1940s Gruen Doctors Watch "14k YG Filled"

As an American watch company based in Ohio, Gruen produced cleverly designed timepieces that housed Swiss-made movements, and the brand was once the largest watch company in the entire United States. Until the mid-1930s, Gruen and Rolex were partners with the Swiss movement production company Aegler, and a number of different Rolex and Gruen watches from this era were powered by the same Aegler-manufactured calibers. 

Among the more famous examples are the “Doctor’s Watches'' produced by both brands, which are characterized by their long rectangular cases and dual-dial designs. These striking dials feature the hours and minutes on the upper half, with the running seconds displayed prominently by a large separate register on the lower half of the dial. The oversized seconds hand was useful for taking a patient’s pulse (hence the “Doctor’s Watch” nickname), but this style of timepiece was also marketed to technicians, engineers, and anyone else who required the ability to precisely measure time in exact seconds. These Gruen Doctor’s Watches use the same movement as the Rolex Prince models from the same era, and they serve as excellent examples of function-forward timepiece designs from the 1940s.