Let me start this post by stating that I've known this watch for my entire life, and I've never, ever liked it. Not even a little.
It's a Gruen Curvex that belonged to my father. He wore a watch every day, but usually a Timex. He loved "self winding" watches, and only wore this fancy mechanical watch when he and my mother were getting dressed up and going out.
At some point, it must have gotten dropped and the crystal was broken.
I always thought it was ugly.
By chance, my older brother was contracted to do some work at Gruen back in the late 80s or early 90s, and he asked if they could repair it. Unfortunately, they could not.
Anyway, I ended up with this watch after my father passed away. They're not very valuable, and I almost considered tossing it into my GRM New Year's Game box last year.
And then I noticed the inscription on the back...
Well, E36 M3. It appears as if my mother had given this watch to my father as a Christmas/Engagement gift the year before they got married.
So it looks like I own this thing forever now.
I did a quick eBay search, and found a new old stock replacement crystal for $50 shipped. I wanted to make sure it would fit. After popping off the caseback to measure the old crystal, I accidentally gave the crown half a turn, and the second hand began moving for the first time in about forty years. And the new crystal should be a perfect fit.
I'm very happy to be the keeper of this ugly old watch.
