Bulova 1929 Governor

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by, "The crystal is 'pressed' between sheet metal.."

Darren

DarHin,

Thanks to your comment, I figured out the crystal goes on from the front (or top) ... In other words, I didn't need to take the movement out to put in a new crystal. [can I go delete my idiocy.. or leave it for posterity?] If you look at the above photo, you'll see the "shelf" the crystal sits on. I thought the glass was pressed between that shelf and the solid case and that I'd need to bend that shelf up to get a new one in.

While I'm at it... in the above photo, you can see that I have started to gently clean the dial, so far without any liquid or detergent. 10 through 2 are clean, the lower numbers still dirty.

Does this ruin the 'patina' like restoring furniture? (something I am good at)

Any ideas on how to get that black stain off the dial? Can I use any type of cleaning product? i.e, an oil or soap? I need alot more than to clean this watch, so I've bought an older 25J Seiko that runs to take apart and learn about watches.

I injured my neck and need a relaxing job that doesn't involve heavy lifting... and I like watches.

I'll leave the dial cleaning tips to the experts.

Dial restoration, like antique furniture, is a judgement call. I prefer an original dial to a refinish as long as it's not too far gone.

Welcome aboard the bully train. I must warn you, this will start as a passion and develop into an obsession very quickly. I think you will find it very relaxing and keeping your mind working well. It is not overly taxing and requires only dedication to the watches to make for a fantastic hobby/obsession.. I started about three months ago and new nothing about Bulova watches and now I dive into replacing parts and trying to figure out how to make the ones I buy work again. It is the most satisfying thing I can think of to take a broken bulova and make it work again. You will find the people on this web site to be the most helpful and acommadating in the world and they are all very knowledgeable and share that knowledge freely. If I can be of any small assistance please do not hesitate to PM me and I will gladly share what little I know with you and direct you to the right people to help where I can not. 

If you decide to  have the watch restored, try First Street Restorations. You will read a lot of comments from First on the forum as he is extreamely knowledgable and I am told very reasonable in his prices. There are a few others on the site who do restorations as well and all are top notch professionals and any of them can do the job for you.

Good luck in your new found hobby'

JP

First Street Restorations? Is that on the corner of Fifth Avenue?

Hi Folks,

I just changed this watch's listing. I had asked for opinions back in the summer of '11... and it was relatively agreed it was a 1929 Governor, however... the 1929 Governor crystal is too small in width by 3mm.

Talking with the supplier, who is also a member here. The correctly sized crystal fits a 1928 Banker.

I'm going with that title for now... but since I waited to list this watch until I was satisfied with it's ID, it wasn't until after listing it that I tried to fix the crystal. See above comments.

I will post measurements today for a comparison and proper ID.

Thanks... and yes, I am already quite enthusiastic about this pursuit. It seems a refined and interesting passion.

I am, afterall, of direct Swiss lineage.

'BANKER' lugs differ and the Bezel appears much wider.

Thank you for taking away two stars. It's most important to ID this correctly.

The measurements I just sent off are approximately 24.5mm tall and 22.5mm wide opening.

Approximate because I used a plastic gauge which is flexible. Also there is a bit of a groove which the glass fits inside... making the actual hole larger than my listed measurement.