Hello, I purchased this watch years ago at a yard sale but just recently found it. I planned to sell on eBay after researching it. Here is the problem I'm having : The back shows M9, which according to the chart means its from 1969...correct? Well, I have researched for 2 days now 1000s of pics of these and can not find any that have the same dial as this one, the minute marks are in center along with Date in the 3 o'clock space, as opposed to all I have seen with the marks along the outter edge. I did, however, find what looks to be this exact same watch in a eBay auction for a Bulova Ad Poster in which it states its from 1966. Can anyone help me figure this out? I would like any info I list to be correct as it will of course help in selling. Praying its worth more then I paid for it :-) It needs cleaning but I do not want to cause any damage to it so will have to have it done and as far as the movement, I have no idea how to open it .
Thanks so much!
Often these will have a gold bezel if not a fully gold case.
Worthless? What a thing to say to a customer, and he is dead wrong.
These are removed through the front, so the bezel and crystal are friction fit and can be removed with a case knife. The stem will be split so it has to be pulled carefully first. Sometimes the stems will have some rust on them and won't separate easily, so this is a job for a watchmaker. You don't want to mar the case or the bezel with any tool marks.
If it is the micro rotor movt, this was developed by Buren in 1954, and then the company was sold to Hamilton in 1966. At this point, a joint venture by Hamilton, along with major rivals Heuer and Breitling, yielded the world's first auto-chronograph based on this movt, the Chronomatic. Dubois-Depraz was the other partner in this effort, tasked with designing and manufacturing the chronograph module that was fitted to the micro-rotor base. The launch in 1969 was amid furious competition from Seiko and Zenith, but the Chronomatic won out by some months. The project was until then only known by it's code name: Project 99. This is piece of horological history and Bulova recieved the ebauches from Hamilton/Buren. The ones that are 30j are the really collectable ones, but these are collectable in themselves. As with any micro-rotor movt, you need to be fairly active to keep them wound. They are less efficient than a large rotor system, and sitting at a desk in front of a computer doesn't quite cut it.
Oh he also said, when I tried to explain about the date and the ticks being in the middle instead if outer edge, that it's because someone put a new crystal on it which is why it's high and not flat.
Ok, why would that change the dial? In the pic of that ad, it's the same crystal and it's NOT flat!
If it doesn't run can it be fixed? They don't have batteries like today's do right?
Sorry for my ignorance but I'm trying to take everything in that you guys tell me!
Micro Rotor movts are automatics. They just have much smaller rotors, as the name suggests. No batteries, purely green renewable technology that lasts generations, that's what I tell my customers.
Changing the dial is unlikely but not impossible, although another dial specifically for this movt might work, in the event the original was badly damaged. Crystals are changed routinely. You can hand wind this a bit to see if it runs, if not, I strongly recommend going to a competent watchmaker to have the movt examined for possible overhaul and/or repair.