Bulova 1970 Beau Brummell

Forgive me if I'm covering ground that is "common knowledge", but the results of my research are as follows.  I’m also sorry for the wall of text, but there’s a lot of ground to cover.

The 1960's were a time of great flux within the Bulova 17 Jewel (17J) "non-luxury" lines. Starting early in the decade, the Sea King was the most prevalent, existing unbroken throughout the decade and into the 1970's. The Clipper line was added shortly after, and the naming floodgates were opened in 1962 and 1963, hitting their highest point in 1964 with 3 "King" lines (Sea, Surf, and Date) and 4 "Clipper" lines/models (Yankee, Jet, Midnight, and American).

By 1968, the number and variety of 17J "non-luxury" lines was down to just 5: Sea King, Date King, Clipper, Jet Clipper, and Aerojet.

In late 1969, the "whale" showed up on some models, starting with the Sea King line, which printed "Sea King" over the whale.

In 1970, the "Golden Clipper" line debuted, adopting the whale symbol as well. The Clippers and Golden Clippers were exclusively 17J, Automatic, Water-resistant, and sported the Whale symbol on the dial with the word Automatic.

Interestingly, all "Clippers" were advertised as "Shock Resistant", whereas the "Golden Clippers" were not.

Use of the whale symbol grew in 1972 to include the 23J President and Senator lines. There is also the first evidence of a "Diamond Clipper" in 1972, a 17J, Automatic, Water Resistant model with 3 diamonds on the face.

The whale symbol continued into 1973 on the Clipper and "Men's Lib" lines, and is absent from 1974 onward. Additionally, from 1974, the Golden Clipper and Sea Kings are not mentioned in any ad that I could find, and the Clipper models in the database end after a short-lived 1977 revival.

Some interesting facts:

Almost all of the “Sea King” models are 17J, water-resistant and manual wind. There are a couple of exceptions, automatics dating from 1969, probably while Bulova was retooling their naming conventions around the launch of the “Golden Clipper” line in 1970. These models are clearly labeled "Sea King" with the whale and "Automatic".

All of the “Clipper” lines (Clipper, Jet, Yankee, Midnight, Golden, etc.) were 17J automatic and water-resistant. I believe that these are the signature features of the Clipper lines. Most had luminous dials as well, but this could not be confirmed from the ads.

After spending too many hours poring over the ads and watch models, I’m confident that this particular watch is a Clipper of some sort. It has 17J, is automatic, water-resistant, and has the whale symbol of the 1970 Clippers and Golden Clippers.

It is definitely not a Sea King, which is the only other whale watch of 1970.

It’s very likely a Golden Clipper, since the only "Clipper" models in 1970 were also shock-resistant, which is absent from this watch.

It is also very possibly the beginning of the Diamond Clipper model, although this would be very hard to nail down without some kind of published documentation.

Mike

Excellent research, Mike! That really spells it out. 

With first evidence of a Diamond Clipper in 1972, and the debut of the Golden Clipper in 1970, I'd say it may be possible that this is a very early Golden Clipper. 

If we go under the assumption that they would label the first two models "A" and "B", then the Diamond Clipper debuted in 1972 as a named model, as above. It is possible that this model existed as a Diamond Clipper (no designation) prior to that time, however I believe that would be very hard to nail down without some kind of documentation.

It is much more likely to be a Golden Clipper, as you say. It definitely shares all the features of the GC line, down to the gold plated movement, and has none of the features that would tend to push the identification in another direction.

Mike