hello awhile ago i posted this watch...i put it off to the side while i was waiting for a suction opener to take off the back..anyway this watch does have the 10ak hack movement...it looks just like an a-11 bulova military except it doesn't have the military markings...i looked through the ad database and the only military style watch that bulova seem to have sold during the early to mid 40"s have the sub dial..i am talking about the round mililtary style watches,not the versions of other models with the blackhawk style dials... even the round practioner doesn't look close to what i have...so the question is, what is this watch,if its not military is it surplus.. did it just missed getting stamped,to speed up production...or just simply a cilvilian marketed watch..that we don't have an ad for..i remember the one topic about surplus watches being sold,through mags like popular mechanics or something like that...one more this watch has the right a-11 chrome case and has the right movement cover although looks like someone took out the original o ring gasket..the back looks so much newer then the rest of the case.someone who just needed a watch and already had this one could have changed the back,or for someother reason,someone who didn't care if the watch would be collectable 60some years down the line...i am not reach for it to be military, i would just like to know what it is..i could never sell as a true military anyway,who would believe no matter how much research i did..i like this watch better than any new military style watch,like a seiko 5 or new bulova quartz..i'll keep til i find a good true military watch...that or a spaceview...i have been buying alot of tools though lately...and saving up for a sherline...
It is quite possible that it was worn through the war, many soldiers brought their own watches with them. I can say that the watch I was issued with in my time in the army was pretty substandard, so I wore my own, as did most of my buddies. (1990-1995, 421 wpns tech, land)
Any watch issued will have a contract number and description on the back, as Fifth pointed out. I have several Marathon military watches, but they are bumpers and have more than the usual allotment of Radium, so I don't wear them. After Harwood went broke in 1930-31? A. Schild continued making his movts, albeit in a modified manner, with crown winding, as military models. Personally, if it were me, and I was collecting Military Bullies, I would get the ones with nomenclature stamped on the back, but to each his own. Ideally, the ones that are stamped but never used are the ones to watch for, as they are NOS, obviously. In my experience, 'war-worn' watches are usually in pretty rough shape.
that is what i was thinking..it looks like it went through a war...but it does have some style to it, and it is a military watch even though it wasn't stamped or anything..maybe i could just find a case and use this movement...i'll still keep for a little bit..like i said it is still cooler than any modern watch,plus i didn't pay much for it, came in a lot of other watches,that i bought mostly for a 70s seiko 6139a..i knew that alot of people used their own watches during wars...my one watchmaker had a guy who wore his rolex sub during vietnam.....i still think its a cool watch,as it is still an A-11 bulova...i really haven't collected military watches but if i come across a decent one that was issued then maybe i'd pick one up..as i said in the first post,,its a tough call between an issued military watch or a spaceview,since i don't have an accutron in my collection..as i want to save up for a sherline lathe with a miling attachment,if btw anyone knows of one for sale let me know...
i was at the military watch forum and by a couple memebers i was told this """During the war these watches were used all over the world