Bulova 1973 Ambassador

Submitted by Krenov on September 15, 2021 - 6:38am
Manufacture Year
1973
Movement Model
11ADACB
Movement Jewels
23
Case Serial No.
3-664294
Case shape
Cushion
Case color
Yellow
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Crystal details
30mm Diameter
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

My partners uncle bought this watch from a charity shop in Manchester, where he lived. No idea how much he paid for it but he was a canny Scot and old school so it would have been no more than £20. I know he did a bit of research so he would have had some idea of what it was or he wouldn't have bought it. He passed away before I had a chance to talk to him about it so I don't know weather he intended to keep it or sell it. The watch has been passed to me. Im going to restore the watch and I'm looking for as much info as is available. I would love to find an image of the watch in its original state. I have searched the site and this exact model is not listed. As I understand it -  from watching a similar watch being repaired - this watch should have two brackets/case clamps held with screws. Are they missing or am I wrong? Left hand side of image 2. Other side is hidden by rotor. Any information regarding this watch would be gratefully received.

Kind regards - Paul Murdoch

Dial of the watch showing the Bulova, Ambassador, 23 jewels, Automatic and Swiss Made info. Gold/cream dial with day and date and markers, not numbers, denote the time. Gold watch case, lugs and winder also shown.
Image of rear of watch with the back removed showing one side the movement with the rotor.
Image of the inside of the back piece displaying info: Bezel gold plated 20 microns, M.R.P, 7632-1, Swiss.
Image of the back of the back piece showing info: Bulova, N3, Stainless steel back.
Magnified image of the Back of the back piece showing the serial number: 3-664294
Image showing side of the watch including the crown wich has no detail or logo.
neetstuf-4-u
Posted September 16, 2021 - 8:42am

Hi Paul, I keep coming back to this one and am still unable to find any info on 23 jewel Ambassadors. I suspect this is a model produced for and sold to the European market. If that is the case, we will probably never find a specific variant due to lack of reference material available for non-US produced watches. I did a search for "Ambassador 23 jewel" in the database and there are only  3 examples - all are dial marked like subject watch, and dated 1972. All have a s/n starting with "3 - " and case marked "MRP" which is the case maker signature, as well as "Swiss".

No doubt it's a 

1973 Ambassador

and it has signs of being an international model, as opposed to a US production. The fact it was purchased second hand  in Manchester is also a clue.

Krenov
Posted September 16, 2021 - 10:15am

Hi all,

Thank you all for your replies. I can see it’s unlikely that I’ll find the kind of comprehensive information I was hoping for. It’ll be a long time before I’m ready to tackle this watch so hopefully some more info will come to light in the interim.

Is there a resource to locate the factories that manufactured Bulova watches during the early 70s? When you say international, where exactly do you mean? Is there a one stop website or book that has everything you ever needed to know about Bulova?

kind regards

paul

mybulova_admin
Posted September 16, 2021 - 8:56pm

In reply to by Krenov

"Is there a one stop website or book that has everything you ever needed to know about Bulova?"

Yep....mybulova.com

Paul, there is still a great deal of information to be found and made public here on myBulova. we just need people looking and adding to the site..

I'm still not sure what compregensive information you are looking for. Your question seems to be more focused on watch maintenance rather than Bulova watch information. Bulova wasn't the only brand that used the movement/case clamps, it was a common feature for many watch manufactures. 

When we say 'international' we typically mean watches manufactured and sold outside the US market and unfortunately there is not alot of information available.

Krenov
Posted September 17, 2021 - 4:06am

In reply to by mybulova_admin

I’m focused on repairing this watch and restoring it to original state so all the info I’m looking for relates to this particular watch. I can already see that searching for information is taking me down a rabbit hole. I just wanted a heads up on the best places to try to get the information I need. I’m aware that this information may not be available or exist.

I have info from a website that says bulova watches were manufactured to order in Switzerland. Japan and Hong Kong depending on the quality. Then when the watch was complete it was sent to the US. Right now I don’t even know if that’s true. 
 

Im at the beginning of a search and clearly this site is the place to start. 
 

I do want to ask once again if there is a way to edit my watch info to have the word Ambassador in the title so that it will come up when other people use that search term. 
 

kind regards

Paul
 

 

mybulova_admin
Posted September 17, 2021 - 5:49am

In reply to by Krenov

Paul, I have uidpated your watch record and ID'd accordingly.

I normally give a few days to allow as many of the the panel members to make a comment before assigning a model name.

I was waiting to see if any of the panel could find either a model number or variant, neither of which have been found, thus a based ID of Ambassador has been given.

Krenov
Posted September 17, 2021 - 9:17am

In reply to by mybulova_admin

Ahh I see. I thought I had made a mistake on the initial info input. 

kind regards 

Paul