1920' s Art Deco Gruen "Quadron" Caliber 117 “Folds of Honor” Donation

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$988.88

• Details
  I have partnered with “Folds Of Honor” before, what a great organization. this rare Quadron is a superb Art Deco survivor. I will donate 100% of the sales price to “Folds of Honor”, I will pay for all selling fees, taxes and shipping.
  
  This price is about 20% higher that Market Value, I want Folds of Honor to receive as much as they can. Folds of Honor help fallen soliders children wurst their continuing education. A gift of a lifetime. Go ahead, give a child a gift of their lifetime. a gift that keeps on giving
  
  
  It never gets old for me to offer Gruen Quadrons. I feel the collection discovered me. I have a terribly excessive amount, I have 13, and I have two “Doctors Watches from Aegler in cooperation with Hans Wildorf and Fred Gruen.
  
  I have to admit that my all-time favorite Art Deco American Vintage watch is the Gruen “Quadron” series collection. This collection was made for approximately 10 years. What is a remarkable side story for this collection is that they were introduced before the Great Depression, many in solid gold models. Their style reflects the Art Deco period with their design, appearance and architecture. They were the epitome of elegance. Their mechanical and build design were considered revolutionary at the time.
  
  
  To know the brief history is really appreciate the execution of the Quadron. Remember this, wrist watches were approximately 7-10 years old, all movements were round and originated from ladies pockets watches that were repurposed into cases designed to fit on the wrist. I offer a few of those; they are often called Trench Watches, wristlets, fixed lugs and many other names.
  
  
  In its glory years from the 1920s through the 1950s, the Gruen Watch Company of USA & Switzerland was one of the leaders in wristwatch design and quality, even collaborating with Rolex (i.e., the Aegler movement duo-dial doctor’s watch) from its factories in Switzerland. Prior to WWII, Gruen was better known in the USA than Rolex, which at that time was concentrating on the British and Commonwealth countries (hence lots of early Rolexes coming out of Australia and the UK). Hans Wilsdorf and Gruen were friends and neighbors in Switzerland (their factories were just yards away), and even agreed to market their watches as "Rolex-Gruen" in Europe, but the Great Depression (and more urgent matters) prevented this.
  
  
  In 1925, Gruen introduced the men's Quadron. Similar in concept to the women's Cartouche models, these were rectangular watches containing very high-quality 15-j or 17-j tonneau-shaped movements. A larger movement is generally more reliable and accurate, and is generally more rugged, than a smaller one of the same quality, so the Gruen Cartouche and Quadron, with their case-filling, purpose-built movements performed much better than the small, round movements used by most of their competitors at the time. Round movements were still used in the less expensive rectangular Gruen wristwatches.
  
  
  According to their advertising, Gruen submitted a consecutive run of 200 ordinary Quadron movements for observatory chronometer tests in Switzerland. There was not a category for wristwatches in 1925, so they were tested to pocket watch standards. Each of the 200 was granted a certificate for timekeeping excellence, which Fred Gruen believed to be a record at the time. These were the earliest American wristwatches to qualify as serious timekeeping instruments on par with a pocket watch.
  
  
  The efforts of companies like Gruen during this era helped change the public's negative attitude towards men's wristwatches.
  
  
  This Quadron model is a hard to find model. It has the oval shaped dial; with At Deco motifs decorating each corner, the dial is pure Art Deco. It has been completely refinished It has the shadow box Art Deco style with new luminous material applied to the hands and dial.
  
  
  The black enameled styled case in excellent condition with no visible signs of wear through. Remarkable for a wristwatch that is 90 plus years young. Many gold filled cases from the 1920’s and 30’s never survived the rough day to day wear, this is an exception. Case back is excellent. The case is a hard to find 14 karat white gold filled model with no wear spots on the lugs, what a treasure
  
  
  These are the restoration steps that were taken with this watch.
  
  
  The movement was overhauled and cleaned March 2022
  
  
  New Crystal
  
  
  The case was hand polished in insure a bright polished appearance
  
  
  The dial and hands were refinished to its original status.
  
  
  Case measures 38MM long and 24MM wide
  
  
  The watch has a brand new black 16MM leather band with a stainless steel tang buckle.
  
  The watch is powered by its correct 17-jewel Gruen grade 117 Quadron manual wind movement. The 17 jewel, 117 caliber mechanism. This means the mechanism is topnotch, originally meeting chronometer status when the caliber was first introduced and tested. The caliber 117 is less common to find.
  
  
  The Quadron collection consisted of the following calibers as the years went by:
  
  
  117 17 jewel
  
  
  119 17 jewel
  
  
  123 17 jewel
  
  
  157 15 jewel
  
  
  325 17 jewel
  
  
  3251 21 jewel
  
  
  877 Techniquadron
  
  
  
  For Gruen many collectors would argue that the “Quadron” models were the best of their day and even the Gruen Prince Duo Dial model had a Quadron movement inside.
  
  
  This is a beautiful example of my favorite time period which is the Art Deco period. The watch is in amazing condition for almost 90 years young.
  
  
  The Quadron models are getting harder and harder to come by. They were innovative in their day with their rectangular movement. Gruen was one of this first watch companies to get away from the round movement. It’s hard to believe that this watch is 90 plus years young. This is a remarkable achievement that the watch has persevered throughout the years. A survivor of life for 90 years
  
  
  When you use the pictures as part of your description; they are a great visual aid to help you make a decision. Keep in mind that this watch is 90 plus years old! Please ask questions if you need clarity. Read my reviews and buy with confidence.
  
  
  Help yourself and do a Google search for this model, you would be lucky to find one. I have 13 Quadron's and I have only seen this model come up for sale one in a blue moon. Do not wait!
  
  
  Use the pictures to aid you in evaluating the overall condition, use my reviews to feel confident when buying from me.
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