Bulova 1948 His Excellency

Submitted by Mindless on January 22, 2017 - 11:22am
Manufacture Year
1948
Movement Model
7AK
Movement Date Code
Square
Movement Jewels
21
Movement Serial No.
-
Case Serial No.
027844
Case shape
Rectangle
Case color
White
Crystal details
SUC RMS 128-19
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

White gf His Excellency. Not original band. The band that was on it was a stainless flex band in poor shape that may or may not be original. The crystal was cracked so I replaced it.  I'm not sure how to transfer the picture but it's on the 6th page of 1948 adds. Shown in yellow gf with a tan or light brown strap.

1948 1948 Bulova watch
1948 Bulova watch
Reverend Rob
Posted January 23, 2017 - 12:10am

Looks like an HE to me. Dial looks possibly re-done? Maybe touched up. 

Mindless
Posted January 23, 2017 - 11:08pm

I'll have to take a picture of the dial without the crystal. I don't THINK the dial's been redone but probably wouldn't know unless it was obvious. There's some light staining around 4/5.

 

Geoff Baker
Posted January 24, 2017 - 5:54am

I see this case in rose gold as the 1946 Ambassador here, in yellow gold as 1949 His Excellency here .

I'm not sure I've seen this dial before. I'm inclined to His Excellency based on the year.

Andersok
Posted January 24, 2017 - 8:17am

I agree with His Excellency for this year; unable to narrow down a variant

Mindless
Posted January 25, 2017 - 9:39pm

Well, I thought I had loaded a couple of pics of the dial without the crystal but maybe not. I'll try again here.

 

Geoff Baker
Posted January 26, 2017 - 5:27am

Mindless, I believe that the notch above the 12 on the dial is indicative of refinishing.

Mindless
Posted January 26, 2017 - 11:09pm

Ah now that's interesting. Was that something that a refinisher may have done as a matter of course? Would that be something to watch for on all types of dials, square, round, etc..?

Edit: I like the dial and it's not all that critical to me but something to watch for in the future.

 

Reverend Rob
Posted January 27, 2017 - 12:36am

I don't see anything wrong with re-dialling as long as it is faithful to the original dial. Some re-dial companies have the original dies that Bulova used, so what you are seeing is as close to being original as possible. If you are considering re-dialling a watch, find out if the company is using original pad dies or not. While this is not the final word on re-dials, original die means as close as you can get without being NOS. 

On some watches, re-dialling is extremely detrimental, regardless of what the dial looks like, and only detracts from the value of the watch. Some of the higher end collector watches fall into this category, like Rolex and LeCoultre and Patek. Another option is to keep the dial aside as the original and have one made from either scratch or an orphan dial that is the same as the orginal. That way, when the watch is sold, the original dial goes with it. Again, this mainly applies to the higher end brands, but some Bulovas are so rare as to also fall into this category.