This is, what I consider, a Non-Conforming Bulova, but one from the '40's. My guess is 1941-44, but I really don't know.
When I first glanced at it, I immediately thought 1940-1943 Bulova President. Then, skepticism kicked in: 1) Yellow gold and not rose gold; 2) No sub-dial seconds hand; 3) No case serial number; 4) Case design differences.
It was for $5, so I bought it.
The case and dial, that mimics the President, are from Anchor.
The watch originally housed a 1929 Bulova 6AE. However, I would later find that the hairspring was broken at the middle of the coil (never encountered that before!), and the wheel train would not move unless I slightly loosened the bridge.
So, I decided to go ahead with the project and replace the movement with a 1927 6AE I had.
The '27 6AE runs VERY well after a service (304° amplitude, 0.8 ms beat error, +5 sec regulation), case cleaned & polished, dial cleaned, and new Bulova 7AK #63/64 GF15 hands (the watch had modern-style hands).
Yeah, it might not be worth a whole lot, but it's a 70-80 year-old watch that gives homage to an era when a jeweler would turn a trade-in that he couldn't sell into a watch that he could. It's lasted this long!
Great looking watch and I really appreciate the level of effort you've put into returning this watch to running order and as a usable timepiece.
I like your statement "it's a 70-80 year-old watch that gives homage to an era when a jeweler would turn a trade-in that he couldn't sell into a watch that he could."
We often get hung on the originality of a timepiece and overlook the package as a whole. This watch present really well and I hope it is enjoyed as such for years to come.
Now for the bad part :-) We'll obvious need to formally ID this was as 'non-conforming'.
