I found an interesting 1934 advertisement for the GEM one-piece open comb Micromatic, highlighting some of the key selling points of the razor when compared to other and presumably inferior shaving utensils.
- Holds the blade secure – five points of contact – so it can use a blade sharp enough to control any beard!
- Designed to force the user to get a close shave, by making the user lay the cap flat against the face – which, by the way, is one reason I sometimes recommend a GEM to a new shaver over a Double Edge; the angle is easier to get right
- Thicker and more rigid blades! Interestingly enough the Micromatic appeared around the time Gillette switched from older, thicker blades to the thinner blades we know today.
- Cheaper then other razors – allegedly ten million had switched to GEMs since the Great Depression, thus proving that GEMs were cheaper and better.
![](https://i.frog.ink/X8y5Nbk/191983190881-0.jpg)
In addition to the offer of an gold plated Micromatic and an unspecified amount of blades for one dollar (about 20USD today), the advertisement tells us that a single quarter would get you a testing set of one non-gold razor, one single- and one double-edged1 blade. Pretty good value, and I suspect the 25 cent razor would last a long time too as long as you bought blades.
- See “The invention of the modern GEM blade, with two interesting variations” and “The double edged single edged blade” for more on the double edged blades for a single edge razor – the advertisement from 1934 proves they were sold earlier and thus for longer than I was previously led to believe.