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Home » The Gruen Model Database » 1920's » 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch
50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17916] Tue, 27 December 2022 18:53 Go to next message
kastner is currently offline  kastner
Messages: 331
Registered: May 2013
Location: Pasadena CA
Gruen Guildsman
Model name : 50th Anniversary
Type : Pocket watch
Period/date : 1924 (The movement was made in 1924, but it is unclear when this watch was cased and sold)
Gender : Men's

Case Maker : Gruen Cincinnati
Case Material : 18kt white gold
Case Serial : 1072311
Case Style no : none
Case Inscription (inside caseback): "Made Especially for Gilbert J Easton"

Caliber : See below
Movement Maker : Gruen
Movement Serial: 204

Movement details from Priceless Possessions of A Few by Fuller.

  • 17-linge (approximately 10-size) open face, 23 jewels (21 extra quality ruby jewels, plus two faceted diamond cap jewels over escape wheel and balance wheel pivots on upper plates)
  • 12kt gold plates (total 19 penny weight), individually engraved in floral relief pattern
  • Steel cup in each counter-bored hole for plate screws
  • Follow-up die used to slightly bevel around edge of spoke and inside rim of wheels
  • Gold plated train wheels
  • Chronometer style balance with solid gold screws
  • Detachable staff which can be removed without disturbing relationship of balance hairspring, collet, and roller jewel
  • Jewel pin fastened in balance arm with a bearing twice the length of the usual watch, making it doubly secure against coming loose
  • Double steel roller
  • Hand finished visible steel escapement with posing arms
  • Patent micrometic regulator of continuous equal action
  • Meantime adjusting gold screws
  • True isochronal and Breguet hairspring
  • Finest Swiss mainspring of lasting quality and great elasticity made by hand-rubbing so that the motive power is practically constant whether watch is fully wound or nearly run down
  • Patented American pendant-set device of very few pieces
  • Geneva style stop works and cut-away barrel bridges
  • Eight adjustments to all positions, isochronism and temperature
  • Fine Silver dial
  • Patented inverted (Verithin) wheel train construction
  • Extra finely finished in all details
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=10299&private=0, /vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=10302&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=10300&private=0, /vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=10301&private=0
Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17918 is a reply to message #17916] Tue, 27 December 2022 21:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 1848
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
Gruen Authority
Congrats with your find! A shame this movement is hidden.

Quote:
Detachable staff which can be removed without disturbing relationship of balance hairspring, collet, and roller jewel
What does that mean? Friction fit instead of riveted?


You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje
Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17919 is a reply to message #17918] Wed, 28 December 2022 00:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
thesnark17 is currently offline  thesnark17
Messages: 648
Registered: January 2017
Gruen Master
The detachable staff is a friction fit, and continues the principle of the earlier Chronometer Balance found on the V1, V2, and V3.

The earlier balance design integrates the roller jewel and double roller into the balance so that they cannot be removed, meaning that a restaffing will not disrupt their relationship. This design seems to take the idea even further. I would love to see a close-up of the balance removed to see how it works.

[Updated on: Wed, 28 December 2022 00:05]

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Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17920 is a reply to message #17919] Wed, 28 December 2022 00:32 Go to previous messageGo to next message
kastner is currently offline  kastner
Messages: 331
Registered: May 2013
Location: Pasadena CA
Gruen Guildsman
This watchuseek thread has some pix of a disassembled movement.
Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17922 is a reply to message #17920] Wed, 28 December 2022 17:00 Go to previous messageGo to next message
afire is currently offline  afire
Messages: 1311
Registered: May 2013
Location: Wisconsin
Gruen Authority
So cool. I think we're going to need more pictures.
Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17924 is a reply to message #17922] Wed, 28 December 2022 19:33 Go to previous messageGo to next message
thesnark17 is currently offline  thesnark17
Messages: 648
Registered: January 2017
Gruen Master
I think so too! I really enjoyed the pictures, but the balance was not closely pictured. And I want to see more anyway...
Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17929 is a reply to message #17924] Thu, 29 December 2022 05:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JackW is currently offline  JackW
Messages: 1861
Registered: May 2013
Location: Denver
Gruen Authority
Head Janitor
Site Admin
Seems Gilbert J. Easton was into mayonnaise.

What a beautiful watch; quite the nice purchase. I'm curious on your plans for servicing?


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: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17933 is a reply to message #17916] Thu, 29 December 2022 06:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
Messages: 1039
Registered: October 2018
Location: City of Lake Salt
Gruen Authority
Shocked Said it before n I'll say it again, 5Oth's are one of the neatest pocket watches ever designed.
Echoing everyone, more pics! And a really nice scoreand thanks for sharing.


Matthias
Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17936 is a reply to message #17933] Thu, 29 December 2022 17:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
kastner is currently offline  kastner
Messages: 331
Registered: May 2013
Location: Pasadena CA
Gruen Guildsman
I'll work on getting some more pictures. As for servicing, I'm curious about my plans for that too. I feel like I should get it serviced and while I have a local guy who is fine, I'm just not sure if he is really the craftsman I need for this.
Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17940 is a reply to message #17916] Thu, 29 December 2022 22:00 Go to previous messageGo to next message
kastner is currently offline  kastner
Messages: 331
Registered: May 2013
Location: Pasadena CA
Gruen Guildsman
More pictures of the watch. I should have mentioned that this is a hinged case

/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=10305&private=0, /vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=10304&private=0
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=10303&private=0
Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #17943 is a reply to message #17940] Thu, 29 December 2022 22:20 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
Messages: 1039
Registered: October 2018
Location: City of Lake Salt
Gruen Authority
Interesting. "MADE ESPECIALLY FOR" is also used on the 50th you linked to.
Wonder if Fred did this one too or perhaps by the purchaser.
Beauty.


Matthias
Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #18631 is a reply to message #17943] Mon, 04 September 2023 03:56 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JackW is currently offline  JackW
Messages: 1861
Registered: May 2013
Location: Denver
Gruen Authority
Head Janitor
Site Admin
Someone was keeping track of 50th Anniversary serial numbers.
Here is 024:
https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/gruen-fiftieth-anniversar y-pocket-watch.5510327/#post-56910722

Hopefully I didn't get too much wrong in a reply.


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: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #18632 is a reply to message #18631] Mon, 04 September 2023 13:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
thesnark17 is currently offline  thesnark17
Messages: 648
Registered: January 2017
Gruen Master
Looks like you got it all right. That's an original late watch, and a beauty.

However, I never really looked at Art's SN 79 before. The more I see, the more I question it. It's obviously the wrong dial, and that makes me suspect the case too, since the dial has been redialed as a 50th anniversary (therefore someone had money).

Looking over my data (which is a bit thin for 50th, I'll admit), here is the distribution for Gruen gold cases with 7-digit SNs:
103xxxx -  1 (suspect; probably a marriage)
106 - 5
107 - 5
108 - 3
117 - 1 (SN 79)

Conclusion: I really need more data.

Case serial 1178002 would match up best with 1928-29. So I guess one question is when/whether Gruen had cased up these watches, or whether they reserved cases for them. We know there were several style lines of case as well, so it's not a simple question - plus these watches could be ordered to taste.

Looking into the other information I have for case serials 117, I think it could be original, but I'm inclined to be skeptical.
/vgforum/index.php?t=getfile&id=10757&private=0

[Updated on: Mon, 04 September 2023 14:09]

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Re: 50th Anniversary Pocket Watch [message #18633 is a reply to message #18632] Mon, 04 September 2023 14:26 Go to previous message
JackW is currently offline  JackW
Messages: 1861
Registered: May 2013
Location: Denver
Gruen Authority
Head Janitor
Site Admin
More data is always the correct answer. Yet, there is a trend that can be discerned and your info suggests that the #79 may not be a late sale but something else, and tbd. It is an outlier, to say the least.

Glad to know I didn't give bad information to the other thread.


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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