I bought this Bulova on Ebay for £82 recently.The seller declined to answer my questions regarding it's provenance etc.
I opened it up and it has a Bulova Cal 10AK 15 jewel movement. It keeps good time +/- 60 secs a day. It has been regularly serviced ( Case back has many watchmakers service reference marks)
Non Hacking ( or the hack function is not working)
No lume on the hands ( or the radium has depleted totally )
I love the look and feel of this Bulova. My feelings are It's most likely to be either
- a Non aircrew issued watch or
- a post war Military Surplus watch made from left over Bulova military contract parts?
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But then again it could be an out and out 'frankenwatch' !
Whatever it is i like it, the price paid is not unreasonable, it works well enough and i can use it as a 'prop' during my World War 2 Aviation history talks I present and i believe it's a genuine Bulova watch from the WW2 era. It's clearly not a prime example of a Bulova OD /AF 'A11' nor a Bulova 'Dirty Dozen' D12 . For me it's a 'keeper' whatever it turns out to be and by posting the details of it on this excellent Bulova website i hope to add a little bit of knowledge to share with those , like me, who have an appreciation of Bulova's products and their historical significance!
In reply to The Bulova 10Ak. *The hands… by FifthAvenueRes…
In reply to The Bulova 10Ak. *The hands… by FifthAvenueRes…
Thank You for your additional information. I think there were many variations including - Non Lumed hands / indicies. I think i read somewhere that these variants would have been usually given as issue to Rear Echelon 'Pogues' .. or those who were NOT aircrew. Maybe ground crew?
It came from a seller in Portsmouth, Hampshire , England. This is a big Royal Navy base for some 100s of years. Also one of the marshalling areas for Operation Overlord in June 1944. I accept that it should be 'Non-issued'. I think that seems a fair assumption to make. I am relatively new to military watches and very willing to learn more.
Cheers!
In reply to Thank You for your… by DandyAndy
In reply to I have seen the 10Ak in 4… by FifthAvenueRes…
In reply to I will add that the only… by FifthAvenueRes…
This appears to be a Military Issued Ordnance Dept watch with a "cleaned" case back. Post WWII several companies were selling surplus military watches with the case back markings removed. To me this is a generic Military Issue no variant noting a cleaned case back.
In reply to This appears to be a… by JimDon5822
Thank You JimDon - That's very interesting. I think this advert below was posted to the site by another user with a similar watch. So the Surplus Companies would grind down and polish out the OD markings before selling as military surplus and then stamp a 'civilian' s/n on the case in this example "014945" ?
I had a closer inspection of the case back and there ARE to my eye under a 2.5 x mag loupe, some circular striations on it. It is a possibility it was put on an abrasive wheel at some point in the way you describe?. This is a fascinating supposition to consider. i wonder if there is any magnetism left from the original impact of the OD markings punch in the metal structure of the Stainless steel back?
The case serial numbers which appear on the backs of these 'plain jane' 10 AKs' is certainly of interest. If the caseback were milled to remove military nomenclature (which I personally highly doubt) there would not be much material left to then stamp a serial number into.
2c