This is my dad's high school graduation present watch. He graduated in 1951. Accordingly, can't be newer than that. We have no idea how long it may have been at the retailer before purchase. It was likely purchased at a jewelry store in Waupun, Wisconsin. His mother bought two identical watches that day. One for my dad, the other for my grandfather. My grandfather passed away 40+ years ago. The watch was not found.
From looking at the various ads it seems most likely to me (with extremely limited experience) that it may be a "Belmont" model. The second choice would be "His Excellency." However, it seems more similar to Belmont as there are no odd-numbers on the face. Instead, at those points there are place markers (not sure if there is a technical name for those marks).
There are no markings on the stem.
The watch runs and keeps fairly good time. It has not been regularly used for some time. My dad originally gave it to me in 1993 when he retired stating, "I don't care what time it is any more." I suggested that he wait awhile before giving away his watch. He insisted and gave it to me. I wore it for about 6 months. Then he asked for it back (as he found that he actually did want to know what time it was). He has not worn it in over a decade. He gave it back to me a few days ago. He had it sitting loose in a small pouch with other misc. items. I am hoping to get it cleaned/tuned-up so that it can, at least occasionally, be worn again.
I am not comfortable attempting to open the back of the watch for fear of doing damage. So I don't know what markings may be on the inside.
The back has the numbers 7545479 on one side of the case. The other side of the case says, "10K GOLD FILLING." Beneath it, it says, "BULOVA." The name Bulova is in a smaller font than the words, 10K Gold Filling.
Welcome and thanks for sharing your great heirloom watch with a great backstory. Based on the serial number starting with a "7", your watch is a 1947. I think there are currently 7 of this model in the database, one being mine . Watch should contain a 21 jewel movement.
1947 His Excellency "GG"
Thank you for the amazingly fast reply. The "GG" designation is especially interesting to me as those are my initials! I'm not sure what to do with it at this point. I don't expect a standard jewelry store person would necessarily know how to clean it up. Any suggestions? I saw some nationwide companies on the internet. One had pretty good reviews, the other, not so much.
I also have a Bulova Sea King Automatic that my grandfather gave me. It is either 1960's or early 1970's. I should add it to the database too. Thank you so much for your help. My dad will be interested to know all of this. He is 90 years old and still pretty sharp.
Thank you for sharing your watch story. I find it funny that he took it back ...now that's a first. I am also happy to hear he is doing well. Cherish your moments and record all his stories on video. As for the watch it is designated His Excellency GG but based on my research, we actually do not have any confirmation of the dial & case configuration. As we do more research and gain knowledge it might change this designation. The dial is documented as being used in a Statesman and the case is the variety with faceted lugs. It is probably the way it came from the factory, so I am not saying it is not. If the panel agrees we can keep this model as GG along with the others, but I am thinking this one, and the others, should be a His Excellency no variant until we confirm with documentation.
Thanks. I talked to my dad. He is pretty excited to hear. I apparently messed up the story a bit. My dad lost his watch (who would give such a nice watch to a high school kid anyway). This was my grandfather's watch. We got it in 1980 when he passed. My grandfather's initials were also "GG." Whether fully accurate as to the "GG" part or not, I like the connection. Thank you.
Dial match certainly places it within the His Excellency group. This particular example shown below is the "MM" variant.
I agree with Jim, in that we probably need to revisit the "GG" variants as we don't have a confirmed advert showing this case and dial combination, with a gold rolled case.
A generic 1947 Bulova His Excellency seems appropriate, noting the subject watch has the same case as the "GG and a dial of the "MM".
This 1953 price guide which I believe contains previous year prices, shows an exstensive list of His Excellency varaiants: