I am trying to obtain some info regarding this watch and would love some help. I believe it is a 1962 La Petite B. The case is 10k white rolled gold and the dial has the letter B on it. There are two diamonds on the case, and it has a Speidel band pat. 2689450. It has a slight scratch on the lense and is not currently running. I am uncertain about the movement model . It is a gorgeous watch and I would love any information that can be provided about this particular model etc. thank you!
I think yours is a La Petite, but not sure if it is the "B" model... the 23J movement of choice seems to be the 5AD but it looks like the 5AR was also used on these.
The lugs on your looks different from the ad, a bit more detailed and they seem to be longer.
I haven't checked out the newspaper ads in the forms section yet, but will take a look.
Hi Katie, welcome to myBulova. I wonder if your watch is a family treasure? It certainly is a beautiful little watch. If it's dear to your heart, it can be brought back into working condition. I'm not sure I see a scratch but it's possible it could be buffed out. The La Petite models were among the nicest womens watches Bulova was making in the early 60's. The 23 jewel movement is, I think, the highest quality they used for womens watches. From the ad below, it appears to have $45 at the time, about $350 in 2014 dollars.
It is the La Petite model.
I appreciate all of your help! I have recently become very interested in collecting vintage items and sorting through what I already own. It is a very fun and interesting task, but can be rather difficult at times, so all of your comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated!! I realize that the model I originally put was a typo. I meant to say that I am uncertain, but believe it is either a 5AD or 5AR from what I have found. Oddly, I have not come across many others from the M2 movement that are identical to mine. Any idea why this particular year and model combined do not seem to be as prevalent as the others?
Hi Katie - I wouldn't read too much into the quantity (or lack thereof) relative to a given year watch or movement model. Our database is dependent on member contributions exclusively and it's more likely that we just haven't had that many added. Bulova watches were and are mass produced consumer goods so post the 1930's there just aren't very many truly 'rare' models. Some models seem to be more popular, like men's models and some seem to appear less, like solid gold men's or women's models but I think that the correlation you've noticed is mostly random.
PS - If you're leaning toward collecting vintage watches, I suggest a good quality loupe so you can inspect your treasures under good magnification. Don't fall for the ones that go over both eyes, like glasses - they don't work due to the short focal length. Single eye cup is the way to go (and believe it or not they work best when you keep BOTH eyes open).
I was finally able to access the case and establish that the movement model is indeed a 5AD. However, I am confused because the outside of the case says M2, but then inside shows it as M1. Is this common to have a discrepancy in the dates? Can anyone help clarify why this may be the case? I am now uncertain about which year to list as the manufacturing date, but I would assume it would be the earlier of the two....
In reply to I was finally able to access by Katie611
[quote=Katie611]
I was finally able to access the case and establish that the movement model is indeed a 5AD. However, I am confused because the outside of the case says M2, but then inside shows it as M1. Is this common to have a discrepancy in the dates? Can anyone help clarify why this may be the case? I am now uncertain about which year to list as the manufacturing date, but I would assume it would be the earlier of the two....
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M1 and M2 are date codes, 1961 and 1962. It is not incredibly unusual tp find a one year difference betweeen Bulova movements and cases. Not normal, but not to awfully unusual. They manufactured the movements one place, then put them in a case someplace else. So sometimes a movement made towards the end of one year ends up in a case made at the beginning of the next year. If you see a more than one year difference, then someone swapped movements/cases. It looks like you have a 1961 manufactured movement that ended up in a 1962 manufactured case.