Introduction and question about 666 crown

Submitted by thomwhite on January 15, 2014 - 2:17pm

Hi there, 

I am new to this website. Last week I bought a bulova 666ft on ebay, sorry if I snatched it in front of someones nose here.. It was kind of a gamble because it was sold as non-running. Well it turns out it does run after a little tlc! Altough it is missing its stem and crown.

Does someone know what should be the correct type of crown for this model? This is the watch, temporarely on a non bulova bracelet:

Thanks, 

Thomas

FifthAvenueRes…
Posted January 15, 2014 - 6:56pm

Hello and Welcome Thomas,

I'm fairly certain Your Snorkel Case reference # is 386 (this # cast or stamped inside the Caseback).

The Watch should be powered by the 17 Jewel  Bulova 11ALACD, so You will need Bulova part #16A (stem, long)  for the 11ALACD and the correct Crown is Bulova #386-3W.

Hope this info helps.

thomwhite
Posted January 16, 2014 - 5:14pm

Thanks for your information!

The case ref is indeed 386-4, M8 and the movement calibre is 11ALACD. 

The stems are not that hard to find but the crown is I guess. Can someone from here help me out with a matching crown?

 

mybulova_admin
Posted January 17, 2014 - 5:16am

Great looking watch. Hopefully someone can help you with the crown to get this thing back to its former glory. Please consider adding it to our database.

thomwhite
Posted January 20, 2014 - 5:33pm

Thanks I will contact the website. At first sight, they have no bulova crowns available.

Where can I add my watch to the database?

FifthAvenueRes…
Posted January 20, 2014 - 8:17pm

Thomas,

You will need to call Casker for Bulova parts.

To add a Watch to the MyBulova database simply click the 'Add a Watch' link found found in the dropdown menu under the Home button at the top of the page and follow the instructions.

thomwhite
Posted January 31, 2014 - 10:04am

I contacted Casker and got an answer they have the following parts in stock:

- Stem 11ANAC H16 16A Tap 10

- Crown sub #665W in stock

Does anyone know if this is the correct stem to go with an original crown for my 666, because a stem for the 11alacd seems difficult to find? I rather look for the correct and mathcing crown since #665W is not matching.

jmh86325
Posted February 3, 2014 - 11:50am

the truly correct stem for a snorkel is a 16S..but only works with a 386 crown, i havent tried casker recommended combo yet...ive used 11af stems before...dashto has 11AL stems...Jose

FifthAvenueRes…
Posted February 3, 2014 - 3:56pm

In reply to by jmh86325

ALL Bulova stems are part #16, part #16S indicates a Stainless Steel Stem.

There is no such thing as a 'SNORKEL' Stem, the correct Stem is identified from the Movement in use, which in this case is the 11ALACD.

 

Thomas,

The Crown is Case specific.

The 11ALACD stem is a Tap 8, 11AF is the interchange.

William Smith
Posted February 3, 2014 - 11:10pm

In reply to by jmh86325

I'm always concerned I'll get a stem/crown combo which is not quite"waterproof".  I wouldn't take these in the water regardless, as I have a couple (redundant) dive computers that do the work for me, but it's nice to have them as original, and what Bulova claimed as "waterproof" to 666 feet (at point of sale or after official service w/ chamber testing).

jmh86325
Posted February 4, 2014 - 10:37am

and the "S" doesnt mean stainless...suffix (A,C,etc...)signifies a variation of the basic number

Reverend Rob
Posted February 4, 2014 - 11:00am

I'd have to see the case, but my guess would be 'split'. '16' is the Bulova part number for stem, as already mentioned.

Other manufacturers identify the stem parts as male and female, so not sure if Bulova did the same. The male (or sometimes female) part would be specific to the movt, whereas the female (or sometimes male) part would be generic, and can be purchased from a variety of new sources. 

Stainless would be critical because of the tendency of dive or sport watches to get moisture in through the stem tube.  

jmh86325
Posted February 4, 2014 - 11:36am

Bulova numbers split stems as "16B or 16M" for  male and "16C" for female

FifthAvenueRes…
Posted February 5, 2014 - 7:24am

S = Stainless Steel.

The packaging changes over time = evolution.

No mention of a specific Stem for Case #386 in the Accutron Bulova Caravelle Case parts catalog. 

The Stem required is determined by the Movement used, as with all Bulova Watches. There is a Bulova Standardized parts interchange Catalog on site http://www.mybulova.com/vintage-bulova-catalogs unfortunately it pre-dates the subject Watch.

according to the Jules Borel online database, one of the most comprehensive I have seen to date, the 11AF is the interchange for the Stem, as mentioned prior.

jmh86325
Posted February 5, 2014 - 8:57am

 To quote my estemed colleague... "according to the Jules Borel online database, one of the most comprehensive I have seen to date, the 11AF is the interchange for the Stem, as mentioned prior."

i've been reasearching/building my snorkels for over 1.5yrs...Did you know that they list 4 seperate stems for a snorkel...they correspond to the - # following the 386 case number...i.e. 386-1...which  in-turn has to do with the stem length...you wont find that in a catalog

    

 

 

 

FifthAvenueRes…
Posted February 5, 2014 - 9:12am

Good stuff!

9 entries in the Case parts Catalog for Case #386

5 of those entries are XXXXX'd out by Bulova with a notation to return the Case to the Factory (defect ?)

Case #'s 386-3 through 386-6 show the 11ALACD and 11BLACD as the movements used, the Glass, Crown, bezel ring and Gasket being the same for all Cases numbered 386.

The Crown for this Case is #386-3W

The stem is ? If the 11ALACD (as in this Watch) uses the same as the 11AFACD then the interchange works.

A long stem can be cut to any length desired and is done on a regular basis by Watchmakers.

thomwhite
Posted February 9, 2014 - 3:30pm

Thanks for all the comments, it is kind of an information overload for me though.

Just to be sure, copied from Jules Borel website, this is the correct interchangeable stem that will go with the 11ALACD movement and 368-3W: http://cgi.julesborel.com/cgi-bin/matcgi2?ref=V\ZDXETIj ?

Still haven't found a crown yet, anymore sources you can recommend?