Bulova Ambassador. Automatic. 30 Jewels. with magnified date window. case material appears to be stainless steel. identified as 'waterproof' on back case. 'Bulova' on crown. 'SWISS' appears below the 6 o'clock position on the dial. original band has been replaced. I have not had the case off. This was my father's watch, which he obtained either during his time serving in Vietnam (1967-1968) or sometime shortly afterward, although based upon other pictures and information I have seen, this watch appears to be from the 1970's. Edit: talked to my mother about this - she doesn't remember much (anything) about it either, but did say this could have been her uncle's watch since my dad was known NOT to wear jewelery, so it doesn't make sense that he would have bought it himself or that my mother would have bought it as a gift or anything. That also makes more sense since this watch has much more wear and scratches on it than I would think it would, considering how infreqently my dad would have worn it. I have no other information about this watch. However, I am curious if this is even a real Bulova watch, or if it is a fake. There is no serial number or other date code marking that I can see anywhere on the outside back case. Also curious is the dial - every picture I have seen of any Ambassador watch of this era, at the 12 o'clock position is the brand 'Bulova' and directly underneath 'Ambassador', and at the 6 o'clock position 'Automatic' and 'XX Jewels' (30 in this case). However, this watch has 'Bulova' and '30 Jewels' at the 12 o'clock, and 'Ambassador' and 'Automatic' at the 6 o'clock. The 'Bulova' is also done in raised lettering.
Hi tiamat, welcome to mybulova. I'm a big fan of heirloom watches, I think you're very lucky to still have your father's Bulova. I too would be interested to see the movement and the inside of the case back to nail down the date. It is possible that he did purchase it during one of his tours in Viet Nam. Off hand I want to say it's an Ambassador because of the dial marking but I have a doubt that the Ambassadors came in 30J. Can we get a couple more photos?
I can surely try to take more photos of any aspect of it that you would like, as best as my cell phone will allow anyway.
I FINALLY found another pic on the internet of one as similar to this one I have ever seen:
http://www.ranfft.de/bidfun/katb/2usau/1234972819.jpg
(I don't seem able to get the IMG tags working to embed this image).
note this one also indicates a 30J Ambassador, but the markings on the dial are as I describe in my initial post, and are in line with all other Ambassadors I have seen.
Micro rotor Ambassadors with 30 jewels.
http://www.mybulova.com/watches/1972-ambassador-4640
http://www.mybulova.com/watches/1970-Ambassador-332
http://www.mybulova.com/watches/1966-ambassador-4645
Ambassador with 30 jewels AND same dial layout.
http://www.mybulova.com/watches/1965-ambassador-4145
We also have some micro rotor examples in the DB with 17 jewels.