A rare one.
Bulova 'Parking Meter' aka 'Bullhead' Chronograph.
Of a family of famous 'firsts'- the first Automatic Chronograph, a joint effort by Buren/Hamilton, Tag Heuer and Breitling. Breitling called this the "ChronoMatic", and the movt is known as the Cal 11, 12, 14 and 15. Basically, the Buren 1280 is the base ebauche, with its micro rotor. Added to this is the chronograph plate, obscuring the evidence that this is an Auto.
Hamilton bought Buren before this was attempted, I forget the year, but 1969 was the year the Auto Chronos debuted.
There are a variety of other watches that utlize this calibre also, including some by Hamilton, like the Fontainebleu, and lesser known and extinct brands also. This is the same movt as found in the Chronograph F, which Geoff has elsewhere in the dB. The difference as I'm sure you can see, is that the movt is rotated to place the chrono pushers at the top of the dial and the crown at the bottom. The normal configuration for this movt is crown left, pushers right. No mods to the movt, just a dial orientation and case change.
These are getting harder to find in good condition, and represent a significant event in horological history, which puts them high on the list of collectible Bulovas.
Case is by Fabrique de Boîtes Bielna SA- Kessi Freres.
There is probably an actual name for these, but I've always heard them referred to by their nicknames. Michael, do you have any inside photos of the watch?
1973 Bullhead Chronograph works for me!
Hello Michael, welcome to myBulova, I really like YOUR Bulova. I'm a Chrono guy so this is one I've always wanted in my collection. My watch has a 17 jewel 14 EFAD movement, which as Rob states above, is probably the same as yours. I've seen it referred as 'Bull Head' but 'Parking Meter' is a new one to me.
In terms of an ID I think we should stick to the proper name Bulova gave it. I suggest we tag it as 'Chronograph' until we find something more definitive.
1973 Bulova Chronograph, a wonderful example. I think it's a first for our data base.
(PS - if you can remove the back we should confirm yor jewel count).
I've always coveted this model. This and the Chrono C. Looks like I'll be able to get a brand new Chrono C soon enough.... but this one..... my white whale.
I love this Bullhead. I had a pretty good chance to really overpay for one in an auction on the bay but my Mike my watchmaker said it was going to be a TON to put it together as he'd have to fab quite a few of the parts that were missing from that watch...
(sighs)
In reply to one of these sold on ebay 2… by Jodaman
In reply to one of these sold on ebay 2… by Jodaman