Bulova 1948 President

Submitted by wfj_j on July 5, 2014 - 6:54am
Manufacture Year
1948
Movement Model
7AK
Movement Date Code
47
Movement Jewels
21
Movement Serial No.
-
Case Serial No.
8110400
Case shape
Rectangle
Case color
Yellow
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

Case measures 23MM wide including the crown and 40MM in length.

Bulova watch
Bulova watch
Bulova watch
Bulova Watch
Bulova Watch
bobbee
Posted July 6, 2014 - 12:59pm

Stephen's site movement serial number list is at the top of the page under the "search" option.

Here is a link to it: http://www.mybulova.com/bulova-serial-numbers

There is no known "explanation" for the case s.n. apart from this below.

I am only remarking on the case number dating system in my post above, as first noticed by fifthavenuerestorations on this site, whereby the first number on the seven-digit case serial gives us the year, and we can work out the decade by the model.

wfj_j
Posted July 6, 2014 - 2:08pm

OK, that listing i've seen, but there are still some questions......For instance:

7507619 1938 Biarritz

First digit "7" but dated as 1938... No known indication about movement-code.

Why has the panel decided for 1938 ?

 

There are no others movements for comparing with a 7-digit code starting with "8".

So, isn't the movement-mark '47' more deciding?

I'm the last to question the expertise of this impressing panel, but I like to understand the ins-and-outs of the verdict.

Sorry to trouble you and greetings from Amsterdam,

Wim

 

 

 

 

 

bobbee
Posted July 6, 2014 - 4:08pm

In reply to by wfj_j

Hi Wim, no trouble.

I think I have not explained clearly. T he date is marked by the case serial number, not the movement serial number. 

The Biarritz in question had neither a case serial number or movement datemark, so those guys were making an educated guess at the date.

 Hope this clears any misunderstanding,

Bob.

William Smith
Posted July 6, 2014 - 4:30pm

In reply to by wfj_j

Hi Wim

The listing you linked above it to a older record entered by William (Scott).  He often found photos of watches online and posted them in records while we were building our database.  The information was often incomplete, and without the watch in hand, hard to update.   I'm guessing that he entered the date of 1938 as a best guess.  This record was entered before FifthAvenueRestoration discovered the first digit of case serial number to year of manufacture correlation,  so Scott didn't have that to go on.   The panel wasn't in existence at that time, so there was nobody to double-check his entry.  

Hope that helps explain Scott's incorrectly dated watch record.  I'll update now to 1937 based on what little info we do have in the pictures.

wfj_j
Posted July 7, 2014 - 10:30am

In reply to by William Smith

William,

Thanks for this peek inside the history.

That's what I love on this side: Not a bunch of wise-guys, but anyone's input is taking seriously.

Thanks.

wfj_j
Posted July 6, 2014 - 4:15pm

That's clear, Bobbee, so:

Even if the movement is marked '47' (=1947) but the case s.n. starts with '8', than the watch dates from 1948.

Movement made in 1947, but assembled in 1948 with the case and therefore stamped as 1948.

It needs a real expert to determine a watch.....!

I just have six Bulova's, but I've learned a lot on this site.

Wim

 

Geoff Baker
Posted July 7, 2014 - 7:09am

In reply to by wfj_j

Hi Wim, you are correct. The goal of myBulova is to identify watches. As that generally means dating a case and then associating that case with name we tend to give a bit more credence to the case. As you know  movements were and still are changed. Often we will assign the newest date between the two as the year of the watch. Understand that there is a point in Bulova history that the case date becomes irrelevant or more random,  I recall that time to be mid to late 1950's.

You only have six Bulovas? That's six more than most and a fine collection. I just checked them out (again), they are six very nice ones I would say. Thanks for being a member of myBulova!