1956 Bulova 23 “F”
I’ve been through all the variations. There are 4 primary differences.
1) dial color - some variants come in black and white and for others, the dial color is the difference.
2) lug style - I’ve noticed 4 styles. full contour ears, tapered, straight, and partial contour ears. (These are my terms)
3) case style - primarily I noted 2 styles. One is crenelated and the other is not. Most are not.
4) dial features - some white dials have silver numbers and marks while others are gold. Also, the script below the center. Some say Self Winding while others also say Six Adjustments. The order isn’t the same on every variant.
The “F” variant is the only one with the following features:
1) white dial
2) 3 lines of script below the center with “Self Winding” on the first line.
3) full contour lugs
4) no case crenelation
The dial text above the 6 position isn't really a contributing factor in ID. In 1955/56 the dial text appeared as subject watch. Around late 1956 or 57, it went to just "selfwinding".and the "six adjustments" line disappeared from the dial.
Lug shape,dial marker configuration (all sticks, all numbers or a mix) , case and dial color are generally the main factors regarding the earliest "23's". The "six adj" dial text is a good indication of year without looking at the back :o)
1956 Bulova 23 "F" is a match
Your research was good! Thanks!
In reply to The dial text above the 6… by neetstuf-4-u