Gruen Precision Raspberry Chronograph - Rare Stainless Steel Case - Circa 1970

By 1970, color had gotten into everything America made. Television had turned to it a few years before, kitchens were going avocado and harvest gold, and Detroit was selling muscle cars in a purple it called Plum Crazy. The wristwatch, which had kept to silver, white, and black for half a century, held out longer than most.

Around 1970, Gruen brought out a stainless steel chronograph and set its minute counter in raspberry. The name behind it was one of the oldest in American watchmaking. Dietrich Gruen, a German immigrant watchmaker, founded the company in the 1890s, and it grew into one of the largest watch houses in the country, run from a Cincinnati headquarters called Time Hill, a factory raised like a medieval guild hall on a hill above the Ohio River. Its best movements came from its own works in Biel, Switzerland, the source of the word Precision that still sits beneath Gruen on the dial. Collectors long ago gave up on the reference and simply call the watch the Raspberry, and nearly every one that surfaces is gold-plated. A steel example, like the watch here, is the rare exception.

The dial is silver, with the chronograph's minute counter at three in raspberry and the running seconds at nine in black, two circles answering each other across the center. A black ring carries the scales around them, a telemeter in white at the outer edge and a tachymeter spiraling inward in the same raspberry. A single red date numeral sits in a framed window at six, and the hands are black-edged batons with their lume gone to cream.

Inside is the Valjoux 7734, wound by hand, the movement that carried much of the sport chronograph trade through these years. Its steel is finished for work rather than show.

The case is a brushed steel cushion with wide polished bevels cut down the lugs and a domed acrylic crystal standing over the dial. It shows scratches and wear from its years, though nothing that detracts from its appearance, and the dial has held up just as well. The oxblood strap in the back and side photographs was heavily worn and was retired; a new oxblood strap was installed and is viewable in the two front facing pictures. The watch runs well, all of its functions work as they should, and its service history is unknown.

Terms: Please review all photos carefully as they are a part of the listing. This is a vintage timepiece. Accuracy, power reserve, and water resistance are not guaranteed. Vintage watches may require periodic service. Performance can vary with wear, temperature, and position.

All sales final.