I have search for 3 weeks trying to find a picture of this watch online and have come up with nothing even close. I hade it inspected and appraised and i keep getting the same anser we cant tell you what its worth because we have never seen one like it and that its has be base metal and the movement brass well i hade it tested by a jeweler and the band is 10k white gold and i havnt tested the movement because i dont want to damage it but looks to be gold. The only other watch i have seen in this style wich is called the modern diamond now back then we dont know there is a member from this site yudi he has one in yellow gold plated in pretty bad shape but it has the same movement 10CK aslo his looks like a enlarged rolex coktail watch and the closest thing to my watch from that time seems to be a Rolex Cellini diamond watch. I dont believe that my watch was ever put into production just a prototype because of cost .this watch being a N8 1978 bulova was having big problems they reported 48 million in losses from 76 to 78 then changed management in 1980 its only now you see the modern diamond bulova in this style witch back then was to it was to much of a copy of rolex cellini its almost like a bulova clone of that watch of course this is all speculation because we dont have records to referance .I think that if there where any number of these watches made and sold they would be collectable and easily found but there isnt a trace of this watch any place on the web . I also discovered the swiss didnt acknowledge even 14k gold until 1988 so this watch claiming to have a base metal bezal is how they would of labeled it in Switzerland in 1978 im not sure when or even to this day that they acknowledge 10k gold as gold gotta love the swiss they try and keep us Americans honost. Please if anyone has a simular watch do tell me so i can stop searching .below the 6 diamond marker it reads BVA-10CK with 10CK on the movement 17 jewels swiss made N8 5-676240 on the back 8316-1 with NBV on the case back
If the watch is gold, by law it must be stamped as such. The movt is most certainly not gold, usually they are plated for appearance sake, and may not even be gold plate. Heavy gold fill will test positive for gold, unfortunately you have to file into the case or bracelet to see if there is a base metal. You would only do this if there was no assay mark, but this is very unusual for such a contemporary product.
Throughout their history Bulova has used solid gold as well as Platinum along with diamonds of varying quality. During the quartz crisis, there was a panic among the traditional watch manufacturers, and they were looking to cut costs for the most part, to compete with the cheaper quartz watches flooding the market from Japan and Hong Kong.
Is there anything stamped inside the case back?
In reply to If the watch is gold, by law by Reverend Rob
Just to update the info on this watch i went online and bought a acid gold testing kit because i do not trust the pawn shops and cash for gold businesses around where i live or any place for that matter and for good reason . I had taken this watch first to the watch doctor here in town and he told me it was base metal and not worth 20 bucks that if i posted it on ebay i would be sadly dissapointed because my watch is so common and porley made he refused to even test it so i went to a gold pross establishment and they stone and acid tested right infront of me and it failed there 10k test but i begged them to place it in there Xray and there electronic testing devices and they told me it was gold but a very low carrot below 10k . It turns out that some cash for gold places not all im sure there are some honost ones out there will test your unmarked gold with a higher acid solution that what is indicated on the bottle my watch failed the 10 k test but i wasnt buying there story so i orderd my own kit and tested the band i took off the clasp and with a drimel rotar tool filed it down to see if it was solid and it was then i tried the 10k solution that i orderd on ebay and it passed with flying colors the line i scraped on the stone did not dissaper or dissolve at all so the watch doctor either dosent know much about watches or he was for some reason missleading me and so was the gold pross place there is 10CK on the face of my watch and 10CK on the movement that leads me to believe its named after the solid 10k white gold bracelet and bezel and maybe the cushion case that it is shaped like there are plenty of other 1OCK watches from 78 but there all gold plated and round or oval one even sqaure but as long as i have serched i have not discovered any watch remotely like mine i know i have read that people have seen this watch before and i would love to know where so i can stop this madness that has consumed almost all of my free time . this watch also says base metal bezel wich it is most definatly not base metal it is 10k white gold if it were sold at any retailer it would clearly state 10k gold on the watch some place and it does not not unless you reconize the movement serial and the markings on the face 10CK
there are some other marks i cant make out'' i was thinking with this watch wasnt a production watch just a prototype or concept that never made it to the assembly line I didn't know if the 10CK was a reference to the gold plating on the mesh band all this is so difficult because everyone knows there are no records but I think if this watch was made in any number there would be evidence of more than just this lonely one that I have.
If there is a date code on the movt, it will be on the top plate, the markings below are the ebauche maker's marks.
I believe this is a normal production model, I have seen them before. Bulova was moving away from mechanical models at this time, so this may be the last of the manual wind movements.
Just a friendly word of caution: Unless you have training don't even think about taking off the top plate.
No i would never try and take off the plates i dont understand why i cant find anything about this watch its the first modern diamond design i have seen its very classy and is what the brand is known for now but this is 40 years old i have looked at all the other 10## movenents and only the 10CK looks special.i think this is not a prodution watch if it is i would love to see one more. i would love someone somewhere to post a picture of one or some sort of proof of this watch being mass produced . this watch is a 78 a very bad year for bulova it is 10K solid gold and it has a Peseux 7001 gold plated movement inside the same movement IWC watches use and other high end luxury watches and as far as i know bulova didny make luxury watches and this is in every way a super luxury watch it would of cost alot to manufacture and at the time it was almost steeling rolex cellinis diamond dials image . i have read that people think this was a production watch well i do noy think it was just my opinion
10CK will be the movement model used for parts reference.
I would expect top see a N8 on the movement if its on the case.
I agree with Rob, I do suspect thisthis was part of Bulova's normal production line of models for that period, but have been part of the international sales.
Any chance of a larger photo of the inside movement?
I have identified the movement its ETA peseux 7001 its is stamped on the case inside i always thought it was BNy or something like that but i found the movement underneath the top plates and that means it is gold plated everyone told me different but gold is gold you dont have to be a watch expert to reconize gold when you see it i will try and post some more pics