Bulova 1959 President

Submitted by Dan W on April 23, 2013 - 7:38pm
A
Manufacture Year
1959
Movement Model
11AF
Movement Jewels
17
Movement Serial No.
-
Case Serial No.
D851650
Case shape
Round
Case color
Yellow
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

10k rolled gold plate, date code L9, unable to take photo of interior but movement says 11AF.  There is a small indent in between the lugs to open the case, the bezel & crystal snaps off leaving the face/movement in the case. The movement can then be lifted off without having to 'snap' apart the crown stem. I believe it is a 1959 Bulova President, can anyone confirm this? Also, does anyone have a service manual for this model? I really appreciate your help!

Bulova watch
1959 Bulova watch
1959 Bulova watch
1959 Bulova watch
Bulova Watch
OldTicker
Posted April 23, 2013 - 7:45pm

Nice President "A"

JP
Posted April 23, 2013 - 8:08pm

Very nice President A. To answer your question, there are no serivce manuals available that I am aware of.

mybulova_admin
Posted April 23, 2013 - 8:13pm

I'm not sure, the dial isn't an exact match for the low res advert.

:-)

President 'A' for me.

Dan W
Posted April 23, 2013 - 9:03pm

Wow, thanks for the quick responses!

Does anyone know what the part code is for a new crystal? As you can see from the photos it has a few scratches and I would like to replace it. All the searches I have done only uncover a square shaped crystal.

Thanks again!

FifthAvenueRes…
Posted April 24, 2013 - 7:06am

In reply to by Dan W

Dan,

With a little luck the Case reference number be printed inside.

JP
Posted April 24, 2013 - 12:38pm

In reply to by Dan W

Try sending a PM to DarHin on the crystal. You will need to measure the crystal with a decent pair of calipers and send that in mm with the PM to DarHin. He has an extensive collection of round crystals. If you care to send me the measurements I will check my collection of rounds.

John

Geoff Baker
Posted April 24, 2013 - 5:49am

I am ever so slightly troubled by the 1956 ad supporting a 1959 watch. Bulova was really on the move during these years regarding case design. Having said that I think the watch matches the ad, I might not give it three though.

President A - nice looking watch

Dan - just a thought - the bracelet you have on this beauty is of the self adjusting width variety. There are springs that allow it to be used on lug spacing of different widths. These place a fair amount of pressure on the watch lugs, slowly grinding them down over time. It appears, in the top photo that the damage may have already begun. As you might know, a correctly sized width bracelet or band will not do the same. Try brasso to polish the scratches on the crystal, be very careful to keep it off the watch itself ( or remove it from the watch first).

Dan W
Posted April 24, 2013 - 8:04am

In reply to by Geoff Baker

Thanks for the tip Geoff, yes I removed the band as I noticed that it was damaging the lugs. Have only had the watch for a week so am yet to find a nice band.

The add is just something that another Bulova lover emailed me as an example.

Will give the Brasso a try and will definitely remove the crystal first. Is there a safe way to polish gold plating?

Thanks again!

bobbee
Posted April 24, 2013 - 8:00am

Or 1200 grit wet/dry paper and then brasso for deeper scratches.