Bulova 1942 Eleanor

Submitted by DonnaV59 on
Manufacture Year
1942
Movement Jewels
17
Case Serial No.
C265245
Case shape
Oval
Case color
Yellow
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Crystal details
Square convex
Gender
Ladies
Watch Description

Appears “art deco” to me.  The crystal is surrounded by a decorative edge with very small green inlaid stone.  Cannot open to get date info.  The band is serpentine with a patented clasp.

FOR SALE
Front 2/13/2023
Back 2/13/2023
Clasp 2/13/2023
Mechanism w/cell phone
Copy of photo taken by jeweler
neetstuf-4-u
Posted February 13, 2023 - 9:34pm

Welcome to mybulova and thanks for sharing your treasure with us; it's a beauty. The s/n starting with a "C" suggests a date of 1942. It looks to be the same as this one that we previously identified as Eleanor. The only ad I found is dated 1948, which may be a little late for your watch as well as the linked one.

I'm still looking, but at this point without knowing the date stamp on the movement, I'll say

1942 Bulova Eleanor (for now)

I changed the date above to reflect the s/n.

DonnaV59
Posted February 14, 2023 - 7:23am

You are right the face does look like “Eleanor”.  Would a band like the one shown be original to the watch?  I’m going to take it to a jeweler to open it for me.  Thanks for changing the date.  

neetstuf-4-u
Posted February 14, 2023 - 7:50am

In reply to by DonnaV59

If your watch is indeed an Eleanor, the original band would look like the one in the ad displayed in the comments of the watch I linked to. More often than not, ladies watches from this era are seen on replacement bands. It's tough to say if the linked watch is actually on the original band, but it is definitely the correct "style".

If possible, when it is opened take a few photos of the movement to ensure you get a nice clear one showing all the text stamped on it if possible. Look for the date code and jewel count as that is the most important info for ID.

Kathy L.
Posted February 15, 2023 - 11:01am

Nice ad match Bob, that looks right to me.  There was also a different Eleanor model in the early 40s so we could have a different model name for this watch in the early 40's but I think for now I would go with it.

1942 Bulova Eleanor

Geoff Baker
Posted February 15, 2023 - 10:51pm

1942 Bulova Eleanor

DonnaV59
Posted February 17, 2023 - 2:15pm

I’ve added a couple more photos in the interior, but they aren’t very clear.  When I was at the jewelers I looked at the insides with their loop and was able to see a square near the “SWISS” marking.  I neglected to take note of the letters/numbers inside the rectangle, and I cannot make them out in the photo.