unknown model-father's watch-10K rolled gold
In reply to I am probably wrong, but I by DennisVA
In reply to Your more than welcome. by William Smith
Hi William, I was looking on the watchophilia website and saw a 1938 add that advertised a Bulova watch called the Horatio. Unfortunately the add picture is fair and does not mention the number of jewels. I will be looking for your feedback and thoughts on this possibility, John
I think there's a Horatio ad in the 1930's decades forum thread. New Bulova watch ads 1930-1939
In reply to I think there's a Horatio ad by William Smith
It's clearly a time consuming job of comparing the add photos to the owner's watch. I looked through these 1930's adds and find more possibilities versus nailing this model down. I see similarities with American Eagle and Hancock for instance. Sometimes the watch itself looks the same as the following year model but with a name change. I also suspect that some of these adds could be a misprint/typo in regards to the model shown in the add making this effort more difficult. The panel members clearly have your work cut out for you. I am tempted to go down to my local library at some point to see if there are bulova adds in the newspaper archives. If so, I will try to make copies to eventually add to this website. It seems reasonable, the more sources (adds) the more likely a model can be better determined.
According to case serial number, I'm guessing 1937 is accurate. It could simply be a dial replacement. As mentioned, the watch is and has always been in family possession, and it is possible this modification was done at some point by your father's watchmaker at his request. The dials I encounter are often damaged, as the cases were far from moisture or dust proof, and would 'breathe' very easily, especially in climates where outdoor temps could get cold.
As to the model, I think Horatio is a good call.