| Dietrich Gruen | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 22, 1847 Osthofen, Germany |
| Died | April 10, 1911 (aged 64 years) Italy |
| Occupation | watchmaker |
| Nationality | German American |
Dietrich Gruen (February 22, 1847 – April 10, 1911) German born watchmaker who emigrated to the United States in the 1880s and founded the Gruen watch Company.
Attended both public and private schools. At age 15 began learning the watchmaking trade. Gruen apprenticed to Hans Martens in Friedburg, Germany and also worked in Karlsruhe, Wiesbaden, and Lode.
In 1867 he travelled to the United States, following in the steps of his three older brothers, all of whom immigrated several years before. One of his three brothers had died in 1863 in the American Civil War.
On this trip he met Pauline Wittlinger, the daughter of a watchmaker. Wittlinger lived in Delaware, Ohio. In 1869 Gruen married Wittlinger, moved to Delaware and worked for her father.
Dietrich's and Pauline's first child was a son, Frederick G. Gruen, born in 1872. George J. Gruen was the child, born in 1877.
In 1876 Gruen started the Columbus Watch Manufacturing Company, located at 117½ High Street. In 1882, the company was reorganized as the Columbus Watch Company and moved to a building on Thurman Street. The company was now in the ranks of other older established American watch companies like Waltham Watch Company and Elgin National Watch Company.
In 1894, Dietrich left the Columbus Watch Company. Shortly afterwards the business went bankrupt - as a result of the panic of 1893 and the resulting economic downturn.
By 1898, Gruen and his two sons had established the Gruen Watch Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1911, on a business trip, Dietrich died suddenly while he and his son Fred were nearing the Italian coast on a steamship.