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Among the great American watch houses, Gruen always carved its own path, beautifully balancing innovative design with the steadfast reliability promised by the “Precision” moniker on their dials. While many collectors know them for the groundbreaking Curvex, their handsome and robust round watches from the mid-20th century are, in our opinion, some of the most charming and underrated vintage pieces on the market.
By the 1950s and 60s, the mechanical wristwatch was at its zenith, and useful complications like the day-date function were becoming increasingly popular. While many brands settled on a standard layout, Gruen often experimented with more creative and balanced designs. This fantastic Day-Date is a perfect example of their thoughtful approach. It was a watch designed for the modern man—stylish, reliable, and packed with the information he needed for his increasingly busy life.
This particular Gruen Precision, a Reference 522 RSS, is an absolute gem. The first thing you’ll notice is the beautiful silver sunburst dial, which remains in excellent vintage condition. It features a handsome combination of applied, faceted dart markers and crisp Arabic numerals at the poles. But the real show is the calendar complication. It features a standard, framed date window at 3 o’clock, but the day of the week is displayed in a wonderfully distinctive, arc-shaped aperture at 6 o’clock. As if that weren’t cool enough, the day itself is printed in a vibrant, sporty red, giving the otherwise classic design a fantastic and unexpected pop of color.
