Bulova 1927 President Madison

Submitted by Reverend Rob on December 4, 2015 - 11:38am
Manufacture Year
1927
Movement Model
8AN
Movement Date Code
Square
Movement Jewels
17
Movement Serial No.
-
Case Serial No.
7529938
Case shape
Rectangle
Case color
White
Case Manufacturer
Bulova & American Standard
Gender
Mens
Watch Description
 

We received this unfortunate Bulova recently and it's hairspring is badly bent, we will see what the result is after we straighten it, or if we have to replace it. I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but  under no circumstances should anyone who has not had training try and straighten a hairspring or touch a hairspring. They are easily destroyed, and once straightened do not behave as well as a pristine or new hairspring. Fitting a new one is not as simple as it sounds, the spring must be properly pinned at the collet, with the correct number of coils, cut to length and the balance vibrated to the frequency. Then the balance must be re-set for beat error and in these old watches this is not a simple thing either, as the stud carriers are usually non-movable. All in all, a time consuming and costly repair, even if you can get one already pinned as a spare and authentic Bulova part, sometimes they are not cut. 

Ok, rant over......

Patent date stamped 1927 with a square on the movt. The 8AN is the forerunner of the 9AN, although the 10AN was a different calibre ebauche, all by FHF. 

I'm thinking President Madison, although I see the one in our db is the 9AN.

1927 President Madison Bulova watch
1927 Bulova watch
1927 Bulova watch
Geoff Baker
Posted February 2, 2016 - 7:44am

In reply to by old fred

Yes, if you could find one it could be replaced. I doubt it will be easy to find one. Perhaps a donor movement with some terminal damage could be found. While I am not a watchmaker, in my opinion I'm not sure it's mission critical to have the dust cover in place. It does not really do much in the way of keeping the movement clean and it's presence has no bearing on operation. Regular cleaning and oiling of the movement should keep it running fine.

old fred
Posted February 2, 2016 - 6:23pm

Again, many thanks Geoff. I will keep this in mind as I haggle with the guy I'm trying to get the watch from. You know, sometimes you just don't think about the simple answers first. I have seen similar watches on internet auctions that were way beyond restoring that were cheap enough. Anyway, thanks for the input. - Best Regards