New Watch (to me) looking for some information

Submitted by jblejer on August 23, 2016 - 7:20am

Hello all,

I received my watch from my Grandmother about 8 years ago. It was my Grandfather's. I didnt think much of it at the time since the band was broken and the (I thought) the battery was dead, and it is a little funky looking. The watch started to grow on me recently and I discovered it is indeed a manual watch that was working. I through on an old leather band just to be able to wear it for now. I like this watch a lot, it is a little quirky yet very handsome. And being my Grandfather's it has some meaning for me. 

Currently the watch wont hold time for more than 6 hours or so which is a bit frustrating. Also, the bezel is loose and turns freely so I assume that is broken. I would like to have those things repaired if possible. Does anyone have any recommendations about that?

Anyway, looking for any information and help with this. I am looking to put a new leather strap on and where this watch around.

Reverend Rob
Posted August 23, 2016 - 10:14am

Welcome to MyBulova, and thank you for adding your watch. The date code indicates it is a 1970 Chronograph, and is a good quality watch, it would not have been cheap at the time your Grandfather bought it.

If you are planning to wea it and run it, it is important to have the watch fully serviced. This is not a cheap thing to have done either, but the watch will damage itself by running. The lube will have dried out years ago and combined with any dirt, will cause damage to the mechanism. 

A full service, or CTR, is full disassembly and cleaning in Industry standard solutions, with repair as necessary and re-assembly and lubrication with modern synthetic lube, as well as de magnetisation and regulation. Any and all adjustments will be performed to make the watch run properly, as well as the chronograph mechanism. Usually the mainspring is replaced during this kind of service and some places offer case refinishing also. 

I mention  this because it is too easy to just run the watch, and I learned this the hard way. Before I went to watchmaking school, I bought a NOS watch from the 70's, and it took about three months of daily wear and winding to basically destroy it.

The watch is capable of running for another 50 years if properly cared for, with no batteries to change and recycle. A very nice heirloom to be proud of.

jblejer
Posted August 23, 2016 - 10:18am

Hi Reverend Rob,

Thank you very much for the input. I will stop using now until it is serviced. Do you by anychance know anyone or company that is reputible that I could trust? I absolutley do not want to ruin this watch, and I DO want to wear it.

Do you suppose there is a way to replace or at least clean up the crystal? Do you think the bezel is repairable so that it will work again?

Thanks a lot for the feedback!

Reverend Rob
Posted August 23, 2016 - 10:53am

In reply to by jblejer

Crystals are still available and easily replaced, and the bezel probably has a friction ring that is worn out. These watches often didn't have the ratchet that some modern sport watches have, the bezel is fairly free to move, even when they were new. If you check with your local chapter of the NAWCC or AWCI, they can probably point you to a certified watchmaker.

1955mercury
Posted August 23, 2016 - 11:34pm

That looks like it's a 1970 Bulova Deep Sea Chronograph except they had "666 FEET" printed under Bulova on the dial. I wonder if your grandfather had that removed. I would never wear one because of that but I never thought of having it removed from the dial.

Reverend Rob
Posted August 27, 2016 - 12:28am

In reply to by 1955mercury

The dial doesn't look altered in any way, this may be a model with no depth reference on the dial. It is instead listed on the case back. 

JP
Posted August 26, 2016 - 4:13pm

1970 Chronograph