1957 Surfmaster A After reading both threads for the surfmaster and the surfmaster, I'm going with the Surfmaster A. IMHO, the 57 Surfmaster in the database should be an A and the Surfmaster A should be a Model 23 U. Just sayin. I just got this bak from Kurt after an oiling and servicing so I dare not open the case. I used the movement info from the database for this one and Kurt said the gasket was dried out and in pieces and he didn't have a replacement so he pieced the original back together....don't get it wet lol. Definitely my prized possession to date. Will be wearing it daily with great pride. Oh yeah, it came in the original box with the tags but unfortunately its band was replaced with a very sharp looking duchess half expansion band that fits the watch very well.
Don't know if it holds any weight or not but the person I got this from claimed it had been in their grandfathers dresser drawer for the past 35 or 40 years.
The man that serviced it for me said he didn't think the dial had been redone but left that judgement to you guys.
That is an extremely fresh looking dial for a 62 year old watch.
The rest of the watch does look cosmetically good, but dials will patina because of pigments and lacquer and reaction with environmental pollutants, some coming from inside the watch itself.
These watches aren't water resistant in any sense, a new gasket will make it more dustproof, but the watch will 'breathe' through the stem tube, and even tiny amounts of moisture laden atmosphere can cause clouding. The case back gasket will help with keeping wrist sweat from sneaking in, so it is still a good idea.
In the early days of mybulova, all members could add and name watches without panel concensus or ad verification. There are still a few flying under the radar we never caught.
This one
https://www.mybulova.com/watches/1957-surfmaster-2567?page=1
needs to be revisited. Although it's not a Surfmaster, it contains a 1958 Surfmaster ad snippet showing a center sweep second hand as opposed to a subsecond like yours and the one you reference.
https://www.mybulova.com/watches/1957-surfmaster-1722?page=1
Without a 1956-1958 ad showing a seconds sub dial variation, I would be inclined to say neither is a Surfmaster or be extremely tentative on that ID for both.
Panel?