Hi there, I saw this old Bulova online and was again tempted to pull the trigger. I recognised it is probably a WWII ord dept issue but the case back shows nothing about it. May I seek your expertise on the authenticity of the watch? Many thanks in advance!

 

I’ve seen unmarked backs before, possibly surplus? The rest looks all correct.

 

Talk about radium burn

 

What do you mean? Does it look all good?

 

From your experience, any redial/ reprint spotted here? I notice that the crown may not be original.

 

The radium burn adds a ton of character to your watch. Save the crown, that's an amazing watch!

 

Never delivered because the contracts were canceled at the end of the war, and the caseback was never marked.

 

As long as the seller doesn't claim it's an issued watch. Certainly, this will influence the price along with the replaced crown. An interesting piece nevertheless.

 

No markings on the back means its not an issued watch. Tons of watches were made in this style so it may not have been destined for the military. The regulator is way over so count on the watch needing a service. I don’t think the 10AK had a hacking feature and it was made from 1942 until 54, so there’s tons of them out there. Nice watch, tons of character. It should be relatively inexpensive.

I paid 250 for my issued USAF Bulova from 1959.

 

Dial and hands are original, crown was normally chrome plated- I don’t have a issue with the brass crown personally- it’s the correct size as least.

These typically aren’t expensive watches (I paid about $150-250 for the ones I have had), they always need service but parts were abundant- even NOS in military packaging pop up occasionally!

My Ord watches say hello

 

It Depends.
For a WWII piece like this, as I said, it was made in anticipation of war need, but the war ended while it was in production, so they skipped the marking step, and sold it after the war.

I had an Elgin Type A-11 that was produced and delivered, but the war ended before it could be issued. Technically, that makes it "not an issued watch" because it sat in a warehouse before it was either sold surplus or distributed down the line to National Guard, state police, etc.

Sometimes an issued watch escaped marking. For example, some WWI watches remained in the ordnance system and were supposed to be marked to WWII standards, but never were.

All you can really do most times is say "most were this but be careful what you assume."

 

One notable thing about the subject Bulova watch is the absence of the typical date code anywhere, either on the movement, or the case back! Or is my vision worse than I thought?

 

I don’t think the letter+number date code started until 1952-53.

 

From 1924 to 1945, Bulova used a symbol to identify the year the watch was made. In 1946, some watches had a symbol, while others had the last two numerals of the year. 1947, 48, and 49, had only the numerals. Beginning in 1950, the decade was identified with a letter, followed by the fourth number of the year. L and zero (0) meant 1950. M, 1960s, N, 1970s, and so on. My point being that I don’t see a date code on either the movement or the case of the subject watch. Chances are there was a date code on a previous case, but the watch may have been re-cased.

 

I've checked, and military watches were marked but not on the movement, and of course on the case but we have determined this is not an ordnance department case. Unless the military contract specified a date code, there would not be one. US ordnance during the largest war in history would not routintely mark anything it did not have to, nor require it of its contractors, because that was one extra step that would keep a watch back from a soldier, sailor, or pilot who had needed it.

There is also no mention of it in the manual, and if it were significant, it would be.

Was the watch recased? Anything is possible. Military-issued cases wore out a lot faster in use because military conditions are harder than your average joe. Bulova would have surplused unused cases and they might have been used to recase military watches. Or used them up and sold watches on the civilian market.

In any event, I am not disturbed by lack of a date code.

 

i don’t think the absence of a date code puts the watch into question, either. I only pointed it out because I felt it was odd not having one. But I suspect the day that movement was finished with the Bulova date code missing, that it would not necessarily have been earmarked for a government contract. But there is a chance (I suppose), that the military placed an order for watches that omitted the date code. Not a big issue.

 

Actually, yes, it would have. Just about all civilian manufacture in the US was halted. For example, the War Production Board had to approve a special alarm clock called a "War Alarm" or "Waralarm" (Westclox only) when they realized that war workers needed to get to work on time, and these clocks had to use an absolute minimum of brass. Most of them had pressed paper cases and all-steel movements, though some were made with stamped steel cases later.

Just about every company in one fashion or another switched its manufacture from whatever they were doing to war production, and watchmaking companies were included. Heck, Buescher, a manufacturer of musical instruments, made altimeters during WWII and they were made so well, this continued through the Korean War as well, before the contract was canceled.

 

But I believe Switzerland was neutral in WWII. Would these conventions have applied to them as well? I have never seen a Bulova watch that didn’t have a date code, either on the case, or on the movement. Or both.

Any U S made watch produced to fulfill a military contract has had a serial number. No date of course. Why would the military make the distinction with a Swiss watch. I realize we are dealing with date codes, not serial numbers, but the Bulova has neither!

 

I cannot add much to what has already been said. This is a WWII surplus Ord Department watch. Google them and you will find that millions were made and pretty cheeply. If you want a military watch with the history, I would hold out for one with the markings on the case back. These days I think you will have to pay $200-$300 for one in decent condition. If you don't care about the history, you should be able to find a nice civilian Bulova from the 1930s-1950s for under $150. If you like tank watches, maybe less.

TLDR: If is under $150usd and you like it,. buy it. If it is much more hold out for a nice one with the ORD. Dept. Markings.

 

You'll note that movement was made in USA. The military didn't care about serials on the movement, it's not in the manual, either. The manual is TM9-1575, by the way. https://archive.org/details/TM9-1575