I have trawled the internet, also your adverts and I have not been able to find an exact match. The closest I have found is this watch, https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/solid-gold-bulova-watch-244515644 this also has a Dennison manufactured case but the batons on the dial are different. I think that watch also has an acrylic crystal with bubbles in it, they are a problem to me as the shadows they cast look like dark spots on the dial (there might also be actual dark spots as well) but no matter, I'm getting it replaced with something better as mine is cracked as you can see. The case and back are both 9ct gold, the back has a Birmingham anchor hallmark and the 1964 date letter P, this ties in with the m4 movement. So it is probable that the back is not a replacement but was made for the watch. I understand that Dennisons were a case manufacturer for prestige brands. The watch is running great and keeps very good time. I'm hoping you guys can identify it. It was given to me by my late father before he died so it will not be for sale. He was an engineering toolmaker, his hobby was repairing clocks and watches and he came across this one in a random box of watches, some working some not, offered as a lot at an auction in Nottingham.
![[1964] Bulova watch](/sites/default/files/watches/dial-031018-9638.jpg)
![[1964] Bulova watch movement](/sites/default/files/watches/movement-031018-9638.jpg)
![[1964] Bulova watch Dennison made back](/sites/default/files/watches/case_back-031018-9638.jpg)
In reply to Panel - your thoughts? by Geoff Baker
Reverend Bob, advice re. water noted, thanks.
I've been pointed in the direction of a book written by Philip T. Priestly, published by NAWCC, "Aaron Lufkin Dennison: An Industrial Pioneer and his Legacy." I'm trying to get my hands on a copy.
Meanwhile, spotted another one of these, same date 1964... https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/hampstead-auction…
For the Dennison case I found out the top number is the case model number. In this case 12892.
Using that and 'dennison' as a search term gave these results...
https://www.poshtime.com/501.037/Longines-9ct-Gold-c.1964.php
https://www.poshtime.com/3026.010/Roamer-Premier-9ct-gold-c.1964.php
https://archiwum.allegro.pl/oferta/piekny-zloty-cortebert-9k-0-375-gold… (scroll down)
Three different manufacturer's watches, dated '64, '64, & '62 respectively, all in the same case as mine.
This link has an insight into what was happening. (Import duty on luxury goods was around 33.3% in the '50s, not sure about the 60's but it was high)
https://www.watchprosite.com/omega/dennison-omegas--a-potted-history/67…
It's a long article, the relevant excerpts below:
"To understand the rationale behind casing other manufacturer’s watches you need to appreciate that for a lot of the previous century, there were import restrictions on high value items (e.g. watches and particularly gold ones) and not just in the UK. To get round this, some of the watch manufacturers exported ‘bare’ watch movements to the recipient country and allowed the authorized dealers to ‘case’ the movements in locally produced cases.
Omega produced watches in 18kt, 14kt, gold capped, gold filled, and gold plated (I do believe that they also produced a small number of 9kt gold watches but only for a quartz watch in 1985) - so, for a long time, there was a niche for a case manufacturer to produce a case in 9kt gold which would be better than a gold capped Omega but less expensive than the pucker high-carat solid gold ones. Dennison’s was one such company. The Dennison case designs tend to be very similar to the official Omega ones – this can be no accident and confirms that they were officially sanctioned by Omega. Dennison’s cases tend to ‘follow’ the Omega trends and were still produced sometimes long after Omega had moved on. This was probably down to the fact that until the 1960s, the UK market was quite conservative.
Virtually all the 9kt Omegas you find will be English cased (by Dennison’s, DS&S, Montal, BWC Stolkace and so on) as 9kt was peculiarly British and the minimum gold content allowed to be called ‘gold’ (correct me if I’m wrong but in the US the minimum was 10kt and in Europe it was 14kt). Dennison’s produced wristwatch cases for Omega, Rolex, Tudor, Smiths, Vertex, Garrard, Waltham, Tissot, Longines, Zenith, Rotary, J W Benson and others...
... in the 1960s, Dennison were still producing the same design of 9kt watch case that they had been producing in 1940 – here is a photo of a 1941 Omega and a 1964 Longines – both in the same 9kt case (ref 13322). "
So, did Bulova do the same in order to compete or did Dennison's just unofficially case them?
However, Bulova took a dim view of companies doing this and in the case of Bulova Watch Company Inc. vs Allerton Company Inc. and others on 13 Feb 1964 it was stated...
"The record discloses that plaintiff and its predecessor have for many years engaged primarily in the business of manufacturing, distributing and selling watches. The watch "movements" were never sold separately. Plaintiff has a long established registered trademark "BULOVA" which appears on its watch cases and on the dial of watch movements. Plaintiff has invested large sums of money (over 100 million dollars since 1935) in advertising its products and trademark through various media. Plaintiff's watches are identified by its trademark and have wide public acceptance."
So it's on record that Bulova didn't sell movements seperately. OK, so it could be a movement from another watch, but the movement is dated 1964 so there would be no profit in buying brand new complete Bulova watches (there are at least 3 of these) and recasing them. Equally, I've found 3 Bulovas indentical to this which means there must be far more and if it wasn't sanctioned by Bulova it's likely legal action would have followed is it not?
Either way, I don't think my watch is ever going to be identified as a known Bulova model, given that at least Longines, Roamer & Cortebert have watches that are exactly the same case design. I'll put it down to some weird Brit. thing going on in the watch industry in the '60's.