Bulova 1927 Lone Eagle

Submitted by Geoff Baker on December 25, 2014 - 7:56pm
Manufacture Year
1927
Movement Model
10AN
Movement Date Code
Triangle
Movement Jewels
17
Movement Serial No.
228259
Case Serial No.
6636586
Case shape
CornerCut
Case color
Yellow
Case Manufacturer
Bulova & American Standard
Crystal details
21.0 x 21.0
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

My Christmas present to myself. This beauty has just returned from a visit to Dr. Cosineau (Timemachines) where it received ' the works' treatment. Triangle date stamp with arrow indicates a 1927 Lone Eagle.  I believe that both movement and case serial numbers fall within the 5000 range for the first issue. The new crown jewel of my collection! Nary a mark on the pristine case, new hand cut crystal and a wonderful new period strap and buckle.

Added 12/25/2014

Photos Updated 6/20/2020

1927 Bulova Lone Eagle 5000 Geoffrey Baker 1 6 20 2020
1927 Bulova Lone Eagle 5000 Geoffrey Baker 2 6 20 2020
1927 Bulova Lone Eagle 5000 Geoffrey Baker 3 6 20 2020
1927 Bulova Lone Eagle 5000 Geoffrey Baker 6 6 20 2020
1927 Bulova Lone Eagle 5000 Geoffrey Baker 7 6 20 2020
1927 Bulova Lone Eagle 5000 Geoffrey Baker 5 6 20 2020
mybulova_admin
Posted January 4, 2015 - 5:40pm

Other than one minor error in the pricing ($37.50 was the price of the later Tonneau Lone Eagle model), I wouldn't be calling Mr Ballard (who would have been 34 years old and was the sales manager for the company at the time of the event) a liar. There is nothing here to suggest what was stated is incorrect and is the basis of my theory and that of Bulova's own previous timeline.

This is evidence enough for me.

Note the wording 'rushed....to jewelers'.

Reverend Rob
Posted January 4, 2015 - 6:43pm

I dunno, 48 states, each state has what? Maybe 5 or more dealers? 5000 divided by 384 is roughly 20 each, or about 6 or 7 a day. 119 Million people. If they actually got the watches to the dealers right away, they certainly could sell that fast. I watched a doc on Lindbergh the other day, and he's a far more colourful guy than I thought. He received a medal from the Nazis in 1938, formed a new political party and would have run for president had the Japanese not bombed Pearl Harbour, and ended his life helping remote tribes in the rainforests, but I digress...

The sheer madness that followed his flight was totally out of proportion with reality, and Lindbergh can be seen getting really sick of it. It went on and on, and then the kidnapping, he and his wife had no peace from the paparazzi of the day, and it later turned out he had three other families in Europe he was 'Daddy' to, with a total of 13 children...sorry, I did it again. 

My point being, despite the possible discrepancies in the delivery or availability of the watch, and by this I mean the timeline itself, the things would have flown off the shelf. I would suspect the dates before I suspected the numbers. Did they get them to the dealers? Definitely, but maybe not quickly enough to sell 5000 in three days. Or, there may have been purchase orders totalling that much, easily. If I was a dealer, I would put in an order for say, two dozen of the watches, and that would get counted immediatley as sales. Right after the announcement, the dealers would have been in like Flynn, and maybe it is these numbers Taub is quoting. 

 

mybulova_admin
Posted January 5, 2015 - 2:16am

In reply to by Reverend Rob

Also remember that the watch was $50 back then, which was alot of money in 1927.

Thank you Rev for acknowledging that a purchase order from a jeweler/dealer is the same as a sale/sold to Bulova. I think you are the first and only one to agree that that is actually a possibility.

It seems we are finally agreeing that the watches, however many, were 'sold' to jewelers (the distributers/dealers) within the 3days/48 hours post flight and not the public.

Once the jeweler took control of the stock (whatever number they were prepared to purchase) it was then a matter of advertising using either Bulova matted adverts or custom ones. We know from what we have found that this started the same day Bulova secured the trademark for the term 'Lone Eagle' in relation to watches and we see the earliest advert (so far) on this date, June 17 1927.

So does this date imply that the Jewelers actually had the stock in store, in which case they arrived prior to the advert, OR were they dangling a carrot to the public knowing that the stock would arrive shortly from Bulova?

Either way from the date that Lindbergh landed to the date the first public release on a Lone Eagle advert is a total of 25 days.

So did Bulova manufacture the watches (again however many) in those 25 days? They obvioulsy produced the boxes and letter/photo in that period, but if they already had the box which I strongly suggest they did then it would only be a case of embossing the top lid and printing the silk lining.

Part of my theory hinges on wheather or not Bulova had a stockpile of watches and inparticular a batch manufactured specifically for this event when it eventaully happened. Someone was going be successful sooner or later.

William Smith
Posted January 5, 2015 - 12:15pm

In reply to by mybulova_admin

I've thought it was a possibility all along.  Orders vs Sales to customers could happen as soon as the plane landed.  The Jewelers (and Bulova) may not have known what it was called at that point in time, and they surly didn't have any of the presentation boxes ready when the plane landed, but Radio (and phone etc...) was in full swing, so word travels fast. Heck, the jewelers could have even sold "pre-sales" to customers the day the plane landed, so customers could "reserve" a dedication watch which they received when the watch arrived at the jewelers.  

I think the printing process for the inside lids of the boxes was done on material before the material was placed in the box lid, but I've been wrong before.  

Reverend Rob
Posted January 5, 2015 - 11:37am

Gents, I'd just like to say that as a Bulova dealer myself, when I order from Bulova, they count it, it is a done deal, it is considered sales, it would appear as sales to them whether I threw the watches in the canal or never sold them or whatever. I don't know how they did it in 1927, but often when a customer orders a watch or a clock, it is paid for up front, and the order is placed. That may mean that money was coming in and orders were placed, and this would have happened very quickly. Did the customers have their Lone Eagles in hand in 3 days? I kind of doubt it, to be honest. The only way that could have happened would have been with stock sitting waiting to be sold prior to the flight, with the hopes that this would be the one, and then quickly printing up the packaging. I have to say it sounds unlikely, but we are speculating about Bulova's approach to the whole thing, we really don't know what they were thinking or when they started to ramp up for this. There is no doubt the watch would have been special, and extremely popular among those that could afford one. As I said before, I would question the dates before the numbers, but the orders counted as sales would explain the numbers.  

That would be $678 in today's money. 

And my apologies also, Geoff, it is a nice watch, and still one on my list as well!