Bulova 1963 Sea Clipper

Submitted by steelsnail on
MW
Manufacture Year
1963
Movement Model
11AFAC
Movement Jewels
17
Movement Serial No.
-
Case Serial No.
0701651
Case shape
Round
Case color
White
Case Manufacturer
Bulova
Gender
Mens
Watch Description

bought this of e bay without checking anything until now . it is probably a fake . but i like the watch a lot anyway and wear it all the time .

1963 Bulova watch
1963 Bulova watch
FifthAvenueRes…
Posted August 29, 2013 - 4:04pm

a 'CLIPPER' of sorts.

(there are no automatic 'SEA KING's advertised through 1969).

Could You provide an image of the Caseback?

steelsnail
Posted August 30, 2013 - 6:59am

Probably a Dumb question as its a self winding .when it arrived through the post it had stopped.  Is there a way to start a bulova watch as this now keeps stopping . I have searched the net with no luck ,plenty of other makes but not a bulova .

mybulova_admin
Posted August 30, 2013 - 7:41am

You can still manually wind the watch to a full wind. When worn it should then keep a full wind.

FifthAvenueRes…
Posted August 31, 2013 - 8:49am

3 revolutions of the Crown before wearing primes the Mainspring.

mybulova_admin
Posted August 30, 2013 - 8:09am

Unique dial and could be a Clipper of sorts, but it's an Unknown model for me.

These black dials really make the watch.

Reverend Rob
Posted August 30, 2013 - 9:22am

Is it a black dial, or a graphite grey? I am a fan of the graphite dial. 

Unknown for me. 

steelsnail
Posted August 30, 2013 - 9:56am

This is the ad in the e bay sale 

 

1963 Mens Vintage BULOVA SELF WINDING Watch
  17 Jewel 11 AFAC - 10k White Rolled Gold Plated - Near EXCELLENT condition overall
 
Here we have a gorgeous and very rare Bulova Self winding with  in near excellent condition. A mid / full size 10k White Gold Filled case. Comes with a black lizard skin strap by Bulova. The sweeping second hand ticks smoothly. 
 
A valuable device distinguished from the rest, this watch upholds the fine tradition of timekeeping and presents handiwork consistent with an age of invention.
Movement: Excellent BULOVA 17 Jewel 11 AFAC Self winding movement. 
The movement is working fully and keeping excellent time.
Case, 
Glass & Crown: 100% original mid / full size 10k White Gold Plated case in  excellent to near mint condition.. Date on the back is M3 (1963). The crystal is near mint condition.
Dial &
Hands : 100% original and near excellent condition grey pie pan  dial. Near excellent condition raised silver markers and arabic decu numerals 12, 3, 6 and 9. Near excellent aged condition silver / cradium hands.
Size: Measures 33 mm side to side (excluding crown) and 41.5 mm lug to lug.
Band: Genuine Bulova lizard skin strap in black.
steelsnail
Posted August 30, 2013 - 10:08am

It is a graphite grey face

Geoff Baker
Posted August 31, 2013 - 5:45am

Hi Steelsnail (steel snail or steels nail?) here's the beauty / curse of ebay, sellers can say anything they want. I  cringe when I read some of the details / claims sellers put in their listing. Some go to the level of blatant falsehood, others are intentionally misleading and some are simply wrong ( I saw a watch sell on ebay called a 'Lone Eagle' and it looks something like mine so I'll advertise mine as a 'Lone Eagle' too). I am on record of challenging the "rare" statement. Bulova is a mass producer of consumer level watches and has been for most of their history. I can't accept a 'rare', least of all 'very rare' statement on very many Bulova watches especially those made after the 1930's.  On the other hand a claim might be made that it's very rare to find a watch 'in this condition'.

Here's my thought, your watch appears to be a genuine Bulova from 1963 in rather nice condition. While I don't recall seeing a dial like yours I think it could well be genuine Bulova as well. The authenticity of the case and strap are not in question. 

We've amassed a sizable database of Bulova watches and a fair amount of ads but our collection is not complete and probably never will be. We don't have anything that shows your watch but that doesn't mean it isn't a wonderful "Unknown" Bulova watch.  Treasure it, wear it, don't forget to have it professionally serviced.

My vote is also 'Unknown' .

steelsnail
Posted August 31, 2013 - 10:43am

Thanks Geoff, I also realise how e bay works and saw many other rare makes duplicated 20+ times for sale . I actually bought it cos I liked it :) only after I bought it did I decide to look into it . Tbh when it arrived it looked to good to be true , condition wise. So that's why I searched bulova watches and found this forum . I have now seen watches in as good condition and the guy who sold it ,had sold many watches and had 100% feedback. I actually got up at 2.30 am to bid on it :)

it still stops now and then but I didn't know how much to wind .it as I've never had this type of watch before .

thanks to everyone who has commented .it is much appreciated and very interesting . I think I now have a bulova watch bug now .I can see me buying another one :)