I have collected Gruen bumpers since I was in college (cheap thrills on a ramen budget) so although I don’t actively hunt them anymore, I still look. I thought I had seen every variation of these pre-‘53 transitional era watches, but this one popped up and I impulsively made an offer (which was way too high) and got it. Obvious issues aside (radium burn, dial freckling from moisture, slightly bent lug relumed hands) it’s an interesting watch. 460SS movement puts it around 1948 as does the “Switzerland” on the dial which changed around ‘49. 10k Gold filled case is common for the era, but the black gilt dial arrow hands and enameled bezel are not common for Greun of this era. It’s substantial for it’s time at around 33mm and the enameled bezel is what really has me scratching my head. I found only one other like this on the web (same case and bezel) with a no lume tuxedo dial and different hands. Part of me thought this was a Franken at first, but the dial has all the virtues of late 40’s Gruen. I looked for every advertisement or catalog for Gruen of this period and nothing like this pops up. I can assume that perhaps this was an “aviator” style based on the Bezel like the 30’s enameled aviator benrus’s have, but Gruen had the PanAm series at this same time which was clearly marketed as an aviator with 24hr dials. Has anyone seen one like this before and know anything about what they may have been called or where they fit into the Gruen catalog?
According to my grandfather, who worked for Gruen at the time, it was known in the marketing department as "The Hindenburg", which may help to explain why so few have surfaced. On a serious note, it is definitely an uncommon variation, though I have a vague memory of having seen another example somewhere. I have a few Pan Ams, which I like quite a bit, and have long believed that Gruen remains largely under the radar in the vintage market.
I actually think that one is correct. This is a screen shot I took of another tuxedo from around the time I got the above