I purchased this Gruen Watch recently. Looks nice. In fairly good condition. However I can find very little info on the manufacturer. Infact I can’t find another one like it on the web.

What year was it likely made? I seen some ie Seikos watches from the late 70s that have design.
Also is there any info on the Company that makes them. I know it was made in Hong Kong or China and is not affliated with the original Gruen’s company that folded in the 50s.
Any other info would be greatly appreciated.

The pictures I made are not particularly good as they were taken at night under bad yellowy lighting I tried to correct for that at the expense of picture clarity.

Hi, from its looks I’d say it was from the late seventies. Gruen was broken up and sold in 1958 and their operations in Switzerland ceased in 1977. There were quartz digital watches made in Switzerland in the 70’s so unless it is clearly marked made in Hong Kong, Taiwan etc., perhaps this watch represented an attempt by Gruen to go digital at the end?  😊

Thanks for your response.

The design looks to be late 70s.

What may have happened is that as a last ditch effort to stay afloat, Gruens ceased making their own movement and used cheaper Hong Kong movements instead. Just as it is common place today for watch companies to source parts/movements from China or other places.

I know even in the late 60’s Bulova’s sub-brand, Caravelle used Citizen Miyota movement and were assembled in Hong Kong.

Alternatively, the Trademark could have simply been purchased after the company folded and the Gruen new watches were made by an unrelated company in HK.