen Model Database » 1920's » Strap 62 (Style number 1)
Strap 62 [message #14311] Sun, 10 January 2021 22:43 Go to next message
thesnark17 is currently offline  thesnark17
Messages: 654
Registered: January 2017
Gruen Master
Model name : unknown
Type : wristwatch
Period/date : c. 1925
Gender : men's

Case Maker : Wadsworth
Case Material : 14k Gold Filled
Case Serial : 5189575
Case Style no : 1

Caliber : 707
Movement Maker : Gruen Guild
Movement Serial: 103306

/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=7582&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=7580&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=7579&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=7581&private=0

I wonder who L. Gant was.

The only thing in common between this 707/1 and the women's 179/1 (besides the case maker) is that they're both Paris Squares. This one runs, and I like the hands a lot.

[Updated on: Mon, 19 September 2022 04:22] by Moderator

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Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16055 is a reply to message #14311] Sat, 29 January 2022 19:49 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 1905
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
Gruen Authority
Model name: strap 112
Type: wristwatch / wristlet
Period/date : 1927?
Gender: men's

Case Maker : Wadsworth
Case Material: Ultra quality 14k Gold Filled
Case Serial : 5284448
Case Style no: 1

Caliber: 707 (lavina - fifteen 15 jewels two 2 adj)
Movement Maker : Gruen Guild
Movement Serial: 83685

Other: old (original?) springbars. Not cleaned yet. Hard enamel print. Unknown history but found a mrs A.W.Moore… https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16239174?searchTe rm=A+W+Moore

/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=8961&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=8962&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=8963&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=8964&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=8965&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=8966&private=0



You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje

[Updated on: Sat, 29 January 2022 19:50]

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Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16056 is a reply to message #16055] Sat, 29 January 2022 21:01 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JackW is currently offline  JackW
Messages: 1933
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Location: Denver
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You can try narrowing down the searches to the general geographic area that the seller is located. Might help.

There are about a dozen "L. Gant" possibilities and even fewer A. W. Moore matches in Ancestry. I narrowed the search some by restricting matches to those that would have been 20 to 30 years of age, at the time the watch was for sale in the late 1920s/early 1930s.


All I know is based on hard work & writing by others. I can only aspire to augment this body of knowledge. If I am wrong it is because of my own failings. -me

"If I have seen farther it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." - Newton
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16057 is a reply to message #16056] Sat, 29 January 2022 21:11 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 1905
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
Gruen Authority
The seller was located in France… Was looking for someone who traveled in Europe.

Another thing I wondered. Is it possible to strip the dial at home? If you look here these type of dials also look nice without the radium.
https://empress.cc/pages/restoration-dial-refinish

In person the dial looks better than on my photographs, but nice to have an option.


You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16060 is a reply to message #16055] Sat, 29 January 2022 23:57 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
Messages: 1039
Registered: October 2018
Location: City of Lake Salt
Gruen Authority
Could this be "Strap 62", instead of "Strap 112"?

Matthias
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16062 is a reply to message #16060] Sun, 30 January 2022 00:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 1905
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
Gruen Authority
Could well be. I didnt look in the master book. But now you mention it. My watch is a little different in the section with the seconds compared to strap 112. Have to check it.

You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16063 is a reply to message #16062] Sun, 30 January 2022 03:23 Go to previous messageGo to next message
thesnark17 is currently offline  thesnark17
Messages: 654
Registered: January 2017
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Both examples in the thread are slightly different in the seconds from strap 112 and each other. I am interested to see where that goes.

Regarding removing radium, water will soften and/or dissolve it. It goes without saying that the water is radioactive after that... as is anything that touches the water (until thoroughly cleaned, though that will contaminate more water...). It can also be chipped off gently while dry. You do not want to breathe the dust - do it in a bag or better yet, outside and in a bag. It goes without saying that you should wear gloves.

Disposal of radioactive waste is generally regulated by the government. You are not supposed to throw it away, or wash it down the sink. I do not know the specific procedures for disposing of radium as a private individual in the US, though, much less the Netherlands.

A Geiger counter is a must to check for inadvertent contamination of your house/workspace after you have finished. Radium is fairly safe outside of the human body, but it is not at all safe inside it - and having it around your house in unknown places is a good way to get it inside you eventually.



All things considered, I would leave it be. It looks good as it is.

[Updated on: Sun, 30 January 2022 03:28]

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Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16067 is a reply to message #16063] Sun, 06 February 2022 15:17 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 1905
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
Gruen Authority
And it is a Strap 62! The 112 has a cal 705, this a 707.

/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=8974&private=0



You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje

[Updated on: Sun, 06 February 2022 15:18]

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Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16130 is a reply to message #16067] Thu, 17 February 2022 01:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
Messages: 1039
Registered: October 2018
Location: City of Lake Salt
Gruen Authority
Here is my Strap 61 & Strap 62 data:


Strap 61 (green gold filled):

Both of my 61 examples carry : "Gruen, 14 karat, gold filled, Wadsworth, 707 1"

One of the 61 caseback serial number is 5094039. It has 707 movement sn: 86839.
Bezel: E4039.

Other 61 caseback serial is 5094071. It has 707 movement sn: 75151.
Bezel: E4071.



Strap 62 (white gold filled):

Both of my examples carry: "Gruen, 14 karat, gold filled, Wadsworth 707 1"

One of the 62 caseback serial numbers is 5096653. It has 707 movement sn: 74239.
Bezel: 6653. Note: *No E*

Other 62 caseback serial is 5171229. It has 707 movement sn: 90657.
Bezel: E1229.

Kind of interesting when compared to data on this thread.





Matthias

[Updated on: Thu, 17 February 2022 02:31]

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Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16133 is a reply to message #16130] Thu, 17 February 2022 18:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 1905
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
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Ok. I put them in a kind of table. Case and movement serials not really chronologically paired when the movement starts with an eight.

/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=9001&private=0

My watch is an outlier and the only one with Ultra Quality.



You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16134 is a reply to message #16133] Thu, 17 February 2022 19:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
Messages: 1039
Registered: October 2018
Location: City of Lake Salt
Gruen Authority
Jenneke wrote on Thu, 17 February 2022 11:48
My watch is an outlier and the only one with Ultra Quality.

Thanks. I am also interested in why some do not have the E on bezel, and what the E really means. I can't be sure but it looks like Snarks does not have an E, one of my 62's definitely does not have it.


Matthias

[Updated on: Thu, 17 February 2022 19:05]

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Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16135 is a reply to message #16134] Thu, 17 February 2022 19:24 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 1905
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
Gruen Authority
My wristlet Paris Square 5 has no E.

Browsed a bit, but it looks your Wristlet 103 has a P or R before the number?

Interesting. No clue what that means. E for Extra. Or does it say what kind of base metal it is?


You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16137 is a reply to message #16135] Thu, 17 February 2022 22:14 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Case is currently offline  Case
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Location: Cincinnati
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It's Wadsworth nomenclature, a reference to their internal grades. These names changed over time, and I suspect the lacking ones are transitional. I also think it is a clue to which case number line they are in, before all switched into the 5MM. At some point in the late 20's these letters may have disappeared.

I've seen...
A = the old "Amer" / "American Made" line
R = reinforced
E = extra gold (replaces R, I think)
P = permanent (I think phased out in the early 1920s)
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16138 is a reply to message #16137] Fri, 18 February 2022 02:19 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
Messages: 1039
Registered: October 2018
Location: City of Lake Salt
Gruen Authority
When you say "reinforced" do you mean "Reinforced With Metal" or "Reinforced With Extra Gold"? Or both?
Seems logical to me, doubt those letters match those exact definitions, but yeah I hear you. Yes, I got several later Ultra Quality with P's on them, I'll have to look deeper for patterns, over time. Thanks for the feedback.




Matthias
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16139 is a reply to message #16137] Fri, 18 February 2022 03:24 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
Messages: 1039
Registered: October 2018
Location: City of Lake Salt
Gruen Authority
Ah, figured out what I think you mean, long day at work.

A = "American".

R = "Reinforced With Metal"

E = "Reinforced with Extra Gold"

P = Permanent, perhaps you mean P=Ultra Quality? Not clear there but....

I dunno, none of my E models say "Reinforced with Extra Gold" on them at all.

& like I said, I have Ultra Quality's w P's on the bezel, but Jennekes Ultra Quality above has an E on it. Further research required I guess.


Matthias
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16140 is a reply to message #16139] Fri, 18 February 2022 04:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
thesnark17 is currently offline  thesnark17
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Permanent is a relatively rare marking on earlier Wadsworth cases. Sometimes it's stated as "Warranted Permanently", which gives the intent - a Permanent GF case is a case that will never wear through to brass in the lifetime of the owner. Obviously the marking is a bit deceptive, and a court case resulted in the retirement of the marking, along with all year guarantees (25 year etc.). "Ultra Quality" is sometimes supposed to be a replacement mark for Permanent, but I think that Ultra Quality cases are actually equivalent to 25 year cases, and that the Permanent cases represent an extra level of quality that Gruen quietly dropped.

Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16142 is a reply to message #16140] Fri, 18 February 2022 15:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Case is currently offline  Case
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Location: Cincinnati
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I think you both understand as much as I do about the letters now--perhaps a vintage wadsworth ad will turn up with a list of their gold filled line names. Remember Charlie Cleves proved to us that Gruen's gold thicknesses were higher than Wadsworth's standards in general. But we regularly look at watches spanning the teens to the 30s & beyond. So lots changing.

Maybe it will help to list key dates for gold filled markings. The proof can wait for a longer thread with more time.
-1915-09-01: first mention I've found of Ultra Quality case: Most Beautiful Watch in America ad, verithin model 284, $40. It is described as "ultra solid" and "better than 25 years." It equates to Permanent--which is why the cases are marked "Ultra Quality, per."[manenent]
-1922-08-22: first mention of "ultra quality reinforced gold filled" in an ad for a ladies wristlet
-1922-11-01: first claimed use of "reinforced gold" (see early 3MM pocket watch cases and 2MM wristie cases)
-1923: Wadsworth began adding some purity stamps in case ("14k gold filled")
-1924-01-01: All cases made and stamped for Wadsworth have a purity mark (see "14k Gold reinforced with metal", "14k Gold filled"). Gruen used a technicality to continue to have Wadsworth make a special Ultra Quality line of cases without a purity stamp, but Wadsworth took their name off of it--those are the special Gruen cursive font Ultra Quality cases. Like John Hancock's signature on the Declaration of Independence, if the FTC came after Gruen, they made it clear they stood behind the product.
-1926: Wadsworth gets fed up with deceiving the public with reinforced, signs a pact with other casemakers that all cases will be marked gold filled. Gruen comes on board (willingly or no), and the Ultra Quality gets a purity mark. See "14k gold filled reinforced with extra gold" and "Ultra Quality 14K Gold Filled" (as on Matthias' post above)

[Updated on: Fri, 18 February 2022 15:49]

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Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16143 is a reply to message #16142] Fri, 18 February 2022 16:36 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
Messages: 1039
Registered: October 2018
Location: City of Lake Salt
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Looks like Wadsworth used 3 P's....Permanent.....Pilot.....and Platold.

As already stated by Snark, Permanent is gold filled, guaranteed permanently.

Then Pilot. Gold filled, guaranteed for 15 years, up thro Feb 1898. 20 years from May 1898 to May 1903. 25 years after Dec 1905.

Platold would be nickel back and bezel w gold filled center ring.

There's a lot more but that's the P's..












Matthias

[Updated on: Fri, 18 February 2022 17:29]

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Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16144 is a reply to message #16143] Sat, 19 February 2022 02:51 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Case is currently offline  Case
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Had a look back to check, and I think P actually is Pilot equivalent (25 years equivalent).

Here’s a pilot case back, marked with year guarantee
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=9005&private=0

And here’s the Last 4 with P.
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=9004&private=0
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16462 is a reply to message #16144] Sun, 17 April 2022 19:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 1905
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
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And thanx to Matt, it now has an original crystal. Which fits it perfectly.

/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=9226&private=0

Also new handmade strap made by order from a Dutch watchforum member.

Dial without the bezel:

/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=9227&private=0


You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje

[Updated on: Sun, 17 April 2022 19:42]

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icon14.gif  Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16463 is a reply to message #16462] Sun, 17 April 2022 20:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
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Registered: October 2018
Location: City of Lake Salt
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My pleasure! It looks really good, looks like a tight fit too.

Matthias
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16464 is a reply to message #16463] Sun, 17 April 2022 21:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 1905
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
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Yes, the claim is true. Snap fit.
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=9228&private=0


You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje
Re: Men's wristwatch 707/1 [message #16465 is a reply to message #16464] Mon, 18 April 2022 16:08 Go to previous message
JackW is currently offline  JackW
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That was supremely nice of you, Matt.

All I know is based on hard work & writing by others. I can only aspire to augment this body of knowledge. If I am wrong it is because of my own failings. -me

"If I have seen farther it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." - Newton
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