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Home » The Gruen Model Database » 1920's » Strap 17 (826ss green gold)
Strap 17 [message #13665] Fri, 04 September 2020 00:02 Go to next message
thesnark17 is currently offline  thesnark17
Messages: 655
Registered: January 2017
Gruen Master
Model name : Strap 17
Type : wristwatch
Period/date : 1922??
Gender : Men's

Case Maker : Gruen
Case Material : green gold
Case Serial : 1067788
Case Style no : none

Caliber : 826ss [case correctly marked 827]
Movement Maker : Gruen Guild
Movement Serial: none

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Re: Strap 17 [message #13669 is a reply to message #13665] Fri, 04 September 2020 00:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
thesnark17 is currently offline  thesnark17
Messages: 655
Registered: January 2017
Gruen Master
I bought this watch in pieces, and the pieces were bent. The back cover was warped and the bezel had some complex bends in it. I felt sorry for the watch; what can I say. I knew it would be scrapped if I didn't intervene.

I spent a lot of time straightening out the bezel and case back, and now they snap on and off quite nicely. The fit could still have been better (or so I thought at the time), but I eventually decided that discretion was the better part of valour. So I put the watch in a drawer and forgot about it...

It needs a crystal, case screws, and a sweep-seconds support spring to be whole again. At the moment, it only runs for a minute at a time before the sweep seconds assembly becomes misaligned.

Looking back at it now, I'm quite proud of how well the case repair went. I would never have thought it was bent at all! I should have taken some "before" pictures.

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Re: Strap 17 [message #13670 is a reply to message #13669] Fri, 04 September 2020 01:26 Go to previous messageGo to next message
timeliz
Messages: 602
Registered: May 2013
Location: Northern California
Gruen Master
I think it looks fabulous!

I have a couple of these that still need the sweep wheel & arm.
I'm envious.

"Some days are diamonds, some days are stones..." -John Denver

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Re: Strap 17 [message #13671 is a reply to message #13670] Fri, 04 September 2020 05:59 Go to previous messageGo to next message
afire is currently offline  afire
Messages: 1410
Registered: May 2013
Location: Wisconsin
Gruen Authority
Nothing's perfect after 100 years of use. It would be absurd to expect otherwise. That's a damned fine looking watch.

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Re: Strap 17 [message #13673 is a reply to message #13671] Fri, 04 September 2020 13:59 Go to previous messageGo to next message
kastner is currently offline  kastner
Messages: 339
Registered: May 2013
Location: Pasadena CA
Gruen Guildsman
> Nothing's perfect after 100 years of use.

Ain't that the truth! I look at some of my watches that have some wear and think "If I look that good at 70, 80, or 90 years old I'll be ecstatic!"

The watch looks great, nice job on the case.

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Re: Strap 17 [message #13674 is a reply to message #13673] Fri, 04 September 2020 16:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
afire is currently offline  afire
Messages: 1410
Registered: May 2013
Location: Wisconsin
Gruen Authority
Another thought... I've owned two of these, and seen probably two or three others. All have had the same dial as yours. Yet every illustration shows a dial with italic font.

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Re: Strap 17 [message #14747 is a reply to message #13674] Mon, 12 April 2021 17:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
afire is currently offline  afire
Messages: 1410
Registered: May 2013
Location: Wisconsin
Gruen Authority
Here's my current example. More or less the same as thesnark17's, but with the other version of hour hand. An it has its original 14k green gold filled Kreisler bracelet, which Gruen designated as the "Guild Band":
https://photos.smugmug.com/Music/Hotlinking/i-vXwXDVZ/0/7d7f2cca/O/IMG_0385.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Music/Hotlinking/i-88h37hJ/0/3f256c25/XL/IMG_0386-XL.jpg

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Re: Strap 17 [message #14748 is a reply to message #14747] Tue, 13 April 2021 01:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Case is currently offline  Case
Messages: 1178
Registered: May 2019
Location: Cincinnati
Gruen Authority
Oh so nice! Always a fan of these models. In totality, such a timeless look.

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Re: Strap 17 [message #16601 is a reply to message #14748] Mon, 16 May 2022 21:01 Go to previous messageGo to next message
afire is currently offline  afire
Messages: 1410
Registered: May 2013
Location: Wisconsin
Gruen Authority
Another picture of mine. This time sporting a Lord Wadsworth bracelet I picked up the other day. Both this watch and this bracelet are listed in the 1929 Guild Book, so they are an appropriate pairing.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Music/Hotlinking/i-6T3zFrd/0/59073392/O/IMG_1104.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Music/Hotlinking/i-C6MrmtJ/0/fc3482ae/O/IMG_1105.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Gruen-Guild-Book-7-1929/i-fxP5KVG/0/6de46ec1/O/page095.jpg
If you are also a Hamilton collector, you may recognize this in a slightly modified form as the Clinton bracelet. Or, if you're an Illinois enthusiast, you would see it as a Frontenac bracelet.

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Re: Strap 17 [message #16602 is a reply to message #16601] Mon, 16 May 2022 21:21 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jenneke is currently offline  Jenneke
Messages: 2108
Registered: May 2013
Location: Netherlands
Gruen Authority
Nice find. Are these bands comfortable?

You can only waste time if you forget to enjoy it - Loesje

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Re: Strap 17 [message #16603 is a reply to message #16602] Mon, 16 May 2022 22:12 Go to previous messageGo to next message
afire is currently offline  afire
Messages: 1410
Registered: May 2013
Location: Wisconsin
Gruen Authority
The Guild Band isn't particularly comfortable, with it's sharp angles. But the Lord Wadsworth band definitely is. They're fun to wear once in a while, but honestly, the contrast of dark leather is hard to beat for looks.

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Re: Strap 17 [message #16605 is a reply to message #16603] Tue, 17 May 2022 03:07 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ephemerald
Messages: 1039
Registered: October 2018
Gruen Authority
I think it looks really good & ya can't beat 10 bucks, had my eye on it, thanks for sharing. Nice score.

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Re: Strap 17 [message #16608 is a reply to message #16605] Tue, 17 May 2022 14:39 Go to previous message
afire is currently offline  afire
Messages: 1410
Registered: May 2013
Location: Wisconsin
Gruen Authority
Ephemerald wrote on Mon, 16 May 2022 22:07
I think it looks really good & ya can't beat 10 bucks, had my eye on it, thanks for sharing. Nice score.
And that was a relist. I don't remember how it was listed the first time around but I passed. When it showed up with a $10 BIN, I couldn't resist and I'm glad I didn't. Sure, it's got some where, but in real life to the naked eye, it's pretty hard to detect.

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