Gruen Techni-Quadron Doctor's Watch

This watch, by another name, is a Prince. By that we mean the Rolex Prince, with which this watch shares a body and a movement, if not a name. It started in 1927, when Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf and Hermann Aegler—a noted movement manufacturer whose company Rolex acquired in 1919—were presented with patent number 120849. The patent called for a “shaped watch movement with a seconds dial.” The larger seconds hand, so the patent ran, was intended to make the watch more useful for the precise measurement of time. Moreover, its large balance wheel made the watch more accurate than others available on the market when it was released in 1928 as the Prince. Relying on this fact, Rolex submitted the watch to chronometer trials, at which it excelled. In fact, the movement used in the Prince—the Calibre 877—became the first movement to gain that distinction without having to be adjusted specifically for the trials. Due to its exceptional accuracy, the Prince soon gained a reputation as a watch worn by—and often presented to—doctors. In fact, Rolex explicitly stated in marketing materials that the Prince was “particularly suitable for the medical profession.” But how does Gruen figure into this equation, you ask? In the 1920s, Gruen was one of the largest watchmaking companies in the United States. But their operations weren’t limited to just the “land of the free.” The company also owned a factory in Bienne, Switzerland—right across from Aegler’s. Gruen acquired shares in Aegler, which gave them the rights to use movements that Aegler developed—including the Calibre 877. Gruen was granted the rights to sell the Prince in the United States, while Rolex retained distribution in Europe and the British Empire. So that the two would not compete with each other, Gruen sold it as the Techni-Quadron while Rolex’s version remained the Prince. To further distinguish the two versions, Gruen’s was marketed toward “the man who requires the exact time in seconds” while Rolex targeted theirs at “men of distinction.” The Techni-Quadron found a particular niche in the medical profession. Many versions were sold with straps that had what Gruen dubbed “expanding buckles,” which could also be found on versions of the Cartier Tank. However, while the expanding buckle on the Cartier Tank was to give the watch an element of elegance, an extension of the watch’s clean lines, the one on the Techni-Quadron served a practical purpose: when fully open, the watch could slide up the arm to rest just above the elbow, leaving the hand and the wrist free. This particular Techni-Quadron boasts a 22mm X 41mm white gold case with a handsome Art Deco engraving on the sides. The silver dial with its Roman indices and blued steel hands give it the distinguished appearance as befits a doctor of medicine. Inside, the Calibre 877—recently serviced—beats sedately, reliably, ready to take the pulse of a new generation.