Is it just me or is this the inspiration for the Bulova Berkshire.....check out the front of the locomotive.
It's the Berkshire locomotive - 1950 model
Could it be????
In reply to The watch is dated as a 1950, by shooter144
And let's not forget the Air King. There has been no hint of a relationship between that companion watch and FLW, whereas it fits in perfectly with the WWII theory.
Here's an article from the New York times regarding Bulova's commitment to WWII vets via the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking. That continued commitment to, and involvement with, WWII vets continued for many years after the war ended--certainly well into the '50s and beyond. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/nyregion/16simon.html
In reply to And let's not forget the Air by NOVA
I am of the mind that maybe we should add some of this info such as Lisa posted from the NY Times to the site...not many companies went thru a war selling their goods at cost ( most profit immensely ) and then open a school specificallly for vets at no cost to them as well. this is unheard of actually, and deserves some space here, I am sure others would agree.
Just to tie up a loose thread from earlier, I made contact with the current owner/manager/renovator of the Bulova building in Queens. According to Mr. Ed Blumenfeld of Blumenfeld Development Group, the building was designed by Alexander Crosett.
Mr. Blumenfeld stated that the most recent renovations to the building by his company, "held the integrity of his [Mr. Crosett's] design and improved upon the interior design."
I know that the wild goose chase has since moved on to the Berkshires, but I promised Mr. Blumenfeld to properly credit him for the information he so kindly gathered for us.
I think the Berkshire connection has been show in another post to reflect connections to Omar Bradley and possibly others from Bulova that spent time at the Berkshire facilities during and after the war.
Nothing is concrete, however as this thread shows, it is a tangeable connection to a very important airfield that was decommisioned in the early part of the '50's, a fitting reason for a strong military company to name a watch after it ( even before it actually was closed down ) , especially when their military ( Omar Bradley ) connection spent a great deal of time there. Many shot up american bombers landed here and it was home to several US fighter squadrons strongly involved in D-day and other major operations of the war in Germany, untill the bitter end. This is just theory, as is all of the other ideas, but it seems to have the most tangeable connections so far.
I'm going to toss out a crazy idea, for which I concede there is not one lick of evidence:
The Berkshire is not really a 'Dress Watch'. It's far too informal and even slightly gaudy - compared to some of Bulova's more staid designs. So perhaps it was meant as a casual watch. The Berkshires of Western Massachusetts being a vacation destination, perhaps Bulova wanted customers to think of a nice, casual watch to wear on vacation, with their short-sleeved golf shirts and Bermuda shorts.
Alternatively, maybe somebody in the Marketing Department threw a dart at a list....
(Submitted with tongue firmly in cheek)
In reply to I'm going to toss out a crazy by Elgin Doug
Seriously, as far as direct evidence, your theory is as sound as any. The only "evidence" we have for how the watches were marketed is this service reminder post card. While, by today's standards, the woman depicted would be dressed for the opera, by 1950 standards, she was pretty casual.
Wow there sure are some interesting theory's coming out of you guys! FLW, a locomotive , air field in England, a vacation spot In Massachusetts. The the funny thing is they are plausible. This might be the most mysterious and interesting watch we have ever discussed on this site. :)
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In reply to have to be a chrono on that by shooter144
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I'd noticed a Ladies Watch box recently with an interesting slogan inside the lid. It read:
"Timed and Cased at Sterling Tower, Toronto"
A quick check of Sterling Tower revealed it had been demolished years ago, but.
There was the 'Shell Oil Tower'
(Bulova Clock)
Which later became the 'Bulova Tower'
This Tower was located on the grounds of the Canadian National Exibit. Which features the usual festivities including an Air Show.
I'm wondering why the Watch has to look like anything?
Does the Lone Eagle look like Lindenburg?
In reply to I'd noticed a Ladies Watch by FifthAvenueRes…
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In reply to I'd noticed a Ladies Watch by FifthAvenueRes…
Sterling Tower is still standing
I would use caution as there are 2 unresolved issues.
1. We don't know with 100% certainty what this Watch was named in 1950.
2. Where is the Ladies Model?
To Me, these Watches look like a set of some sort, an unnamed / unknown 1950 commemorative perhaps?
happy hunting.
In reply to I would use caution as there by FifthAvenueRes…
In reply to So all of those named in the by shooter144
Shooter - most of us have accepted the Berkshire and Air King names based on the documentation obtained from Bulova. Every ID is subject to further review based on new evidence, but, until such time as new evidence arrives, those are the names we've got.
I guess Admin hasn't yet decided what to do with the lady's models. Lady Berskshire and Lady Air King have my vote.
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In reply to shooter, The Ladies Model has by FifthAvenueRes…
Oh, I have been thinking outside the box. In fact, I proposed to Stephen through a PM that it could relate to the famous radio called the Air King. Air Kings were a line of radios, which were very popular when radio was very popular--30s through 50s. They are still very popular as vintage items. The watch could be modeled after a radio dial.
However, I keep thinking that the two watches should also relate to each other, since they look just alike. I don't know why Bulova would make identical watches but then give them completely unrelated names. So, I've been looking for something that links Berkshire with Air King. Without much luck.
In reply to Not quite ready for prime by FifthAvenueRes…
It Seems tha Bulova Corp. of Canada was located in the Sterling Tower Toronto much like the USA 5th Ave Nwe York location.
Since the only ad we have is from a jewler in Edmonton AB, this may be an exclusive watch to Canadians.
It could be their answer to the His/Her Excellency series or Academy series for an similar event nationwide event located up north.
I have been doing the Google thing for Canada but seems I am not hitting the right keywords yet...
I still haven't worked directly with International yet, so I could be totally wrong about this. But won't they have records regarding what these watches were called? Isn't that how they know which plate(s) to use for the re-dial? Won't they also be able to tell us whether the watches had different names for different years?
Respectfully, I would have to disagree admin.
There is no mention of a 'LADY BERKSHIRE' in any of the Crystal Catalouges, no ads depicting a 'LADY BERKSHIRE'.
There is no evidence whatsover that the model Name ever existed.
we could Name 100 or more unknowns using this 'I think We should call it' method of identification.
For all We know at this point the Ladies model may have only been available in a set.
Until such time that we can positively identify this watch lets seperate it out with its own name for labelling purposes.
This can easily be changed when we do have a truely correct name.
This that want to mark it as a Lady Berkshire feel free, those that don't, feel free to eiither mark it as a Berkshire or Unknown.
Well we know it's not the Lady Frank Lloyd Wright watch for sure.... = )
Plains has been rediculously busy with work and fam lately! This watch is still a kunundrum.
I'd say it stands to reason that more likely than not you ad a Lady in front of the title for the name. It's been done on the other sets. Say for instance:
Rite-Angle, Lady Rite-Angle
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