VERY RARE US ARMY TRUE 24HRS MILITARY GENT WRISTWATCH

VINTAGE SWISS MADE ELGIN MILITARY DAYNIGHT TRUE 24HRS FOR US ARMY GENTS WRISTWATCH CIRCA 1960'S

MILITARY ISSUED TYPE A-17A US ARMY

VERY CLEAN BLACK/WHITE DAYNIGHT DIAL

CRYSTAL IS CLEAN, NO CRACK NO SCRATCHES

THE FRENCH EBAUCH QUARTZ MOVEMENT

LUMINESCENT SILVER TONE BLACK STEEL METAL HANDS 

24 HRS ARABIC MARKERS

ALL STAINLESS STEEL ROUND CASE MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 36mm INCLUDING THE CROWN AND 39mm LUG TO LUG

UNSIGNED CROWN

BLACK TEXTILE BAND FITS 8.5" WRIST

VERY RARE DISCONTINUED MODEL... !

WORKING CONDITION & KEEPING TIME

PRICE : USD650 (NEGOTIABLE) 

AUTHENTIC VINTAGE BUREN 12/24 HRS GENTS WRISTWATCH

IRHOMDEYS VINTAGE COLLECTION PROUDLY PRESENTS - AUTHENTIC VINTAGE BUREN 12/24 HRS MEN'S WRISTWATCH

BRAND/JENAMA: BUREN

MADE IN/BUATAN: SWISS

CIRCA/TAHUN: 1970's

MODEL:  12/24HRS

CRYSTAL/CERMIN: ACCRYLIC - CLEAN

MOVEMENT/ENJIN: BUREN 17 JEWELS MANUAL WINDING MOVEMENT DUROWE (INT) CAL.451-1

DIAL COLOR: CHAMPAGNE

FUNCTION/FUNGSI: HOUR, MINUTE, SWIPE CENTER SECONDS, 12HRS/24HRS

HANDS/JARUM: LUMINOUS GOLD COLORED METAL HANDS/RED 24HRS HOUR HAND

MARKERS/TANDA WAKTU: RAISED GOLD/BLACK BATON MARKERS, RED/BLACK 24 HRS ROUND CIRCLE MARKERS

CASING : GOLD PLATED TOP/STAINLESS STEEL BACK

LUGS: 19mm

MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 39mm DIAMETER EXCLUDING CROWN and 43mm LUG TO LUG

DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING: -WATER PROTECTED~SHICK RESISTANT~BASE METAL BEZEL STAINLESS STEEL BACK

CROWN: SS/ KELULI

STRAP/TALI: BLACK LEATHER BAND

SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: 8.5"

EXCELLENT CONDITION, WORKING, KEEPING TIME, DISCONTINUED MODEL

PRICE/HARGA: USD350 (NEGOTIABLE/BOLEH DIRUNDING)

BRIEF HISTORY OF BUREN WATCHES

Buren was named after the location of is initial start up at a little village in Switzerland called Buren, located on the banks of the Aare. The firm started in 1842 making watch parts. In 1873, Buren started making complete watches and called themselves F Suter & Co.

F Suter & Co. continued with varying success to make watches with the trade name of 'Buren' for several years until it was taken over by the British firm of H Williamson Ltd in 1898.

>H Williamson Ltd, specifically bought the Buren factory to supply Swiss parts for the watches he was making in the UK. This later lead to a court case where he was found guilty of selling 'English Made' watches with Swiss parts in them. While H Williamson Ltd owned the Buren brand, they generally allowed the company to continue on its own with them just being the Parent company and receiving parts from them.

By 1905, Buren were making 500 watches a day. Many of them for the parent company, but some were sold in Germany and the USA under the Buren name.

By 1949, Buren were back producing 22 different calibers for watches. In 1954, they patented the mini-rotor for automatic watches. This was a major achievement as the smaller rotor meant that it could be sunk flush with the watch movement, so making automatic watches a lot slimmer than they had been - just under 3mm in fact.

In 1966, Hamilton Swiss acquired the Büren Watch Company in Switzerland, including all factories and technologies that had been developed by Büren up to that point. From 1966 to 1969, Hamilton Lancaster and Buren Switzerland were operated as a joint concern, with Hamilton using a number of Swiss movements for their "American" watches and Buren utilizing a number of components manufactured by Hamilton Lancaster. It was during this time that Hamilton started to selectively incorporate the highly innovative Buren Microtor (aka Micro Rotor/Microrotor) movement into small numbers of certain upper tier watches (in addition to their ordinary hand-wind and traditional automatic watches).

The Buren (now Hamilton/Buren) Microtor was the first patented automatic wristwatch movement to eliminate the sizable external oscillating weight inherent to most automatic winding watches. Instead, it utilized a much smaller weight that was entirely integrated into the chassis of the movement. This design allowed for a substantially slimmer automatic watch that still retained a center sweep second hand. The Microtor concept was also conceived by Universal Geneve for use in their famous Polerouter series of timepieces during this same time. The official title of "first Microtor movement" is still in dispute amongst some horology aficionados, even though Buren patented their design in 1954 while Universal Geneve applied for their patent in May of 1955

In 1969, the Hamilton Watch Company completely ceased its American manufacturing operations with the closure of its factory in Lancaster, PA, shifting the entire balance of its manufacturing operations to the Buren factory in Switzerland.

From 1969 to 1972, all new Hamilton watches were produced in Switzerland by Hamilton's Buren subsidiary. In 1971, the Buren brand was returned to Swiss ownership and by 1972, the Buren-Hamilton partnership was dissolved and the factory liquidated, due to decreased interest and sales of the Hamilton-Buren product.

AUTHENTIC GLYCINE AIRMAN GMT 46 GENTS PILOT WRISTWATCH

AUTHENTIC GLYCINE AIRMAN GMT 46 GENTS PILOT WRISTWATCH

MODEL : DOUBLE GMT

MOVEMENT: SWISS MADE 21 JEWELS AUTOMATIC ETA CAL. 2894

ORIGIN : SWISS
SERIAL NO. : 3820

CIRCA : 2000's

CASING: SOLID STAINLESS STEEL with SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL 

DIAL: BLACK MILITARY
MARKER: LUMINOUS WHITE ARABIC
HANDS: LUMINOUS SILVER TONE WHITE AND RED GMT HAND

MARKINGS/TANDA JENAMA : DIAL/MOVEMENT/EXHIBITION BACKCASE with SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL

LENS/CERMIN : SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL

MEASUREMENT: 46mm w/o CROWN AND 55mm LUG TO LUG

CONDITION/KONDISI : USED/PREOWNED, RECENTLY SERVICE, KEEPING TIME, COMES WITH BOX AND CARDS
PRICE: PERSONAL COLLECTION, NOT FOR SALE

Brief History of Glycine Wristwatch

Glycine is one of a very few watch brands that has been producing watches in their factory in Bienne, Switzerland, continuously since their founding by Eugene Meylan in 1914. Their first customers were prosperous gentlemen who valued Glycine watches as miniature works of art and engineering and treasured their luxurious gold and platinum cases.

Although the Depression of the 1930s and the beginning of World War II put a heavy toll on the company, Glycine was able to continue production, and in 1938 the company was one of only 29 exhibitors at the Basel Fair, the world’s most important watch exhibition. Glycine has not missed a Basel Fair since then and proves as a testament to the brand and its will to succeed in the manufacture of there watches.

After WW II

In 1945, with the war over and access to world markets again possible, the industry took a deep breath. Immediately, Glycine geared up production and rapidly presented a complete range of automatic (self-winding) watches, making use of the most advanced technologies.

1952 saw the birth of the famous VACUUM chronometers, watches known for their incredible resistance to water and shocks, designed for long-term use under hostile conditions. They performed well beyond expectations.

In 1953, the AIRMAN line was presented to the world market and immediately received an enthusiastic welcome. Now, in addition to regular local time, world time was available at a glance. The steadily growing class of jet-setters and frequent travellers readily took to the convenience of having two time zones on their wrist. The AIRMAN line has never been absent from the Glycine selection, and is, today more than ever, the spearhead of the range.

The Crisis

In the 70s, the Swiss watch industry – late in introducing quartz movements – was hit by the proliferation of quartz watches from the Far East. The technological revolution brought about by the quartz movement, together with the worldwide recession and a massive increase in value of the Swiss franc, pushed many manufacturers to the brink of disaster.

The products that had earned Glycine such an excellent reputation, namely high-quality mechanical watches and above all automatic watches, were suddenly no longer in general demand. Customers everywhere were buying Japanese quartz watches or American digital LED watches. The lucrative business with highly-regarded automatic watches was over, and these were now being sold off at give-away prices.

The market went through a turnaround in its values, a tendency which further intensified as the price for the initially exorbitantly expensive quartz watches consistently dropped to a level where it finally drove even the cheap pin-pallet (Roskopf) mechanical movements out of the market. Many market shares were lost, the industry entered into a crisis that lasted six years and cost roughly 60,000 jobs.

Glycine too suffered heavily but managed to fight on. In 1984, soldiering on with a reduction in staff, Glycine was sold to Hans Brechbühler, who had been working for years with Glycine in a loose cooperation based on the joint development and exchange of watch models.

Followin, the purchase of Glycine in 1984, Brechbühler switched over to the brand watch business, an entirely new experience for him. Progressively, new products were developed that enabled Glycine to work successfully in countries such as Scandinavia, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Germany.

A quartz collection was created and an international network of agencies sprang to life again. Extremely resistant watches, such as the TJALK and heavy duty models, were launched and added to the portfolio of the brand.

The market accepted with pleasure the Gold shield range, featuring a standard of goldplating much higher than anything the competitors could present. The sophisticated super-thin AMARANTH watches received an enthusiastic welcome in Europe and the USA.

The new strategies employed began to pay off in the early 1990s when Brechbühler’s daughter Katherina, born in 1962, joined the company and successfully implemented her own brand concept, resulting in mechanical products being increasingly integrated into the company’s collections. This strategy proved effective in positioning Glycine as a specialist, with a long tradition in the field of mechanical watch making.

After initial success in Germany, the first to really accept the mechanical watches on a large scale, the new range of Glycine products spread to other countries through out Europe and the globe.

EXTREMELY RARE GRUEN DAY/NIGHT MILITARY GENTS WRISTWATCH

BRAND/JENAMA: EXTREMELY RARE GRUEN DAY/NIGHT MILITARY GENTS WRISTWATCH

MADE IN/BUATAN: SWISS

CIRCA/TAHUN: 1940's

MODEL: DAY/NIGHT

CRYSTAL/CERMIN: ACRYLIC

MOVEMENT/ENJIN: SWISS AGLEAR GRUEN GUILD 15 JEWELS MANUAL WINDING MOVEMENT CAL. N510 CA

DIAL COLOR: SILVER - MINT

FUNCTION/FUNGSI: HOUR, MINUTE AND CENTER SECOND

HANDS/JARUM: LUMINOUS SWORD METAL HANDS

MARKERS/TANDA WAKTU: GREEN FOR DAY AND BLACK FOR NIGHT DIAMOND MARKERS

CASING : SOLID STAINLESS STEEL - 33mm with crown and 38mm lug to lug

LUGS: 16mm UNIQUE DESIGN HARD TO FIND

CROWN: big 10K GOLD FILLED

DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING: GRUEN

STRAP/TALI: NEW GENUINE GREEN  LEATHER BAND

SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: 8.5"

WORKING CONDITION COLOR CHANGED AT 12:00, KEEPING TIME, DISCONTINUED MODEL & HARD TO FIND

PRICE/HARGA: PERSONAL COLLECTION (RETAIL PRICE FOR THIS PREOWNED RARE WATCH IS BETWEEN USD1000 - USD2,500 depending on material type and condition on the watch)

Gruen Watch Company

On June 12, 1874 Dietrich Gruen applied for a patent on an improved safety pinion, which was granted on December 22. He was 27 years old.

In 1876 he formed the Columbus Watch Manufacturing Company in the basement of a downtown Columbus, Ohio bank building.

In his Columbus workshop, Dietrich modified, finished and cased raw movements that were imported from Switzerland. These new watches included his patented safety pinion. Dietrich introduced 16-size watches as an alternative to the heavy and thick 18-size and larger watches that were prevalent at the time. He also introduced the first stemwind watches sold in the U.S. market.

As the company grew, they moved to two floors in a commerical building a few blocks away.

In 1882, in collaboration with a number of new partners, the company was reorganized as the Columbus Watch Company and moved to a newly-constructed factory building located on Thurman Street, in the 'German Village' section of Columbus. Dietrich was President of the new corporation.

By 1888 production was about 45 watches per day; the company would grow to 300 employees and output to 150 watches per day. Although the company continued to issue stemwind watches, they also manufactured keywind movements for some of their less-expensive models.

After a series of disagreements with the other partners, Dietrich Gruen and his son Fred left the Columbus Watch Company in 1894, shortly before the business went bankrupt. Dietrich had lost his share of the company to the investors, and was faced with the prospect of staying on as a salaried employee at the company that he had founded. He chose to leave rather than bear this indignity. After the departure of the Gruens the firm was reorganized, refinanced and renamed "The New Columbus Watch Company."

The New Columbus Watch Company survived until 1903. The contents of the factory, including all the tooling and stocks of movements, were eventually purchased by the Studebaker family, moved to Indiana (along with many key employees) and used to start the South Bend Watch Company. Some early South Bend watches were sold with signed Columbus movements in them.

In 1894, Fred Gruen and Dietrich Gruen decided to try to start a new watch company. Using money borrowed from friends and relatives, Dietrich and Fred formed the partnership "D. Gruen and Son.".

These first Gruen watches are of very high quality and are beautifully made. Both 18 and 16 size versions were manufactured, each in both open face and hunter styles, and in 18- and 21-jewel versions. The earliest D. Gruen & Son serial numbers started around 62000. The Gruens dealt directly with individual jewelry stores; there were no wholesalers or jobbers involved in the distribution of their watches.

In 1898 George Gruen joined the firm as treasurer and financial officer. The company incorporated and its name changed to D. Gruen, Sons & Company.

In 1903 Gruen introduces its "VeriThin" line of watches.

In 1908 Gruen introduced both men's and women's wristwatches. These proved popular only with women. Gruen was one of a very few companies to take wristwatches seriously this early, seeing their potential in spite of disappointing early sales to male customers.

Gruen made both wrist and pocket watches for the military during World War I. Most had silver cases, which would tarnish but would not corrode under adverse conditions. To satisfy U.S. military regulations, these watches all have luminous dial markings and hands.

1911 Dietrich Gruen dies suddenly. Fred Gruen takes control of the company.

In 1913 the company purchased Nanny Goat Hill, a pasture just outside of Cincinnati, and renamed it Time Hill. Work began on a new building designed by architect Guy C. Burroughs at a construction cost estimated at $50,000 USD. The company moved to the new location in 1917.

1921: Gruen introduces The Cartouche wrist watch calling it "The logical wrist watch shape".

1922: Gruen introduces "The Pentagon" pocket watch. "the Croix de Guerre of American achievement"

Up until 1922 there had actually been three Gruen companies: D. Gruen, Sons & Company; The Gruen National Watch Case Company of Cincinnati; and The Gruen Watch Manufacturing Company of Biel, Switzerland. In 1922 all three businesses were merged to form the Gruen Watch Company, with Fred as President.

In 1924, Gruen released a special pocket watch in an edition of 600 to commemorate their 50th anniversary. The watch cost $500 at the time.

In 1925, Gruen introduced the men's Quadron. These were rectangular watches containing very high-quality 15-j or 17-j tonneau-shaped movements.

In 1928 Gruen releases The Techni-Quadron. The famous Techni-Quadron "doctor's watches" are so-called because the large seconds dial was handy for timing a patient's pulse.

In 1935 Fred Gruen, now 63 years old, became Chairman of the Board and Benjamin S. Katz was brought in as President of the Gruen Watch Company. In 1935, Gruen was about $1.8 million USD (roughly $36 million USD today) in debt; nervous stockholders and investors were behind the change. Fred would retire in 1940, but continued to sit on the board for the rest of his life.

In 1935 Gruen introduces the most famous Gruen wristwatch- "The Curvex". These watches are one of the greatest examples of 1930s streamlined design.

1937: Gruen introduces "The Ristside" or "driver's" watches.

In 1938, continuing the success of their VeriThin pocket watches, Gruen also launched a series of Veri-Thin wristwatches. Contemporary Curvex and Veri-Thin movements often are closely related, and can share many parts. By the 1940s, most Gruen wristwatches were either Veri-Thin or Curvex models.

Although Gruen did not manufacture watches for the U.S. military, they offered the public a collection of eight military-style watches, to be used as personal watches.

In 1949, the company introduced their first watches made entirely in the U.S., a line of 21-jewel men's models called the "Gruen 21". The movements are marked "Cincinnati" or "US" instead of the usual "Switzerland."

Fred Gruen retired in 1940 and died in 1945, and his brother George died in 1952. In 1953 the Gruen family sold their interest in the company. The same year, Gruen president Benjamin Katz was forced into retirement after a scandal, and in 1954 the company bought out his shares for $2 million USD.

In 1953, the Gruen Watch Company had its highest sales in its entire history.Gruen, Rolex and Aegler

One of the most deeply-held myths about Gruen is that Gruen and Rolex at one time manufactured movements for each other's watches. Both firms did use some of the same movements—the best known examples are the Gruen Techi-Quadron and its twin, the Rolex Prince. In reality, these movements were manufactured by a third company, Aegler, who was a very close neighbor to the Gruen Precision Factory. They were Aegler's biggest customers, and were both large shareholders as well—the full company name at one time was, Aegler, Societe Anonyme, Fabrique des Montres Rolex & Gruen Guild A. Gruen and Rolex both occasionally showed pictures of the huge Aegler factory in their advertising, making the implication that this was a Gruen- or Rolex-owned facility, although ownership at the time was divided among Gruen, Rolex and Aegler itself. Gruen sold their Aegler shares in the 1930s, after they moved all production to the Precision Factory. After this time, Aegler became increasingly tied to Rolex through the sale of stock. Today, the main Rolex building in Biel is the old Aegler factory, and though it is now owned by Rolex, it is still run by the Aegler family.

This article taken from Complete Price Guide to Watches, American Wriswatches, Rolex Wristwatches: Best of Time and Gruen Master Book