I know this is nonconforming because of the disl. I wanted to get an opinion on the rest of the watch. Aside from the name on the dial, the font on the dial, hands, case, and movement all match Stephen’s 1920 Rubiayat.
Dear Stinky Sullivan, the watch is a Bulova except for the name on the dial. Typically, the majority of the watches of that period were not signed on the dial. So the question is, who is S.D. Burritt? He was a jeweller on 104 State street and 42 Main Street in Rochester, New York. So he probably bought the watches from Bulova and added his name on the dial, a fairly common practise then.
Looking at S.D. Burritt's ads I feel that it would be safe to call this a 1920 Bulova Lady Maxim. He advertised brands but he also called watches Burritt watches even under those brands as specials. I believe this watch was one of those "specials". He sold both Bulova and Lady Maxim, very interesting looking through his ads. Ads from 1921-1922.
In reply to Looking at S.D. Burritt's… by Kathy L.
Did Burritt not sell the Rubiayat? Everything about this watch matches Stephen’s 1920 Rubaiyat. This watch was obviously sold by Burritt but if Burritt never sold the Rubaiyat model then that’s not a likely match. I’m just trying to figure out why the Lady Maxim instead of the Rubaiyat.
In reply to Did Burritt not sell the… by Stinky_Sullivan
It might be by the year, yes could be a Rubiayat but I was looking at this one https://www.mybulova.com/watches/1921-lady-maxim-3759 as a match. Also this one https://www.mybulova.com/watches/1920-lady-maxim-14288 these were available in the different shaped cases, I think the fact that these have the plain dials he could have added his name to them easily. I didn't find any ads of his with Rubiayat but that doesn't mean he didn't sell them. As Bob said a bit of a coin flip but at least I feel confident that this is an all Bulova watch.
In reply to It might be by the year, yes… by Kathy L.
In the period of the globe signature, which I am almost certain ran from 1920 to 1922, Bulova sold the exact same watches under the brands Bulova, Rubaiyat and Lady Maxim, only distinguished by the brand on the dial, the majority having no name at all (almost 50% when checking the database). I believe that the different brands were sold to different jewellers for reasons we will probably never find out.it all changed with the launch of the advertising campaign in the Saturday Evening Post in October 1922 when Bulova focussed on the Bulova brand only and phased out the other brands.
In reply to In the period of the globe… by Alex
The movement date code was introduced only in 1924. Before that it is a best guess based on the case signature and case serial number. The serial numbers of the globe signature ran from 100….. to 109….. I believe this signature ran from 1920-1922 (but no hard evidence here!). So, the 105….. case serial number of the subject watch would place it around 1921.
In reply to The movement date code was… by Alex