Bulova 1971 Sea King

Submitted by dc.gronlund on June 24, 2023 - 8:19am
HB
Manufacture Year
1971
Movement Model
11anc
Movement Date Code
N1
Movement Jewels
17
Case Serial No.
T010562
Case shape
Cushion
Case color
White
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

1971 Bulova Red dial, manual wind. The crystal is a snap in. The hands have lume in the tips and painted black on the tips. Case date code is N1, movement date code is N2, inside case ref. is Taiwan, T-3103. Outside case serial number is T010562. Movement cal. 11anc. I don't have a decent guess what this is, other than some sort of Sea King or Clipper or____? This is my second one, but I've seen a total of 4 of these, none have any identifiers on the dial. The only other notable thing is the dial makers mark is Durig-Freres Bienne, SA.

Dial
Caseback
Movement
Inside caseback
Crown side
Andersok
Posted June 24, 2023 - 9:18am

It looks like a match to the Sea King "HB". I think you could call that a rust color degrade dial.

Nice looking watch.

1973 linebooks

LB180_1973_SeaKingHB

dc.gronlund
Posted June 24, 2023 - 9:23am

In reply to by Andersok

Duuuude! That's it! And rust degrade is such a great description of the dial! Thank you!!

dc.gronlund
Posted June 24, 2023 - 9:26am

In reply to by Andersok

I wonder if I have the wrong case back? Cus the movement is '72 which would work for a '73 but not a '71. Does that sound right?

neetstuf-4-u
Posted June 24, 2023 - 9:42am

Great looking watch, I think you nailed it, Ken. As far as the dates go, there is only a 24 hr difference between 1971 and 1972. Watch was very likely assembled very late in 1971 or very early 1972 with end of year case - and movement produced for the 1972 run.

1973Linebook shows models available for sale that year, which would include all unsold models produced the previous fiscal year.

Geoff Baker
Posted June 24, 2023 - 10:25am

In reply to by neetstuf-4-u

At the risk of being a "tour guide to the obvious", there is only one SECOND between 1971 and 1972 - haha

Geoff Baker
Posted June 24, 2023 - 9:25pm

I think Ken nailed it 1971 Bulova Sea King HB

JimDon5822
Posted June 24, 2023 - 10:31pm

1971 Bulova Sea King HB is a good match!  This dial tends to fade into different colors.   Picture from Dave of his various examples he has seen.

Sea King HB