Bulova 1953 Pelham

Submitted by neetstuf-4-u on
Manufacture Year
1953
Movement Model
10BT
Movement Date Code
L3
Movement Jewels
17
Case Serial No.
5889589
Case shape
Rectangle
Case color
Yellow
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

Here is an interesting one. Dated inside and out as 1953 with a smooth crystal.. If it was dated 1952 with said crystal, it would be a Sky King. Dated 1953 with a beveled crystal, it is a Pelham. I have to believe this is a cross-over and a 

1953 Sky King

For reference, discussions here

1952 Sky King

1953 Pelham  

Based on consensus, I am comfortable with either ID as both appear to be pretty uncommon, but as previously determined, crystal appears to be the deciding factor.

sk1
sk2
sk3
sk4
neetstuf-4-u
Posted November 23, 2025 - 7:47am

In reply to by FifthAvenueRes…

Not 2 different  watches, but rather a name change with a different crystal. The main question here is which came first. It appears by price list, Pelham may have become Sky King as opposed to vice versa, but that is a little foggy. 

It was suggested previously that the Sky King name may have been revived to suggest the Radio or TV show of the same name, the radio show ran from 1946 to 1954. The TV show ran from 1951 to 1953 (for 3 seasons) . Coincidence?

mybulova_admin
Posted November 23, 2025 - 6:06am

I've also overlayed the two dials to match the 'size' (not position) of the numbers 2, 4, 8 and 10. They all match nicely, which suggests the cases are actually different is size.

JimDon5822
Posted November 23, 2025 - 8:42pm

I stand by my assessment that the Price sheets are correct and this is a 1953 Bulova Pelham .

Geoff Baker
Posted November 23, 2025 - 8:56pm

As do I

mybulova_admin
Posted November 24, 2025 - 2:43am

Going to assume that the difference in size in my previous review is due to distortion in the linebook image.

Based on the date of 1953 I have to agree that the model name at this time for the 31733 was the Bulova Pelham.

I also agree that I don't think the crystal makes the difference and may have just been what the linebook example had installed.

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