Hi Everyone:
I have a 1941 Watertight I recently purchased on eBay and brought back to life, identical to this one with the 10AX movement: Bulova Models | myBulova.com
Does anyone happen to know the crystal it takes?. It is one of those with the bezel ring that presses down around the crystal.
I recently acquired a similar crystal for another Bulova, but it was 28.3mm and was the 1112 E-1 crystal. This one is a few mm smaller.
This one is 25.95 mm in outside diameter. I looked all over, but the closest thing I could find that has the required diameter is listed for a Girard Perregaux.
I reckon I'll see when it arrives.
Thanks for asking. It just arrived yesterday, and no, it does not fit. It is a 25.95 mm Wyler crystal. I took a chance. I'll keep it for another application if need be. The problem is that the Outer diameter is OK, but the Inner diameter is a hair too small and does not allow it to go down over the ring on the case that it fits over. I managed to polish up the original crystal, so it looks pretty good now, so I'll just use it if I cannot locate a NOS one.
It's tough finding a crystal for these early-40s Watertights. They require a special "press-type" dome crystal that is hard to find. I can find the proper outer diameter, but it is the inner diameter that is the issue.
The G-S catalog lists one for a Bulova that looks like it fits over a ring, but it's 29.92 mm. The G-S crystal number is PA 462-6R. The Bulova cross reference number is 1627SZ. I can't tell you if that's the correct crystal for your watch or not, but it's the closest waterproof crystal I see listed for a Bulova in the catalog.
Yes, I saw that one. That one looks to fit the SeaBee which is very similar but larger. But these Watertights are smaller, around 25.9 mm
I am going to try 'grinding down' the Wyler crystal a bit and see if I can't get it to fit. But, the existing crystal looks pretty good now so I can use it if push comes to shove.
I posted a photo of what it looks like.
I dealt with a similar situation on a Girard Perregaux Amphibian from the late forties/early fifties. I had run into this style of crystal for GP Sea Hawks, and actually did use a crystal for a Wyler model on one of them, a ladies size. Anyway, after struggling with many different crystals with the Amphibian, I sent it to Dave C. at Daveswatchparts.com. He found an GS Evr-tite, without using the tension ring, fit pretty well. It fit tightly over the case back/bottom, and the bezel cinched over it without falling off or breaking. As it sits, it's perhaps a bit tight on the back, but has been holding. Admittedly, it does look like like there's a stress crack in the crystal. Fortunately, it hasn't traveled.
The bottom line is that you might try a couple of tension ring crystals with the ring removed. Good luck. Cheers.