Bulova 1944 Military Issue

Submitted by zappatore88 on February 5, 2013 - 9:02am
Manufacture Year
1944
Movement Model
10AK
Movement Date Code
Circle
Movement Jewels
15
Movement Serial No.
-
Case Serial No.
-
Case shape
Round
Case color
White
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Crystal details
plastic
Gender
Mens
Bulova watch
1944 Bulova watch
1944 Bulova watch
1944 Bulova watch
1944 Bulova watch
zappatore88
Posted May 16, 2014 - 11:35am

Hey bobbee how's she look? I gotta get a different strap , I have a Guss military strap but it looks so nice with with leather

bobbee
Posted May 16, 2014 - 1:34pm

The Guss is great for Military purism, but that croc is my favourite colour, it looks good on the watch, and is more suited to wear with jeans and workshirt, or even your best Gaultier suit.

You did some great sympatico work on the hands so wear it with pride, someone once did seventy years ago.

Bob.

Reverend Rob
Posted May 16, 2014 - 7:06pm

Absolutely fabulous.

A keeper, if ever there was one, and a special history too. Great job on the hands, she looks great.

Now, I'm gonna put on my serious face.

This is for anyone thinking of re-luming old Radium hands.

The half life of Radium is 1601 years. The Zinc Sulfide degrades and the glow fades to nothing. What is left is a non-glowing lume that is just as hot as the day they put it on, for all intents and purposes. The metal in the hands and the dial will remain radioactive. Flaking the lume off will contaminate the tools, bench, mat, and anything it comes in contact with. If you accidentally ingest the Radium, it can get nasty. The body sees Radium as Calcium, and imports it into bones, where it stays til you die. My Grandfather had Radium poisoning from the Second World War. As a watchmaker, they employed him to repair the instruments on the shot-up planes. This would include re-luming the dials and hands, and some other markings on the panels.

Now, the hazards of Radium were well known by this time, but war is war, and everybody got on with it. The upshot is that my Grandfather had a terrible case of Radium poisoning, and his bones ached like a toothache for the rest of his life. 

Radium was used on watch dials and hands into the early 1960's and on clocks until 1978. Comparatively speaking, there is a much larger quantity of Radium paint on clock dials, and the emssions are actually surprising. Most often you will find this on bedroom electric clocks, and clock radios. I used chunks of the paint from my Mother's clock to do cloud chamber demonstrations in Physics class. 

I no longer do any kind of Radium resto or work on flaking Radium dials. My exposure, as you might imagine, would be much higher given the volume of watches.

Anyway, as long as you don't eat the stuff and are reasonably careful, the risks are small, but keep in mind the nature of the toxicity.

 

Reverend Rob
Posted May 16, 2014 - 7:07pm

I should also add that the alpha radiation exits through the crystal, and is blocked to the rear by the dial and movt. Wearing a Radium watch is low risk.

bobbee
Posted May 17, 2014 - 6:15am

 

                                                                          OBITUARY

 

                 

 

                     Norman J. Gerlach is interred in the Veterans Cemetery, Rhode Island.

 

 Another we owe so much to.

zappatore88
Posted July 3, 2014 - 8:23pm

In reply to by William Smith

Yea it's a favorite of mine, my grandfather was in ww2 he got a Purple Heart , 88th infantry .

bobbee
Posted May 17, 2014 - 8:05am

So, maybe he was given it by the Company, as he was from Providence RI, and possibly worked for the company.

zappatore88
Posted May 17, 2014 - 12:04pm

Wow great work finding that !