30J self winding movement dated M5 as is the front load case. Pie Pan dial is silver in color with gold ring. Indices thicker at outer end to compensate for the pie pan effect that drops away from the ring to the edge. Decal on face of a Compact brand vacuum cleaner. Watch was most likely a service award. Back not personalized. I find nothing in the DB; my gut feeling is that it's an undocumented Commander based on dial and movement.
Wow, I didn't realize the life of a vacuum salesman was so tough, this little watch has been worn hard.
I'm at Unknown for now. The 30 jewel Commanders all have '30 Jewels' on the dial under the Bulova name, it seems odd that it would have been removed although it is possible. The dial isn't quite like any of the Commander dials in the dB (at least that I saw). The case appears the same as the mid sixties Clipper.
In reply to Wow, I didn't realize the by Geoff Baker
Yes this one was rode hard, lots of contact marks but not much plating wear. I found the '66 ad for Clipper B and one other that escapes me now (17J), and those were the only instances I found of this casing. I didn't find any identical dials either, but the gold ring on the face paired with the 30J seems to say Commander. There is a Commander E in the DB with a similar case, except engraved; it's also 1965.
This will be a custom dial, obviously, and therefore I think it may be a Commander. I don't recall exactly, but I had a conversation with Bulova a couple years ago and they indicated at thet time that they still did custom logo dials for awards, etc, and all you had to do was tell them what model you were interested in. Some do not lend themselves to customization, but quite a few cleaner dials do.
I spoke to somebody in Queens about this also, they indicated that it was popular and common many years ago to get an award order.
In reply to This will be a custom dial, by Reverend Rob
Good info Rev. For what it's worth, I located an identical watch on ebay dated M4. Only difference being the dial markings. 'bay watch had "30 Jewels" under "Bulova" and "self winding" at bottom instead of the vacuum. I agree with your thinking that it's a customization of a Commander by Bulova as a special order.
