Case appears to be Crusador, however it houses a 13AC calendar movement that is stamped with a shield and a lighter "T". The dial cutout for the date at 3 shows original lume in the beveled window on top and bottom, indicating the window was present when the dial was painted at the factory.
Watch shows very minimal wear and was purchased by me as freshly serviced. It is running, keeping perfect time and the date changes at midnight.
Based on research, the only known examples of a early 1930's date window Bulova are this one, one in an apparent Apollo casing with a 10AC movement owned by mybulova admin (Stephen) and one (possibly 2) possessed by the Bulova Museum. I suspect this watch never made it to market, perhaps due to the Great Depression or Swiss Patent or patent rights issues.
I personally have no doubt this is an original Bulova, and for me a once in a lifetime purchase.. What do we call it? Is it a generic Calendar or a Prototype? It would be a shame to toss it into the ID Unknown drawer.
In reply to Wonderful find. The calendar… by Andersok
What was the casing of the one you had? Did it match this one or the other previously discussed? If all 3 known are different cases, that would certainly give credence to these being prototype "one off" watches or very limited runs as test pieces of design compatibility. ( Painted window bevel vs. unpainted) Maybe the paint on the window was a marker to indicate which movement; 10AC vs 13AC was in the trial piece. For me, on a coolness scale of 1-10, that places these at about a 15.
Next question is were these sold, handed out or gifted as a test of the technology or spirited away by employees?
In reply to What was the casing of the… by neetstuf-4-u
It was identical to the other '32 from Stephen; movement # 575796
It always seems odd that there were not more calendar models during this time; just a few from 1932 that we have seen. The technology was there, so was it a consumer driven thing where they were not yet popular. When was the next Bulova calendar model seen - the early 50s model?
In reply to It was identical to the… by Andersok
Wow this is a super interesting watch. The 3 on the dial makes me wonder if this is a prototype or a redial. The window certainly looks to be after the dial was produced. The Bulova on the dial also looks to be drawn with a fine point pen. I think 1932 Bulova Calendar fits the bill for me. I am super surprised there was not a buzz regarding this technology somewhere. it seems to have been a major flop or just discontinued as not worth being the effort.
In reply to Wow this is a super… by JimDon5822
In reply to Wow this is a super… by JimDon5822
Very interesting watch! A google search of "Bulova" and "13AC' shows this thread as the number one result :) I can't find another example of Bulvoa with a 13AC movement, are there other examples?
If it was redial I would think that at the earliest that it was done would be in 1950's (were redials in the '50's a thing?) if not later, but then I would expect the lume on the 3 to look different than on the other numbers, but the lume really looks consistent across all of the numbers. And the overall patina does look circa 1930's.
The one thing about the date cutout that might point to the cutout being done after the dial was painted (how would you even do that without damaging the paint as this isn't just a cutout, it's bevelled with paint on the bevel?) is that the date window has ink on the bevel that would form the middle part of the number '3'. My (extremely rudimentary) understanding of how dials are pad printed makes me wonder if the pad printing technology in the 1930's was capable of laying down ink on a surface that isn't flat, which the bevel isn't.
In reply to Very interesting watch! A… by GuyMontag
In reply to I just saw the replies on… by GuyMontag
Hi Guy, In response to your 13AC question.Google results show this watch and an additional link to the mybulova movement list. There are photos there of an incomplete movement uploaded in 2019. Currently, the subject watch is the only example of this movement in a case that I am aware of. The other 2 known examples of a 1930's Calendar house a 10AC movement.
I love these one off watches. I've always felt they were custom made and not prototypes. Had they been prototype there would have a follow up run but one never materialized as it seems it would have once proven successful. We should not forget this is very possible that these watches were not made in the era of the case and movement date codes, they could well have been made 10-15 years after the base components.
I'm OK with the 1932 Calendar ID but wonder if it should not be associated to the Crusader case it lives in?