I recently purchased (for what I think is a very good price) a lovely little art deco 1920's original Bulova Liberty watch, encrusted with sapphires and 2 other stones which could very well be diamonds but not of very high grading. All the mechanism is authentic apparently and is the original one to the watch, in perfect working order, the only thing is that it moves around inside the case but only really slightly. I would love if someone gave me more information on this watch based on the information that I provide and the images, possibly a little bit on its history and it would be fantastic if you could give me an estimate of how much it could be worth (doesn't matter in what currency, but please state which one you're using!). Thank you very much in advance :) Here is all the information I have on the watch; links to the images are below it.
***PLEASE DON'T SUGGEST THAT I USE EBAY FOR PRICE REFERENCE, THE PRICES THERE ARE VERY IRREGULAR AND I'VE ONLY SEEN 1-2 MODELS SIMILAR TO MY WATCH***
The front of the face has 4 rectangular natural sapphires and the winder has a little cabochon sapphire that's got a tiny chip in it but it's not very noticeable.
The inside of the watch case says: LIBERTY W. C. C. C. ROLLED GOLD PLATE 73262.
The mechanism has the following written on it: FIFTEEN 15 JEWELS; FOUR4ADJ; 6AP; BULOVA WATCH Co; 70567 (serial number? should it correspond to the number in the casing? if not, then is it not the original mechanism from the watch?). I now know that the little coat of arms shaped symbol means it's from 1939.
The bracelet is stainless steel and the clasp has the following: LANCE QUALITY PAT. 2, 097, 055. The clasp works perfectly as well.
The watch has been cleaned by a jeweller, according to the person who sold it to me and it is very nice and clean and polished, and apparently they had dated it around 1928.
Here are links to the high-resolution images of the mechanism, case inside and watch itself:
The watch itself: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5150/5840383962_7cb6064e51_b.jpg
Close-up of the watch face: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5107/5839835161_1c66538b38_b.jpg
Mechanism: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3097/5839831405_78b1b3a0f8_b.jpg
Inside of the case: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3057/5839832299_4532fb065e_b.jpg
Clasp: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5063/5839833109_d294e8ffa5_b.jpg
Back of the watch: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3109/5839834171_c46920d15a_b.jpg
Hello alisamaks
I believe your watches manufacture date is more likely from 1929 or 1930. Bulova used that same symbol in 1929 and 1939. The design of the watch looks to be late 20's early 30's. The 6ap movement was last produced in 1929 according to the chart on this site. Bulova routinely used movements that were at least a year older than the manufacture date of the watch so the watch could be manufactured in 1929 or 1930. That's my humble opinion anyway. I'm sure someone with more knowledge than I will be along soon to help. By the way nice find the watch looks to be in great shape.
Bob B
Agree with the last two comments. The Liberty case is not original to the movement.
With this in mind there is no way to put a price on it. At the same time this site is not here to advise what a watch is worth as there are many factors to this, and there is no deffinitive price guide for vintage Bulova's.