Watch is case and movement dated A9 and literally looks unworn. Sides of case are stepped, high points polished and lower points are buffed, almost lightly frosted. Literally no wear evident, and 3 facet crystal and face are perfect. I'm not often rendered speechless by an eBay arrival, but this is definately one. I started researching this one before I bid, and had no luck. It arrived today, and all I could say was "wow".
I'm anxious to see what the other panel members have to offer, I have no idea what this is, besides almost 70 years old and unrestored. It came to me on an obviously replaced band; I added the NOS period band as seen.
Nice find, and I like the engravings on the case. Is the case plated, filled, or solid gold? I've not seen a crown like that before; it looks a bit too large/thick and the teeth are very deeply grooved. I don't find any matches in the ads, looks to be an unknown model.
In reply to Nice find, and I like the by Andersok
After some time consuming research, I seem to have found this case minus the engraving and 3 examples of unengraved in Db ID'ed as Cambridge (1) and Dewey (2). Note that both 1945 and '49 Dewey examples have the same "chunky" crown that Ken makes reference to, while the watch ID'ed as Cambridge has a more traditional thin one.
1947 ad
http://www.mybulova.com/watches/1949-dewey-6604
http://www.mybulova.com/watches/1945-dewey-7074
1948 ad
http://www.mybulova.com/watches/1949-cambridge-5309
Is subject watch a variant of one or the other? I am leaning to Dewey based on crown, identical face and hands. Ads for Cambridge don't show spring bar holes in lugs and appear to depict a difference in the crown recess, but that may just be the drawings.
Just thought I would throw this out there for discussion.
I'm splitting hairs here, but I think the crown is a replacement. It is a bit thicker than the original, but the same diameter. I have seen these before on the same period watches, and they were a bit delicate looking, with a slightly domed centre.
Regardless, it is a Bulova crown and probably makes winding easier, which was an issue with some of the older ones.
I'm not sure what to make of this, the engraving may likely make it an entirely different model, but I do see the definite case similarities with the Dewey. I've certainly never seen one of these before, it is a handsome watch indeed!
Unknown for now.
In reply to I'm splitting hairs here, but by Reverend Rob
Thanks Rob, I'll agree, crown could be a replacement but bears more of a resemblance to crowns on Deweys in the Db, than others. Overall condition suggests crown is original, but anything is possible.
I agree, it is without a doubt possible this is something entirely different. Bulova could be unpredictable with model ID's; changing name based on band for example. I don't know what to make of this one either.
My comments were basically "stream of consciousness" trying to figure it out; as opposed to suggesting assigning a name without a period ad. I was kind of leaning towards a variant as opposed to a third model name using the same basic case, movement, face and hands, which seems unlikely from a marketing standpoint, but who knows.
In reply to It certainly is a handsome by Kathy L.