Back of the case reads 10k gold filled. Crown is non-original as it was missing when I received the watch. It belonged originally to my grandfather.
Hi Stu, and welcome! I consider you quite fortunate to have this heirloom from your Grandfather. There is nothing quite so personal, and a great slice of a loved one's life.
Your Grandfather's watch is a 1949 His Excellency "LL" as seen in the ad below. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Ad above states stainless steel back, ad below is from 1949 and calls out all gold plate.
Stu you most certainly see he cherished and wore this watch for a long time. Congrats on receiving it. This looks to be a transitional 1949 Bulova His Excellency. I base this on the 1949 serial number on the case and 1948 dated movement. Also the 10KT vs 14KT gold filled variance to the ad and lack of stainless back doesn't make it a perfect match but I am confident we have this one ID'd correctly.
1949 Bulova His Excellency "LL"
Sorry teams but I don't think we can confirm the watch as a "LL" variant as it does not have the stainless steel back case.
It's 100% a Bulova His Excellency, but I'd drop the variant until we can find a match for a complete 10Kt gold filled case.
There is a good chance it is the "LL", but this advert isn't a match.
Here is another example of this watch in the database.
https://mybulova.com/watches/1949-his-excellency-3481
Later this may have became part of the Academy Award series as shown in this watch entry,......see advert with AA "ZZ"
OK digging deeper and looking at all the other examples we have in the database, I'm also happy to group this watch in with the "LL" variants, until such time we can confirm one way or another if it is correct. All other examples have the 10Kt gold filed case.
1949 Bulova His Excellency "LL" (based on serial number starting with a 9)