Bulova's first every mens wristwatch?

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Submitted by mybulova_admin on September 22, 2012 - 5:28am

Could this be Bulova's first every mens wristwatch?

Advert dates to December 16 1922. They were certainly selling and advertising pocket watches, but so far this is the first evidence we have of a mens wristwatch.

39714 A Real Mans's Watch by Bulova. December 16 1922.

Paleotime
Posted September 22, 2012 - 11:19am

Are you certain the dial isn't branded?  If you look between the hands and lower than the normal position there appears to be a line of text...

 

Nice looking.  Anybody own one?

DarHin
Posted September 22, 2012 - 11:42am

I don't know, but I don't think they would have obscured their brand in an ad.

Time Bandit
Posted September 22, 2012 - 1:35pm

If you look at the 1922 ad in the DB, they all look like they have the "brand"  on the dial.

bobbee
Posted September 22, 2012 - 4:32pm

Is it possible the "line of text" is actually the mybulova.com "watermark" shading in that spot?

TimeBandit, Stephen was only referring to the Gent's watch in this post. 

mybulova_admin
Posted September 22, 2012 - 6:09pm

If you look at the new 1922 advert you will see a number of watches without the branding on the dial.

William Smith
Posted September 23, 2012 - 12:26am

Great ad! Great find!  There are several watches in that ad which don't have names on the dials. Cool.  ...and I do see, in the ad above, what looks like the left side of the U in the MyBulova watermark which Bobbee mentions.....

mybulova_admin
Posted September 23, 2012 - 2:43am

Sorry, but to protect the sites information, especially rare adverts like this I've put a small watermark on all the watches. If I didn't, before you know it others will be copying and putting their own watermark on them claiming them as their own.

I love finding these new adverts that bring the pieces together.

bobbee
Posted September 23, 2012 - 4:24am

   1925 ad with similar watch, the "39713", with "Bulova" on the dial.

Still, at 1922 it is the earliest mans wristwatch ad, and a fantastic find.

mybulova_admin
Posted September 23, 2012 - 4:49am

Actually, upon further checking of the advert I would say that 'Bulova; is on the dial (hard to see with the hand position, but I believe it is there). Apologies for the original statement.

Bobbee, is correct we see the watch again in the above 1925 advert.

EDIT

The case metals are different, those the different numbers.

bobbee
Posted September 23, 2012 - 5:56am

Admin, how sure are we of the date of this ad? I have been looking on the web about Wesley L. Smith, and he started in 1919, and on April 27th,1920 had to fly over thick fog between Maryland and Newark, NJ, and when he came down to see where he was, crashed into trees on the Orange Mountains. He also used a half-empty bottle of whisky as an instrument whilst flying, looking to see that when the whisky was level his wings were level! Wonder whether he drank it half empty prior to each flight....

Anyway, these early "Barnstormers" were pretty famous in their day, and maybe the above ad is referring to his 1920 flight over the fog, as there seems to be quite heavy fog in the painting?

Edit:- Is the skyline in the above ad New York? I only ask as Wesley L. Smith had an assignment to Hazelhurst Field, New York in August 1920.

DarHin
Posted September 23, 2012 - 8:55am

The 39713 in Bobbee's post appears to have wire lugs and is drawn as if to show the contour of the case. Admin's subject ad appears to show the 39714 with modern lugs and is drawn "flat".

As I was typing this I realized that Bobbee's model # is lower than Admin's model #. I'm not saying that they were issued in numerical order, just pointing it out.

mybulova_admin
Posted September 23, 2012 - 9:22am

To be honest I do not recall where the advert came from, but the year would have been associated with it somehow when I got it. It would be nice to get a confirmation.

Interesting about the two numbers. They might just be a variant in the watch.

The adverts are certainly from a different period as the 1922 is branded J Bulova Company whilst the one marked from 1925 is branded Bulova Watch Company, so it certainly post 1923.

William Smith
Posted September 23, 2012 - 5:36pm

Great observation on the branding of the two ads.  Another ad to seek for date confirmation.  Big libraries in big cities have hard copy of many of these pubs in the reserve sections....just no library in Hawaii with issues this early.  It's amazing what one can do w/ a library card when at these big libraries.

mybulova_admin
Posted September 23, 2012 - 9:24am

39713 = gold filled
39714 = solid gold

Vintage Bulova information sharing