Bulova 1950 Academy Award

Submitted by Hamtramck Stan on
X
Manufacture Year
1950
Movement Model
7AK
Movement Date Code
49 (A9)
Movement Jewels
21
Movement Serial No.
-
Case Serial No.
1935030
Case shape
Rectangle
Case color
Yellow
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Crystal details
G-S CMX326-36 21.6 X 17.6
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

This watch appears to be a 1950 Academy Award "X", and was purchased in 2015 in rough condition. The movement was cleaned & oiled, the mainspring was replaced, the case was carefully cleaned & polished, and the crystal was replaced with a faceted G-S crystal. Though this watch may originally have had a leather strap, I decided on a period Kreisler Citation expansion band because 1) it is consistent with flat & chamfered surfaces of the watch; 2) It was the original band on the Academy Award "Q" & "T". This band is a good match.

1950 Bulova Academy Award X watch
1950 Bulova watch
1950 Bulova watch
1950 Bulova watch
Bulova Watch
mybulova_admin
Posted September 29, 2017 - 10:36pm

This 1950 Bulova Academy Award 'X' is on my wish list of watches!

Very nice restoration job, looks fantastic.

Hamtramck Stan
Posted September 30, 2017 - 2:32am

Thank you for your comments.  Here is a before-and-after shot:

jabs
Posted September 30, 2017 - 6:03am

AA "X" well done

Andersok
Posted September 30, 2017 - 7:38am

A very nice AA 'X', good job on the restoration!

Geoff Baker
Posted September 30, 2017 - 7:41am

Gold Star restoration Stan - very nicely done.

1950 Bulova Academy Award X 

Hamtramck Stan
Posted September 30, 2017 - 9:41am

Thanks again to the panel for your identification and comments. It is greatly appreciated!

mybulova_admin
Posted September 30, 2017 - 9:13pm

Anything special with the restoration, or just a simple bit of spit and polish?

Hamtramck Stan
Posted October 1, 2017 - 12:29am

The dial was the first thing to get worked on, because if I couldn't get rid of the splotches and matte-look of it, then the drive to work any further on the rest of the watch would have greatly diminished. However, the dial ended up splotch-free with a decent shine and gloss.

The movement was next, followed by work on the case. I don't know if the crystal was original, but it was a thick glass that was so badly scratched, I was surprised the case was in the condition it was in (mild scratches, but quite filthy). The last thing done was re-burnishing of the case back.

The Kreisler band was acquired used, but it, too, required a thorough cleaning and a very careful polishing.

The box (acquired separately) was also in need of repair, involving mainly the display ring, which needed new fabric (color matching was tough!).

This was a way, I thought, to be able to afford a decent, boxed variant of the AA series. It just required some work.