Curved shape, Omega date mark (1940), bought 1999 in Palo Alto, CA for $250. "B-10K Gold Fill" on case.
Watch has a white face, appears yellow through amber crystal. Watch is 9.5/10 functional and aesthetic condition. Crystal size is an exact match for MX432, which corresponds to the "Palm Beach", the original designation of this watch.
However, in August, 2012, an ad surfaced which almost certainly demonstrates that this watch is the 1939 Marshall model.
Pix of the movement and inner case are available in the comments section.
Many heartfelt thanks to the denizens of MyBulova, who generously shared their time and expertise to help ID this watch!
EDIT 2012.08.09. Changed from 1939 Palm Beach to 1940 Marshall by request of owner. Will Smith
In reply to It is not entirely clear, but by NOVA
Lisa,
The thing about the seconds track is this...on my watch, the square border is cropped very close to the circular opening. So, in line with what you proposed (that the numbers were removed when/if the watch was redialed) I tried to imagine the square border being larger, enough to accomodate the numbers. In the image above, the top border of the square falls mid-height on the "8" and "4". In my watch it falls just below there.
Long and short, I don't see how there's enough space on the dial to accomodate an enlarged square. Could this be a variant of the watch that Wayne found, produced without numbers in the seconds track? As you mentioned with the MM, there were often a handful of variants.
Any thoughts?
In reply to Lisa, The thing about the by nbardach
Variants are always a possibility--wouldn't be unusual in the slightest.
Also, it is highly unlikely that we have all the ads, as we pretty regularly find new ones. And, we don't know that Bulova advertised every model or every variation of every model. So, the long and short of it is that we may not be able to identify your watch. We are working with what we have, but we know that we don't have everything. I know that you want a name for your watch, but many of us have multiple "unknowns" in the database. We like to think that's a temporary status, and we will, eventually, figure it all out. In the meantime, you do know what year your watch was made, that it is an authentic Bulova, and that it is a very attractive watch.
I agree, it's highly possible the numerals were dropped from the sub dial for 1940, Wayne's example states 1939...(1939 'MINUTE MAN' ad is on file so You can rule out with 99.999999% certainty it's NOT a Minute Man)..... and don't rule out the possibility that the Watch is Circa 1941.
Back to Tickers question, which would certaily help in IDing the unknown.
What are the Crystal dimensions?
In reply to I agree, it's highly possible by FifthAvenueRes…
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will say this one more time. There is not just one Minute Man model. Not for 1938, not for 1939, etc. There are a whole bunch of them, and, since several of them appear in one ad together, they are surely not all just alike. Since we just got one of those ads a couple of weeks ago, we haven't even begun to explore all the possibilities for the Minute Man line. So, no, I do not rule out the Minute Man with any certainty at all.
And what's this business about the watch being "circa 1941"? The watch dates to 1940. We've long since established that.
Old Ticker,
Great idea! I just measured on my 100ths ruler and got
1.07" x .54" ( 27.1 x 13.71mm).
Does anyone know anything about the "Palm Beach"? There's nothing in the MyBulova DB and I haven't been able to find any pix online.
Thanks again for all your generous suggestions!
In reply to Old Ticker, Great idea! I by nbardach
I would use "Palm Beach" as a Temporary ID to this watch until an ad or other info comes forward if the crystal is a match.
ID'ing these old watches is a crap shoot, The best way to make a positive ID is to get out and look for old ad's and info at your local flea market, antique shop, auction sales, and even your local hometown jewler that sold you this watch or one that has been in business for the past 50 years.
This ID is based on a GS Crystal catalog, and model names will change but the glass will stay the same in different years.
We have had Academy Award watches go through many different ID's in the last month because of new ad finds thanks to our super ad hound Plainsman. (A legend in his own time) ;-)
Greg
In reply to I would use "Palm Beach" as by OldTicker