Bulova 1946 -Unknown

Submitted by favorite_watches on January 22, 2016 - 9:38pm
Manufacture Year
1946
Movement Model
5AF
Movement Jewels
17
Movement Serial No.
-
Case Serial No.
-
Case shape
Square
Case color
Rose
Gender
Ladies
Watch Description

Sorry guys for the complete lack of information above.
New to the forum and will be happy to provide any more information if someone's willing to guide me along the way.

Outside: "14K Gold" Stamp. 
Inside on Back Case: "14K" "8"
Inside Movement Area: 17 Jewels, See photos below

Additional Details: 14K Rose Gold, Automatic, 23.1 dwt, 10 Diamonds.
Fantastic condition as you can tell from photos.
There is an engraved love note on the back signed off with a date of 2/10/1946 - may or may not signify approximately the time the watch was purchased.

That's the best I got!

 

1946 Bulova watch
1946 Bulova watch
1946 Bulova watch
1946 Bulova watch
1946 Bulova watch
Bulova Watch
mybulova_admin
Posted January 22, 2016 - 9:57pm

I think we'll deffinitely need to see the inside of this beauty. As there are no details on the case we'll need to establish a few thing in order to determine the correct age and model.

If poosible could you have the case opened and note down the movement details as well as any details inside the back case.

There's certainly alot of gold there :-)

favorite_watches
Posted January 22, 2016 - 10:00pm

In reply to by mybulova_admin

Hi Bulova Admin!!

So happy you responded :)

I actually opened it up, and edited my post with all the numbers that I saw.. Could you educate me on what you think? Let me know if you need a photo!

mybulova_admin
Posted January 22, 2016 - 10:14pm

J9 = 1949, 17 = 17 Jewels, 5AF is the movement model.

Wondering if the case is a custom job. Will look through the adverts to see if I can see anything close.

Any chance of a photo of the inside back case also?

favorite_watches
Posted January 22, 2016 - 10:15pm

In reply to by mybulova_admin

Thank you! I just uploaded photos for you because i felt that it would be extra helpful :)

Geoff Baker
Posted January 24, 2016 - 7:21am

Hello favorite watches, welcome to myBulova. This certainly is a beautiful watch. Bulova didn't make a lot of solid gold watches so when we see one we have both a special treat and a special challenge identifying and dating it.

In the era of your watch we find date codes and manufacturer markings on both the case back and movements. Solid gold cases however, don't always have manufacturer marking and rarely have date codes. The personalization gives a place to start on the case.

A movement date of 1949 and the personalization difference of three years seems to indicate that either the movement was changed for some reason or that the two components were married together at some point down the road. It is possible that the watch isn't all Bulova and that the case was custom made and fitted with a Bulova moment. Photos of the outside and inside of the case back would further assist us in identifying it.

By the way, I also suspect that your watch is a man's watch. Ladies watches of this time period were very small and mens watches were much smaller than they are today. The beauty of this is that mens watches of the period are considered unisex today.

I've looked through our adverts and haven't found a match yet.

 

favorite_watches
Posted January 24, 2016 - 4:14pm

In reply to by Geoff Baker

Hi Geoff, 

Thanks so much for the welcome and your thorough response. I really appreciate your time and expertise. A challenge is always exciting for everyone, haha. 

You are absolutely correct in that the solid gold casing not having the manufacture marking and date code.. I checked and there is no sign except for a "14K" mark and an "8" mark written underneath it. The envgraving on the back case reads: "With Love. To Gloria From Harold. 2-10-46." The "To Gloria From Harold" have these beautiful tree branch-like underlining.. definitely not your average envgraving skills. 

I also had entertained the idea of the '46 referring to the marriage date, but have still given some thought of the possibility of the case being custom. I do have to admit, I find it quite strange that someone would get such an extravagant solid rose gold and diamond casing and go through the trouble of pairing it this way.. 

Geoff, thank you so so much. Should I just sit tight and keep waiting?

Geoff Baker
Posted January 27, 2016 - 7:33am

Short of any other identifying characteristics and no ads found I'm at Unknown for the ID. Not being certain that this is a Bulova case I might consider Non-Conforming a possibility.