Another watch I have just purchased on ebay and awaiting delivery . Referred to as a President which does appear to be the only watch which has the wandering seconds but the case looks like a 1930 Gladiator. All I know at the moment is that the movement is a 10AN , with a hinged back and glass covering the movement. Been dated by the seller as 1927 but not sure about that as the wandering seconds did not appear until the early 1930's.
Hi El Tel,
No, they wouldn't have done that. Here's the real President, I just sold a bit back.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/180722530085?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1562.l2649
"Frankenbully" is a harsh term! It conjures up a nightmare collection of parts cobbled together, where here you actually have a watch that approaches correctness. 9 out of 10 people wouldn't see a flaw.
But the dial is definitely wrong to the case; even without knowing Bulova specifics, most watch collectors would notice that.
In this case (pun intended), it probably is a little harsh. But we've had some examples listed here that describes the watch perfectly. What the general concensus is that any Bulova watch that has been modified by movement swap, dial change, incorrect hands, etc. is in effect a "frankenbully"...
Despite the fact that I have a Frankenbully I paid less than a third of the price of the president quoted above which makes me feel a lot better. Thanks for the offer of a change in cases Wayne but I will hold fire for the moment . Thanks again for your comments .
terry
The plot thickens , I have received the watch and the wandering hands movement is dated 1930 exactly the same date as the Gladiator case it is in. I did not think that this movement was produced until 1932 but the date marking is either 1930 or 1940 and I believe 1940 would be too late . The movement fits snugly in the case so possibly it is an unknown model ? The watch is also running and keeping good time.
terry
The plot is not getting thicker here. The movement date only confirms it's from 1930, not a President with wandering seconds year. That would be 1932 for the 1st year they came out. So, 1932-34 President dial on a 1930 movement in a Gladiator case. The 10AN movement was used in both models.
No matter how you look at it, it's not a original Gladiator, nor is it a President. Please don't take this the wrong way as I am not trying to diminish what you have here. What you have is the potential to own 2 rarer Bulova's that are both highly demanded by collectors.
I'd be looking for a Gladiator dial & hands for that case and movement. Then I'd go after a 1932 10AN movement and a President case for the dial, secs dial and the hands. Might take a while but it would be worth it to have both as they should be.
bourg , thanks for your comments , just to clarify what you are saying do we have a 1930 Gladiator case with its 1930 movement and someone fitted the wandering hands mechanism and face of a President at a later date ? I assumed that the wandering hands mechanism would be different to the standard movement. Is it just the case that a revolving disc is fitted to the seond hand mechanism ?
The irony is that the two bits fit so well together I feel reluctant to part them after what may be 50 plus years together. :-)
terry
It may well have left the store that way, brand new! I can see some smarmy customer saying: "Well, I like this case - but you've only got a sale if I get that little window-seconds-thingie. . ."
Someday we'll find it's alter-ego: The period-modified President case with the Gladiator dial & movement: The "Bride of Frankenbully".
Hi Terry,
Yes, The case is definatley a Gladiator which dates to 1930 as does your movement, so I's say they should stay together because they match. The movement is not special to the wandering seconds.
The wandering seconds is merely a printed disc friction fitted on the sub seconds pinion under the dial. If you were to remove the hands and dial you could then remove the disc. Once that's done the movement would accept the correct dial, hands and sub second hand and the Gladiator would be restored to original.
I'm not saying you have to part them, but since I restore watches and can do the work required, that's what I would do. You still have a cool old watch that is most certainly worth what you paid for it
el, does the dial look redone, does there appear to be any marking on the dial that would indicate the dial was not original to this case. These are factors we should be looking at rather than dismissing the off chance that may have a new model here, something that predates both known models or was simply just a hybrid of both that Bulova released.
El, any chance of a clear shot of the dial outside the case?
In reply to admin , I have just purchased by el tel
In reply to Go Allblacks! el tel. Since by Wayne Hanley
if We doubt this Watch Wayne We have to doubt any variation.
el tels Watch is all Bulova, let's not write it off so quickly although Shawn does make a valid point that the first wandering seconds 'PRESIDENT' is not seen until 1932 (is there an ad?) .....I thought 1934.
A production Date on the movement of 1930 doesn't necessarily mean it was cased in '30.
In reply to Go Allblacks! el tel. Since by Wayne Hanley
In reply to Spare Me, why were You by FifthAvenueRes…
In reply to I'm with you Shawn some of by Wayne Hanley
In reply to I'm with you Shawn some of by Wayne Hanley
Well Boys, this has just become another rambleing forum based on speculation and guessing, So , I just bought a wandering seconds dial from a President and I will build you all a wandering seconds Ambassador or maybe a Senator. How about that? Then you can really argue about what could be real! The dial I bought could match this case, as it has a rectangular minute register, not curved at the top and bottom like the President's. So I'll build a "Frankenbully" just to prove a point. Vintage jeweller's/ watchmaker's did do the same thing and Bulova documentaion sucks.