Bulova 1959 SVP

Submitted by echevlen on May 28, 2015 - 12:16am
III
Manufacture Year
1959
Movement Model
11AF
Movement Jewels
17
Movement Serial No.
-
Case Serial No.
E010755
Case shape
Tonneau
Case color
Yellow
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Crystal details
CMT 308-25
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

Gentleman, my brother borrowed this watch from me about fifty years ago, and then we both forgot that it existed.  It lay forgotten in a jewelry box for all these years, until he ran across it while looking for something else, and returned it to me.  Watch restoration is my hobby.  It took minimal tweaking to get the watch running again—accurate to within about ten seconds a day!  On its return from my brother, the watch was grimy, the crystal was chipped in several places, and the band was both scuffed and too small for my now adult-sized wrist.  So I cleaned the case, replaced the crystal (with a CMT308-25, which snapped into place perfectly), and replaced the metal band with a handsome lizard skin one. I'm pleased with the results.  But I don't know what model it is!  The mechanism is an 11AF.  The L9 marking tells me that it was built in 1959.  It was was given to me by my parents, as the engraving indicates, as a bar mitzvah present in May1962.   It is unlikely that they purchased it used.  Why this watch lingered so long between its manufacture and its retail sale is a mystery to me.  I would be pleased if you could inform me of the model name, and any other useful information about this watch, which is now a treasured memento. The photo of the watch with a metal band is a  "before" picture.  The others are "after" pictures.

1959 Bulova SVP III watch
1959 Bulova watch
1959 Bulova watch
1959 Bulova watch
1959 Bulova watch
echevlen
Posted June 1, 2015 - 6:54pm

I thank all of you experts for identifying this watch as an S.V.P. III.  

Reverend Bob, let me reassure you:  I don't dip snuff--I'm an oncologist!--and I'd be equally horrified to dip a watch.  

Who knows when next my lovely wife will bring home an abandoned Bulova for me to restore!  If/when she does, I'll share it on this forum.

--Eric