American open faced pentagonal lever dress watch Circa 1940

Gold dress watch by Gruen Watch Company
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An American 14 carat yellow gold pentagonal open faced keyless lever dress watch with associated chain, circa 1940. The watch features a 15.5″ligne extra precision lever movement with 21 jewels and two diamonds. It has a silvered dial with applied Breguet numerals, outer railway minute divisions, a subsidiary dial for the seconds, and Breguet style hands. The case is made of 14 carat yellow gold with a snap on the case back, and the back features a monogram SBC. The case, dial, and movement are all signed. The watch comes with a Gruen presentation box and an associated 14 carat pink and white gold chain.
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Dimensions: 45 mm width
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Signed: Gruen, Fiftieth Anniversary
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The case is in generally good condition, with visible surface scratches and scuff marks. The accompanying chain is unsigned and marked 14K. The dial is also in good condition, though it shows some signs of wear, including a small discolouration near the 4 o’clock position and a raised area between 10 and 11 o’clock. There is oxidation present on the indexes and hands. The movement is functioning.
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The Gruen Watch Company was formerly one of the largest watch manufacturers in the United States. It was in business from 1894 to 1958 and was based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1894 by German born watchmaker Dietrich Grün, who changed the spelling of his name to Gruen because the letter ü does not exist in English. Gruen was born in 1847. At 15, he was sent away from home to become a watchmaker’s apprentice. Later, he worked in Switzerland for three years before going to the United States.
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In 1874, he took out a patent for a safety pinion for pocket watches which prevented damage to the watch movement if the watch’s mainspring broke, U.S. Patent 157.913. In partnership with W.J. Savage, the son of a prominent watchmaker and businessman from Columbus, Ohio, Gruen started the Columbus Watch Manufacturing Company in 1876. Initially, the company imported and finished watch movements imported from Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. The movements featured Gruen’s 1874 safety pinion design. In 1882, the company was refinanced and reorganised under the name Columbus Watch Company and started manufacturing their movements directly in the U.S.A. During the Panic of 1893, the shareholders forced Gruen out of the company. 
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In 1894, Gruen founded a new company in partnership with his son Frederick G. Gruen, D. Gruen & Son. Father and son designed a series of pocket watch movements which were manufactured by the German watchmaking firm of Paul Assmann and incorporated with an escapement designed by Moritz Grossmann. In 1897, as another son, George J. Gruen, became an additional partner, the name was modified again. The company moved to Cincinnati in 1898.