Bulova signed Star case in a '60s model?

Mark,

Do all of the Star cases have threaded backs? My '65 Sea Cloud is a 1 piece case that is marked waterproof and made by Jonell.

Yes, Mark, you have previously voiced your opinion, but do you have any additional facts or information to support those opinions? 

We are fully aware of the stars on the back of some cases, as well as the widely known fact that Star made some military cases for Bulova.  The meaning of the former phenomenon remains unproven by actual facts.

Another thing that's interesting to note about Fifth's "Transportation Special" model is that the star on the back of the case is not beside the words "Water Tite" or "Water Proof".  Instead, the star on that watch is beside the description of the case composition. 

NOTE that the star is exactly in the same place on Fifth's watch as it is on the subject watch.  So, both watches have the inside Star signature, the outside Bulova signature, and the star symbol beside the case composition details.  Thus, it would appear that neither of those signatures is tied to "water tite" or "water proof", particularly since the subject watch is neither.

Yes,

info to add is the *Water Tite* and *Water Proof* Cases are hallmarked inside with the Bulova Signature.

*Water Tite* Case dated 1953

The Military Cases are hallmarked inside by Star, identical to the Transportation Special shown / mentioned previously.

Waterproof Military Case from 1961.

I would need to look more carefully at all my watches before making a definitive statement about my own collection, but every watch I looked at just now was consistent with this:  1)  water tite and water proof models in the 1950s have the star symbol on the back next to those words; 2) in the 1960s, the words "water proof" were used without any stars next to the words (I did not run across any examples of "water tite" in that time period); 3) at some point, water proof gave way primarily to "water resistant", also without any stars.  I think that will turn out to be a '70s phenomenon.

If that cursory look holds true after more careful scrutiny, then it would make sense that the watches Fifth refers to as having the star beside the words "water tite" and "water proof" would also have a Bulova signature inside, because, at that time (the 1950s), Bulova was using an inside signature.

After 1960, the inside signature was by and large dropped.  This is a phenomemon which would appear to go with the time period, not the apparent maker or style of the case, as it holds true for all types of models made in the US and elsewhere after 1960.  In other words, this is not a military vs non-military phenomenon, nor is it related to the words "water tite" or "water proof".

This is, of course pertinent to the non-military issue "Transportation Special" watch, as well as the subject watch, both of which date to the early 1960s, have the Bulova signature only on the outside, have the Star signature inside, and have a star symbol next to the metal description on the back of the case.

We have a interesting catalog right here in our database that was supplied by Mike (timemachines),

It is part of a Bulova factory crystal catalog that is listing case numbers and factory crystal part numbers with notes on the cases...seems Bulova used many different casemakers in the 60's.

S&W (Schwab & Wuischpard), Jonell, R&W, L&W, Star, Bouidor plus Swiss & German cases are listed.

This is part of the catalog that I once had in my possession a few years back, and I think it might be part of what Rev. Rob has referred to in some of his posts. If I remember right, the complete catalog was well over 300 pages and contained much more information on cases & crystals including many illustrations.

Note that some of the case numbers match the crystal number, but most don't.

http://www.mybulova.com/sites/default/files/file/Bulova-ABC-Accutron-Cr…

Very interesting, OT.  Wouldn't you like to get your hands on the whole catalog?

There's definitely confirmation there that genuine, authentic Bulova watches sometimes included cases made by other companies, and we're not just talking about military models.