Steele v. Bulova Watch Co., Inc. 344 U.S. 280 (1952)

Submitted by Wynot on January 29, 2017 - 12:31pm

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/344/280/case.html

http://www.leagle.com/decision/1952761194F2d567_1580/BULOVA%20WATCH%20C…

A few days ago, I picked up a watch at a second hand store.  It is branded 'SIDNEY' on the dial and on the movement.  In researching the brand, I came across Sidney Steele.  Apparently, Steele discovered Bulova was not registered in Mexico and so he registered the Bulova name for himself.  He proceeded to assemble his watches in Mexico and stamped them with the Bulova name.  In 1952, Bulova sued and was unsuccessful in stopping him.

I've read that Steele was in business from the 1920s to the 1960s.  I don't know if Sidney Steele was also the maker of the watch I picked up.  Has anyone heard of this maker or this story before?  

I don't know what kind of production volume came out of Mexico but, I suspect there may be some survivors out there.  It would be interesting to see one.

 

mybulova_admin
Posted January 30, 2017 - 6:13am

Would like to see a photo of the watch if possible. I'm curious as to its quality and any resemblance of a Bulova watch of the period.

Wynot
Posted January 30, 2017 - 10:59pm

I'd be happy to post a picture or two of this watch but, as I mentioned, this one is branded SIDNEY and isn't one of the counterfeit Bulovas.  I'm not even sure if Sidney watches were made by the Sidney Steele Watch Co.

So how do I post pictures here?

mybulova_admin
Posted January 31, 2017 - 3:44am

You can upload an image to your comment using the 'image' icon above in the toolbar. Make sure its resized down to a small file size less than 150Kb. 

Wynot
Posted February 1, 2017 - 12:06pm

I uploaded the pictures yesterday and they were there, only to disappear.  Here they are again.