Back of back case at top - "BULOVA - 10 K GOLD FILLED"
Back of back case at bottom - "-047896" I am not sure if the first character is a letter, number or a -
Inside of back case - "BULOVA FIFTH AVE NEW YORK" Other numbers are also present assumed to be not from manufacturer
Movement - "U.S.A BULOVA WATCH CO"
Crown - "BULOVA"
Inside of front case - may have roman numerals "II III and a V with a center vertical line between the two diagonal lines"
I was unable to match it to a model on myBulova
Welcome to mybulova. Interesting watch; we have discussed the possibility of case numbers starting with a (-) in the past and one theory is the case is a Bulova supplied replacement. The lack of a year specific first number of the serial number indicating the case is not year specific. Based on the case style paired with a square on the movement I believe the watch movement dates to 1946.
Seeing the scratched Roman numerals in the case front is interesting. This has been observed in other Bulova watches, and the numbers usually reflect the last 3 numbers in the case S/N. indicating matching parts at assembly. It's possible the original case back was damaged and replaced, hence the "numbers" don't match. Number inscribed in case front matched the original back.
The case style and movement jewel count and date would appear to match a President "A", but the watch has a dial I don't recognize as a match to that model. Watch may be a skillful repair of a damaged watch done a long time ago, or an unknown President variant.
That being said, it's quite handsome and I personally have no problem ID'ing it as
1946 President (no variant based on dial difference from ads)
http://www.mybulova.com/sites/default/files/vintage_ads/1945-Bulova-ad-…
Thanks for that. I've found that we have another example of a case serial number starting with an '-'
https://mybulova.com/watches/1940-president-d-10264
We have a number similar examples of the case showing what I believe is the correct dial and hand combination:
Vintage Bulova Watch Search | myBulova.com
This case style ran from 1940 to 1949, so pinning down the year is tricky. We could go with the movement, but with a replacement dial and hand combo it could be highly possible that the movement isn't original.
The starting '-' is a puzzle. At first I thought it may have been a mis-struck number, but the above example looks like it is in fact a '-' (I sort of see a 4, but then again....)
At the moment it's listed a 1946 based on the movement, so I think for now that will do, unless others have a theory/information about the leading '-' in the serial number.
