My father bought this for my mother in 1965. She was the only owner. As far as I know she never had any work done on this watch. It is 14 K gold. I want to pass it on to my granddaughter one day. I have no idea the model name.
In reply to This is not the Le Petite by mybulova_admin
In reply to Does anyone know how many La by Leesa
In reply to Possibly even from the Lady by mybulova_admin
Leesa - to answer three questions you asked in the thread above. Yes is is a 1965 model, on that point there is no dispute. Occasionally we find watches that have a different date code on the movement than the case, we like to argue those. 5AT is the model of the movement, without going into too much detail it represents the physical size and complications (options) of the movement. Lastly, regarding the number of variations to the La Petite line, we just don't know. Everything we know about this wonderful brand is 'found' knowledge. Bulova lost all records prior to the 1970's so we are slowly rebuilding the knowledge data base one 'found' advertisement and watch box / hang tag at a time. We might not nail yours down to a model / variant for a week, a month, maybe longer, but we'll never stop looking! Oh, one more thing = 2303 printed in the case back is the STYLE number of the case, we just don't know (yet) what name that matches to.
In the mean time, enjoy your wonderful family heirloom!
In reply to Leesa - to answer three by Geoff Baker
Looking through a bunch of adverts I note the following:
La Petite: 23J
First Lady: 17J
Leading Lady: 21J
Dolly Madison: 21J
Goddess of Time: 17J
Lady Bulova: 17J
Based on this general observation (It may not be 100% accurate and there may be variations to this rule) I would have to agree that this 23J watch falls into the La Petite model range.
I took the watch to an appraiser. He said the value is $850.00 to $1,000.00 for the watch alone! He is having his Bulova representative search for the "antiquity" value... to be added to his estimate! He said it may take time because the watch is very rare now. Wow! Who knew? Maybe I don't need to give it to my granddaughter just yet. Maybe I will give it to her as her "something old" when she gets married if she wants to wear it. Hopefully we will know the name of it by then. Blessings, Leesa