1970 Diamond Clipper, Beau Brummel or Diamond Excellency, not sure which. I've looked through all the adverts available, and can't find this model. It has the fancy case of the Excellence line, with the diamonds of the Beau Brummel and the general look of the Clipper. Hopefully the experts here can help me figure this out before it shows up in the mail!
Mike
Thanks, I like the look. Flashy, but not too gaudy.
I was drawn to it's look and resemblance to the Golden Clipper line of the early 1970's, of which I am a big fan. I'm sure this has some of the Golden Clipper DNA in it, and is making me lean towards labelling this as a Golden or Diamond Clipper, but I can't find any documentation, and no other discussion other than an identical "mystery watch" on the watchtalk forums:
http://www.watchtalkforums.info/forums/thread44509.html
Mike
Nice Unknown Mike. I checked ads to date. It does have sharred charactoristics of the lines mentioned. We no longer believe a whale on the dial signifies any single model. It's shared by several models and model lines.
We don't have the 11ANAC in our movement database yet. I'll add it now.
Watchtalkforum link interesting, and Lisa added good info about subject (and watchtalk) unknown.
Can you confirm the date symbol on the movement rotor? I'm seeing an ending 7 but can't make out the first letter. THanks
Having done some research, I have come up with the following:
Bulova did not make a Beau Brummel with 17 jewels this late in the 1960's or early 70's. They were all 23 or 30 jewels, which tends to rule out the Beau Brummel as an option. Plus, the whale would look a bit out of place on a BB, so I'm less inclined to put it in that group.
Statistically, we have ads or info on 13 confirmed Golden Clipper models (A,B,C,D,E,F,H,J,K.L,M,O, and an unlettered 12610 variant), strongly hinting that there are at least a couple more missing models in the lineup.
This watch shares many characteristics with the 1970's GC line, right down to the gold plated movement, which was a signature feature of the line (see the 1970 "sword" ad for more info). All GC's had 17 jewels, auto, water resist, with face details consisting of "Bulova" and the whale with the "Automatic" (other than the unusual J model). This strongly suggests a connection to this line.
Most of the GC line share the 11ANAC movement (+ date and day/date variants 11ANACD and 11ANACB). This is not universal, however it is highly prevalent in the line. This movement is also seen in the Clipper and, to a lesser extent, Sea King and Date King lines, although not as firmly established.
I have put together a spreadsheet with some of this information that I am tracking, and will see if I can find additional models to support further analysis.
In reply to Having done some research, I by mirtlem
In reply to Having done some research, I by mirtlem
[quote=mirtlem]
Having done some research, I have come up with the following:
Bulova did not make a Beau Brummel with 17 jewels this late in the 1960's or early 70's. They were all 23 or 30 jewels, which tends to rule out the Beau Brummel as an option. Plus, the whale would look a bit out of place on a BB, so I'm less inclined to put it in that group.
Statistically, we have ads or info on 13 confirmed Golden Clipper models (A,B,C,D,E,F,H,J,K.L,M,O, and an unlettered 12610 variant), strongly hinting that there are at least a couple more missing models in the lineup.
This watch shares many characteristics with the 1970's GC line, right down to the gold plated movement, which was a signature feature of the line (see the 1970 "sword" ad for more info). All GC's had 17 jewels, auto, water resist, with face details consisting of "Bulova" and the whale with the "Automatic" (other than the unusual J model). This strongly suggests a connection to this line.
Most of the GC line share the 11ANAC movement (+ date and day/date variants 11ANACD and 11ANACB). This is not universal, however it is highly prevalent in the line. This movement is also seen in the Clipper and, to a lesser extent, Sea King and Date King lines, although not as firmly established.
I have put together a spreadsheet with some of this information that I am tracking, and will see if I can find additional models to support further analysis.
[/quote]
Bulova were still making the Beau Brummel line, and in 17 jewels too. Not automatic, granted, but they may have been so we can't rule out yours being a BB.
1972 ad.
http://www.mybulova.com/sites/default/files/imagefield_thumbs/vintage_a…
