- Determining the Date of a Bulova Watch
- 1924 - 1949
- Watch repair blog
- Bulova Date Codes | media-aid.com
Structured data Captions English Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents. The following page uses this file: Retrieved from " https: Views View Edit History. This page was last edited on 27 December , at Begun as a wholesale jeweler, the company produced small table clocks and good-quality pocket watches, By , driven by the increased demand for wristwatches, Bulova built a factory in Bienne, Switzerland that was capable of mass-producing fully-jeweled wristwatch movements in large numbers. For the most part, these movements were cased and timed in the USA before shipment to retailers.
Under Joseph Bulova's guidance, Bulova became a world-leader in the mass production of reliable, good-quality wristwatches.
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Bulova sold relatively few pocket watches compared to their huge production of wristwatches , though they did produce a few basic pocket watch models in the 30's, 40's and 50's. The ultra-thin "Phantom" model, produced in the 's, was a finely-made, platinum-cased pocket watch that is prized by collectors today. Bulova was an innovative company, and can be credited with many industry "firsts.
They were the first watch company to market watches specifically to women, and the first company to open a school for disabled veterans that provided them with care, employment opportunities, and a marketable skill after the war more below.
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One of Bulova's most significant contributions to the world of horology was the creation of the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking, founded in by Joseph Bulova's son Arde Bulova then Chairman of the Board. Arde Bulova "wished to repay, in some small measure, the sacrifice and service of returning disabled veterans after the Second World War.
Determining the Date of a Bulova Watch
The Bulova school helped train an entire generation of American watchmakers. The school provided tuition-free education to teach disabled servicemen the skills of watchmaking "under the most expert supervision and with an all-inclusive curriculum in a pleasant environment where similar interests and problems developed a close-knit, affable group of men working toward common goals.
By the early 50's, as the demand for skilled watchmakers increased in America, the Bulova school opened its doors to disabled civilians as well, and graduates of the Bulova school went on to pursue meaningful careers as not only watchmakers, but also as instrument makers, instrument repairers, micro-machinists, and other trades requiring the precision skills and dexterity of a watchmaker. Over jewelers pledged to hire Bulova graduates, so employment upon graduation was assured.
The school provided a well-equipped facility for its disabled students, and was a pioneer of "accessibility" with automatic doors and extra-wide elevators. Facilities included a medical department on school premises which housed an infirmary, dispensary and exercise room. All factors discussed here should be considered together to make the best possible date assessment.
Fortunately, dating a Bulova watch gets much easier in and beyond. Before we move on to the s, we need to consider exceptions to the serial number method of dating a Bulova watch. I hinted earlier in this section of the discussion that there were exceptions to the rule that the first digit of the case serial number indicates the date of manufacture for watches made from through There are actually at least five currently known exceptions to that rule, and the list keeps growing as more watches are studied.
For models dated and beyond--and even some made in the late s--Bulova printed a two character date code on both the case and the movement. Typically, the case date code is found on the outside of the case back, but sometimes it is located inside the case back. For example, the code "L3" indicates , while the code "M4" indicates A list of the known codes can be found at Bulova Date Codes. Note that the full date chart includes variations of two-character codes sometimes seen on watches as early as By , this practice was becoming more common, and by is was the norm.
Below are examples of this style of date code on the movement and case. Ideally, the date of the movement will match the date of the case. Occasionally, however, that is not the case. In those circumstances, I subscribe to the "latest date wins" theory only when the case and movement are dated within one year of each other. If more than one year separates the movement and the case, for me, the case date rules. The reason for that limitation is that movements can, and often are, replaced when the original one breaks.
Therefore, any watch with a movement dated more than one year later than the case is assumed to be a replacement movement. For all watches in my collection, the movement date is noted for the record, even if it was not used to date the watch. I do believe that the case is by far the most important factor in determining both the date and model of the watch, and all other factors are to be considered but do not necessarily control the outcome, because all other factors--movements, hands, dials--can be changed.
1924 - 1949
When purchasing a watch, I check both the case and movement date, and if they are more than one year apart, I assume that the movement is not original to the case. When selling a watch, it is very important to accurately date both the movement and the case and to inform potential buyers of that information. A watch that has mismatched parts should be fully disclosed as such. I have a few examples where the watch has neither a movement code nor a case serial number. One such example is a very early, solid gold model. So, it has problems being identified, both because it is very early and because it is solid gold see above for problems with serial numbers and solid gold cases as well as early movements with no date code.
Additionally, I have some late s models that bear no date identification that I can determine. These later watches are invariably made outside the United States, as many Bulova watches were at that time, and so they do not follow the usual marking conventions.
So, if you run into one of these, don't be surprised. Determining the Date of a Bulova Watch For purposes of assigning a date, Bulova watches break down nicely into three basic groups: More than one name may appear on the movement. Dial signed "Rubaiyat" or unsigned No movement caliber designation No movement serial number No movement date code Case serial number begins with "10" Case style of pocket watch, typically converted to wear on the wrist; crown at 12 o'clock position Case signed "Wadsworth" or "American Standard" with globe symbol Case description of "Warranted 20 Years" or "Warranted 25 Years" or "Warranted to Assay" solid gold models ; may also include "Monogram Quality" Movement signed "Bulova W.
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Droz Dial signed "Rubaiyat" or unsigned Movement has a caliber designation--most likely a "B" movement No movement serial number No movement date code Case serial number begins with "10" True wrist watch with the crown at the 3 o'clock position begins to appear, but converted pocket watches still in the majority Case signed "Wadsworth" or signed "American Standard" with globe symbol Case description of "Warranted 20 Years" or "Warranted 25 Years" or "Warranted to Assay" solid gold models ; may also include "Monogram Quality" Movement signed "Bulova W.
The number appears to have no date correlation Dial signed "Bulova" or "Lady Maxim" or, possibly, "Hudson Maxim" Movement has a caliber designation--most likely an "A" movement May or may not have a movement serial number No movement date code Case serial number begins with "10" True wrist watch with the crown at the 3 o'clock position gaining popularity, but converted pocket watches still seen Case signed "Wadsworth" or "American Standard" with shield symbol Case description of "Warranted 20 Years" or "Warranted 25 Years" or "Warranted to Assay" solid gold models ; may also include "Monogram Quality" Movement signed "Bulova W.
The number appears to have no date correlation Dial signed "Bulova" or "Lady Maxim" or, possibly, "Hudson Maxim" Movement has a caliber designation--most likely an "A" or "10" caliber movement Will have a movement serial number No movement date code Case serial number begins with "11" or "12" True wrist watch with the crown at the 3 o'clock position popular, but still see some converted pocket watches Case signed "American Standard" with shield symbol Case description of " "Warranted 25 Years" and most likely 19K Gold Filled Movement signed "Bulova Watch Co.
The number appears to have no date correlation Dial signed "Bulova" Movement has a caliber designation--most likely an "10" movement Will have a movement serial number No movement date code Case serial number begins with "12" or "13" True wrist watch now predominant style Case signed "American Standard" with shield symbol or "Bulova Quality" Case description of " "25 Years" if signed "American Standard" or "Filled" if signed "Bulova Quality" Movement signed "Bulova Watch Co. Serial Number Exceptions One exception to the "rule" that the first digit of the case serial number has a date correlation is seen in many ladies' models from the s.
I do not know why this is true, but there is growing evidence that quite a few--perhaps even the majority--of ladies' models from the s do not bear the typical case serial number.
Bulova Date Codes | media-aid.com
Instead, they have a serial number that begins with a letter, such as "G" or "I", rather than a number. This is a common characteristic of a serial number found in watches from the s, but it is not typically seen before that time. Unlike models from the s, these s ladies' watches do not have a case date code, so the only way to date the watch is by the movement symbol.
This phenomenon has not been observed in men's models from the s. Another exception to the serial number method of dating the case occurs toward the later part of the s. At that time, some, but not all, of the case serial numbers take the format seen in the s and beyond.