quality of the 1940 engineer model

Submitted by scott on July 26, 2014 - 11:02am

I am new at collecting bulova watches. I spent the day yesterday reading about the history of the watches and how to date them as well as how to identify the model. My first purchase i found out from my new found info. Is a 1940 engineer. In a very well cared for state. Can anyone tell me how the quality of this watch is compared to other bulovas. By the way it is a 21 jewel. I also need a crystal. Can anyone send me in the right direction for that. Thank you, scott

1955mercury
Posted July 26, 2014 - 9:22pm

Hi Scott. Welcome to Mybulova. You're asking about the quality of your model Bulova on an all Bulova website? I would have to say "Excellent". Lol!  As for needing a crystal, could you post a picture of your watch so we can find you the right crystal. There's several people on this site that have stockpiles of Bulova crystals that will be glad to help you.

scott
Posted July 26, 2014 - 9:31pm

I will post a pic. Thanks so much. As far as quality i no all bulovas are quality watches i just figured some models are of higher quality than others. I look forward to hearing about the Crystal after i post the pic. Thanks again, scott

Geoff Baker
Posted July 27, 2014 - 6:02am

Hi Scott, welcome. The most notable difference in Bulova watches is the quality and complication of the movement. The 'quality' of the moment can largely be determined by the jewel count. The more jewels the higher the quality of the movement. Typically Bulova had 15, 17, 21, 23, 25 & 30 jewel movements although there were some different counts as well. The higher jewel count movements are found in the more expensive watches. Complications are defined as features other than the display of time. Showing the day and or the date would be example as well as chronograph function. Bulova stayed fairly basic in their additions of complication compared to their 'luxury competitors. The manufacturing quality of the cases, other than solid gold didn't vary much until the 1970's and 80's when most watch companies changed from gold filled to gold plated cases.

Bulova, in their history, also had two subsidiaries that manufactured a less expensive line of watches. In the 1920's and 30's they sold a second line under the Westfield brand. Beginning in the early 1960's and continuing to present they sell a second line under the Caravelle brand name.