I'm sure this is an Academy Award, but I'm not sure which variant. It has a neat "Corfam" band - I'm not sure if it is original or not. I gotr this one for my wife. She's a vintage movie fan and this is her favorite watch. OK condition and runs well. 10K YGF Bulova case. Case marked L0 for 1950, but movement marked A9 for 1949. Not sure if it was common for movement and case year numbers not to match. Perhaps this is a rplacement case?
Hi, I'm the resident AA Bulova so-called expert here... your wife is very lucky, The 7AK 21j Movement is simply the best Bulova had to offer, maybe of all time. If oiled and cleaned it run for decades. Now what you have is The Golden Curtain dial. Bulova identified not only the Model but the parts as part of The Academy Awards. So much so, they got in big trouble and had to discontinue a relationship with AMPAS. The use of the Oscar Statue today in all advertising is banned today because of the outcome of the lawsuit against Bulova for misusing the Oscar Logo. So I forevermore and maybe unfairly refer to this model as The Lawsuit Model. The case has been referred to as The Tuxcedo and the watch case if you find one had a little sandwich board like you see in Movie Theater lobby's advertising the price. Believe me, these AA Models are one of a kind. Recently a pristine AA sold at SOTHEBY's for several thousand. Now the Kreisler G/F Bracelet matches the golden curtain case and or dial but almost impossible to find. So now the miss's has all the behind the scenes details as she watches Classic Film. John V. (NAWCC Business Member) "Time & Again"
In reply to Hi, I'm the resident AA… by JEV1A
John - I'd like to clarify, for the record, statements you made regarding a lawsuit against Bulova. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) did not sue Bulova over these watches or any other matter. The lawsuit you refer to was filed against Bulova by a company called Academy Awards PRODUCTS (AAP). AAP was registered for the sole purpose of filing frivolous legal actions against companies using the "Academy Award" and/or "Oscar" words in their products and or advertising. The judgement can be found here.
Taking the time to read it you'll notice that the judge noted, unrelated to any action by AMPAS that Bulova was unfairly representing it's self as being the recipient of an actual Academy Award. AMPAS was not involved in this legal action in any way although the Bulova stipulated later that they would cease using "Academy Award" and "Oscar" in their advertisement. That stipulation effectively end the Academy Award Line one year before the agreement with AMPAS ran out.
Academy Award models are not lawsuit watches. They were produced under a legitimate agreement between AMPAS and Bulova Corp. I hesitate to refer to any of them as one of a kind in that Bulova made THOUSANDS of these watches in 30 some varieties. We currently have over 145 of these watches in our dB in men's and women's styles, they can be viewed here.
In reply to Hi, I'm the resident AA… by JEV1A
John, whilst I agree that the Bulova Academy Award series is one of Bulova's nicer series (IMO), as Geoff said, Bulova made a great many of them, not only in numbers but also in model variants, both in mens and ladies lines.
They are certainly up there as a model to have in your Bulova collection, I myself look forward to the day when I own one.
I would assume that the watch you refer to as being sold at a Sotherby's auction probably belonged to someone famous, which is why it fetched several thousand dollars. These days if you look around enough you should easily be able to find one in good condition for a few hundred dollars plus.
All in all Bulova Academy Award watches are a wonderful snapshot into what Bulova was doing in marketing terms in the early 1950s.