My father bought this for my mother in 1965. She was the only owner. As far as I know she never had any work done on this watch. It is 14 K gold. I want to pass it on to my granddaughter one day. I have no idea the model name.
In reply to Wow! Did he indicate if the by mybulova_admin
I'm betting the band is also gold. I'm not sure why he would say the value is in the movement, the value of the gold outstrips this considerably. The Bulova 5AT is a very common movt, having been one of their own USA made. That is not to say it isn't a very fine mechanism, it is. A 23 jewel watch, especially in these tiny ladies madels, is a sure sign of quality. In this instance, the watch is shock protected on no fewer than 4 wheels. Endstones on the arbors make for tight endshake control, which is a factor in good timekeeping. This means the arbor, when vertical, rests on its tip, rather than a shoulder machined onto it, in the case of a non-endstone setting. Even tiny amounts of friction in a mechanism so small make a difference.
I tell my customers that unless the watch is very rare, or a brand name like Rolex or Patek, the value of the watch is entirely in the precious metals (or stones) of the case, and I base my appraisals on this. Unless gold falls back to a pre-recession price, this will be the case most of the time.
Regardless, I say again, it is an heirloom and priceless in that regard. You have good reason to be happy!
In reply to I'm betting the band is also by Reverend Rob
In reply to I'm betting the band is also by Reverend Rob
I spoke with the jeweler and read what you wrote to him. He said he based it on the entire watch so I misunderstood what he meant. He agreed with what you said, even though I don't have a clue what all that means, he surely understood. He also said it may take time to get the antique value of it since there isn't records back that far. I am hopeful you will be able to identify it one day. Thanks to all who are helping me. Blessings, Leesa