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 I love these one off watches… by Geoff Baker
I considered the possibility of connecting it to the case style as well. Perhaps classify as Calendar and designate it as variant "Crusador"?
1932 Calendar Crusador ? or vice versa
There is also the possibility that one or a few of these were produced and Bulova ran into a patent problem using the movements. Mimo (Girard-Perregaux) got the first Swiss patent in Jan 1930, apparently followed by Banner and Vertex; I believe in 1931. This may help explain why Bulova never mass produced calendar watches until the early 1950's. I would say it's a possibility they either missed the patent boat and didn't want to pay royalties to the competition during the Depression (or were refused permission) and waited out the 14 year limit on the patent before applying for their own model. Just a thought
In reply to Bob, looking at the date… by mybulova_admin
Don't think so. The window is beveled on all 4 sides and the dial color as well as the top and bottom of the 3 is in the bevel. I believe the dial was finished after the blank was punched. I;m pretty sure the force needed to punch or cut the window would have peeled the finish off the dial, especially the number lume.
In reply to Don't think so. The window… by neetstuf-4-u
Yeah that was my thinking as well. Thanks for checking.
So far I think the examples we have seen are all tonneau style watches, so perhaps they made a handful of the dials and movements and grabbed a bunch of cases to see which style worked best.
I'm not for ID'ing these according to the case as they really aren't that model.
I'd prefer we group them as a general 'Calendar' model.
This is a Radium dial, and stamping a window after the dial was lumed would crack the lume, as well as possible mar the painted surface. I'm guessing these were more expensive than the standard line, and possibly no one saw the need for a date? The calibre is derived from an FHF 29, and has been modified by Bulova to have a calendar complication. Just thinking out loud here, but maybe they thought the small amounts of lume on either side of the window would be enough to illuminate the date at night. Just a thought.
I don' use this word often or lightly, but.... RARE.
In reply to This is a Radium dial, and… by Reverend Rob