James Bond’s Most Iconic Watch Wasn’t His First

When you think of “Bond, James Bond”, which watch comes to mind? Is it an Omega Seamaster of some sorts? Or Perhaps the iconic Rolex Submariner? Maybe even one of the myriad of other brands he’s worn throughout the years (Breitling, Hamilton, Seiko – take your pick).

Anyone who grew up in my era associates James Bond with Omega. Whether Pierce Brosnan is your era’s Bond, or it’s Daniel Craig, those guys have been donning Omegas on their wrists for decades. Or maybe you associate Bond with Sean Connery, an image of his Rolex Submariner pictured in 1962’s “Dr. No” popping into your head.

This Rolex Sub is arguably the most iconic “Bond watch” among watch collectors and aficionados. There’s even a NATO strap named the “Bond” as a result of it. It wasn’t Bond’s first watch, though. The first watch 007 wore on screen when he first muttered the famous line “Bond, James Bond” was actually a Gruen.

Gruen Ties to Rolex

Sean Connery’s Gruen Precision 510 is thought to be the first watch to ever appear on Bond’s wrist in the movies. While it first made its appearance in Dr. No, it also appeared in many more Connery-era Bond films after that.

Of course it’s the Rolex Submariner on a striped NATO strap that gets all the attention, though. Interestingly enough, Rolex now owns the building that once was Gruen’s Precision Factory.

Another interesting Rolex/Gruen connection is found in the 877 caliber movement, produced by Aegler Co. in 1928. These movements were used in both Rolex’s “Prince” models, as well as Gruen’s duo-dial doctor’s (aka Techni-Quadron) watches.

Gruen was in business from roughly 1894 to around 1958, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The original Gruen family left around 1953, but most collectors consider 1958 the official end of the Gruen watch company. That’s the year it sold all of its Cincinnati facilities and moved to New York.

By the time Bond wore his gold-filled Gruen on the big screen, the company already ceased to exist.

A late 60’s Vintage Gruen advertisement (apparently Gruen was once King of Space and the official watch of the NHL)America’s Choice Since 1874

Under new ownership, New Gruen continued to produce watches until the mid 1970s, before closing its doors again around 1976/77. During this time, all brand records before 1958 were destroyed, which probably explains why the name Gruen isn’t as well-known as Hamilton or other formerly-American watch brands.

In its hey day, Gruen was one of the largest watch manufacturers in the United States, and also one of the first to offer Swiss movements dialed and cased in the States. In the 1920’s it actually was the largest in the United States at one point. Perhaps the fact that many of the brand’s movements were manufactured in its Biel/Bienne-based Precision Factory (now a Rolex administrative building) adds to the misconception that Gruen was a Swiss brand.

Gruen was technically founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1894 according to Paul Schliesser’s excellent book (available for reading online here). Check it out for a detailed, and very interesting, history of the company. Dietrich Gruen founded the Colombus watch company, and later co-founded Gruen. The company eventually traced its history back to 1874, which corresponds with the date that Dietrich applied for a patent on an improved safety pinion. Dietrich left the Columbus Watch company in 1894, and it soon went bankrupt, before reorganizing as the New Columbus Watch Company.

A Fresh Start

After departing his former firm, Dietrich Gruen formed D. Gruen and Son, with his son Frederick. The younger Gruen had studied in Germany, and so they arranged to initially have movements manufactured in Glashütte style by Assmann. According to Schliesser’s book, Assmann was a highly respected watchmaking firm that was originally started by Julius Assmann with help from Adolf Lange in 1852. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, it should – he’s the founder of A. Lange & Söhne. The Gruen company moved to Cincinnati from Columbus in 1898.

From 1904 through 1917, the company started to specialize in thin and ultra-thin watches, and Gruen was one of the most prestigious (and expensive) watch brands available in America. How is this not more widely known in horology? It should be. Gruen started introducing wristwatches in 1908, for men and women, and continued producing pocket watches as well.

The Rise of the Wristwatch

As wristwatches became exceedingly popular in the 1920s, Gruen began designing its first movements specifically for wristwatches – the Cartouche, released in 1921. Then in 1922, the three seperate operating companies at the time (D. Gruen, Sons & Company; The Gruen National Watch Case Company of Cincinnati; and The Gruen Watch Manufacturing Company of Biel, Switzerland) were all merged into one – the Gruen Watch Company.

Wristwatches didn’t overtake the popularity of pocket watches until the 1930s, and at this time, Gruen started to move all its outside movement production to its Precision Factory, after selling its stake in Aegler. In 1935, it introduced its popular Curvex model, arguably the brands most famous.

Vintage Gruen Curvex advertisement from 1947

The forties brought on World War II – a time when despite the large demand for watches, no American-made watches were available for civilians to purchase. This created a scenario where retailers began importing Swiss brands to fill the demand. Brands like Omega and Longines held onto the market share they gained after the war ended, and this was the beginning of the decline for the American watch industry.

Gruen, however, was a dual Swiss and American company, so this was actually an advantage. It was able to sell military styled watches during the war, and was able to keep producing at its Precision Factory after the war as well (as opposed to American competitors who had to complete big military contracts and retool factories).

The Gruen family eventually sold its interests in the company in 1953, despite sales hitting the highest mark in the company’s history. By the time the year 1958 came around, Gruen Industries (as it was now called), was broken apart. The pieces were sold off and the brand never recovered.

Bond’s Dress Watch

Bond is undeniably tied to Omega nowadays, but back in the sixties, Sean Connery had two watches: A Rolex Sub (for when things got rough) and a Gruen Precision (for when things got classy). The sixties Bond had the good taste to wear an actual dress watch in the more formal occasions he found himself in. I think Gruen is one of those brands that has a deep, rich history that’s largely slipping away (having all your brand’s records destroyed will do that to you).

At the very least, we should rightly give it credit as the first “Bond watch”, as well as an innovator and (formerly) great American brand.

For more vintage advertisements, visit the archive. Know more about Gruen and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!