Dietrich Gruen, who patented an improved safety pinion in 1874, founded the Columbus Watch Manufacturing Company in Columbus, Ohio, in 1876, introducing lighter, innovative 16-size stemwind watches as an alternative to the bulkier 18-size models. The company expanded and was reorganized as the Columbus Watch Company in 1882, moving to a larger factory and growing to 300 employees and a production of 150 watches daily. Following disagreements with partners, Dietrich and his son Fred left the company in 1894, which soon went bankrupt. They then established "D. Gruen and Son" using borrowed funds, producing high-quality watches and selling them directly to jewelry stores without wholesalers. The original company's assets were acquired by the Studebaker family in 1903 to start the South Bend Watch Company. Read more ⇢