1. Vintage Bulova Watches Serial Number 8332361
2. How To Find Bulova Model Number: 11 Steps (with Pictures)
3. Are Old Bulova Watches Worth Anything

Click here for Bulova timepieces currently for sale. Bulova watches are some of the most plentiful to be found in the vintage marketplace, so they are a good choice for the beginning collector looking for lots of variety at reasonable prices. To be sure, there are some scarce Bulovas, too, but by and large they are quite affordable. The story of Bulova begins in the 1870s, when Joseph E. Bulova (born 1851, died 1935) emigrated to America from Czechoslovakia, bringing with him his talents as a jewelry maker. In 1874, he opened a retail store in New York City, but is was not until 33 years later, in 1907, that he began importing pocket watch movements from Switzerland. By 1919, Bulova realized the coming trend toward wrist watches and established a watch factory in Bienne, Switzerland. The factory imported millions of watch movements over the decades. Joseph and son, Arde, founded the Bulova Watch Co. in 1923 in New York City. Like Gruen, Bulova is considered a Swiss watch, even though the company was founded and headquartered in the United States. Bulova’s rise to preeminence in the market during the 1920s was result of Arde and John H. Ballard. Ballard started with the company as an office boy at age 14, and eventually became president and would remain at the helm for 30 years. Arde supplied the product, and Ballard sold it. By 1929, they controlled 50% of the U.S. watch and clock market. The pair are generally credited in the advertising field as the pioneers of spot advertising, that is, blanketing the radio airwaves in multiple markets between programs. 'Spots' can be typically found in 10,-20-, 30-, and 60-second durations, but Bulova’s was short and sweet. 'B-U-L-O-V-A ... 9:00 p.m. Bulova watch time.' That was it. But it was heard and remembered by millions of Americans. The company also did a lot of print advertising as well. In fact, in 1931, Bulova became the first watch company to top an annual advertising budget of $1 million, an amount unheard of at the time. In 1929, he dismantled an entire watch factory and moved it to New York so that the flow of movements could not be halted by international upheaval. The cutoff Bulova feared never occurred even during WWII. During the second world war, Bulova produced almost $50 million worth of military watches, aircraft instruments, bomb fuses, telescopes, and torpedo parts. Bulova produced two wrist watch calibers for its military watches: the 10AK and the 10BNCH. Both have 15 jewels but the latter has a hack mechanism which stops the second hand when the crown is pulled out to the 'set' position. In 1945, Bulova purchased a large tract of land near New York’s LaGuardia Airport and created a new corporate headquarters. Named 'Bulova Park,' it housed the company’s production facilities for its 21, 23, and new 30-jewel watch movements, its corporate headquarters, and the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking. The school operates to this day. It is also during this time that Bulova began marking many (but not all) of the backs of their cases with date codes. The code is a letter followed by a single number. 'A' stands for the 1940s; 'L' for 1950s; 'M' the 1960s; and 'N' for 1970s. The digit after the letter indicates the year within that decade. So if you have a Bulova marked 'L4' on the back of the case, you know the watch was manufactured in 1954. (It is not known why Bulova jumped from A to L.) The company’s production of mechanical wrist watches in the 1960s was eclipsed by the Accutron. Accutrons are discussed elsewhere on this web site. Bulova did, however, continue to produce mechanical wrist watches. It was a tumultuous time for mechanical watchess, with the market split dramatically between the low (Timex) and high ends. Bulova sought the middle ground with its Caravelle line and did succeed, but at the cost of its reputation as a 'quality' watch maker. For example, the New Yorker magazine, during this time, would not even accept Bulova advertising. Most Caravelles are not considered collectible in the vintage world. Bulova continues to operate today from its Woodside, N.Y. headquarters. But it is a totally imported product, and its movements come from mostly from Japan. The Watches Some of the more collectible Bulovas are: The 'Lone Eagle', a watch issued to honor Charles Lindbergh's crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. They sold 55,000 of them within a few years, complete with a box that bore a photo of the aviator. The company is credited with 'inventing' the commemorative watch, and many other companies would follow Bulova's lead. Single-button chronographs. The 'right angle' watch. It is thicker at the top than at the bottom, and angles for easier viewing by wearer. The 'photo watch' with a case within a case. A spring lever at the bottom of the bezel releases the 'inner case' to reveal the inside of the outer case where a photo can be stored. A long curved case Bulova that is all yellow gold filled. At 51mm in length, it resembles some of the longer Gruen Curvexes. The side-of-the-wrist LED quartz watch is considered quite collectible by a niche market that collects early LED watches by Pulsar and other makers. Bruce Shawkey BULOVA SERIAL NUMBERS: A8=1948 A9=1949 L1=1951 L2=1952 L3=1953 L4=1954 L5=1955 L6=1956 L7=1957 L8=1958 L9=1959 M0=1960 M1=1961 M2=1962 M3=1963 M4=1964 M5=1965 M6=1966 M7=1967 M8=1968 M9=1969 N0=1970 N1=1971 N2=1972 N3=1973 N4=1974 N5=1975 N6=1976 N7=1977 N8=1978 N9=1979 P0=1980 P1=1981 P2=1982 P3=1983 P4=1984 P5=1985 P6=1986 P7=1987 P8=1988

The era of the Bulova watch does not usually mean higher value, but it at least gives you a clue as to the style and quality of the interior works. Beginning in the 1940s, Bulova put serial numbers on the interior case of the watches. An ‘A’ indicates a watch made in the 1940s and ‘L’ codes show a watch. Bulova watch serial numbers - Vintage elgin wristwatch - Watch videos from Bulova Watch Serial Numbers serial numbers A number showing the position of an item in a series, esp. One printed on paper currency or on a manufactured article for the purposes of identification (Serial Number) The minimum five-character number printed by a manufacturer.

There are no number tables that I am aware of to cross reference the date of manufacture with the serial number. The serical numbers were simply for identification purposes only. In the late 40's Bulova began using a series of codes to denote the manufacture date. Both companies went to a different serial number system and the date of manufacture is not determinable by these letter & number serials. BULOVA: In the 1950's Bulova incorporated a symbol system to date the watches they manufactured. Vintage & Antique Bulova Watch Value Founded in 1875, Bulova is a top American watch brand, which at this point in time is owned by the Japanese multinational conglomerate Citizen Watch Co. With such a rich watchmaking history behind the brand, it might be a challenge to find the true value of your vintage or antiq.

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Including Date Codes and Date Symbols

1875 - Present

New York and Switzerland

In 1875, Joseph Bulova, a Bohemian immigrant, started the J. Bulova Company in a store on Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan. Begun as a wholesale jeweler, the company produced small table clocks and good-quality pocket watches, By 1912, driven by the increased demand for wristwatches, Bulova built a factory in Bienne, Switzerland that was capable of mass-producing fully-jeweled wristwatch movements in large numbers. For the most part, these movements were cased and timed in the USA before shipment to retailers. Under Joseph Bulova's guidance, Bulova became a world-leader in the mass production of reliable, good-quality wristwatches.

Bulova sold relatively few pocket watches (compared to their huge production of wristwatches), though they did produce a few basic pocket watch models in the 30's, 40's and 50's. The ultra-thin 'Phantom' model, produced in the 1920's, was a finely-made, platinum-cased pocket watch that is prized by collectors today.

A Company of 'Firsts'

Bulova was an innovative company, and can be credited with many industry 'firsts.' They were the first watch or clock company to broadcast and advertise on the radio, and later became the first to show a commercial on television. They were the first watch company to market watches specifically to women, and the first company to open a school for disabled veterans that provided them with care, employment opportunities, and a marketable skill after the war (more below).

The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking

One of Bulova's most significant contributions to the world of horology was the creation of the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking, founded in 1945 by Joseph Bulova's son Arde Bulova (then Chairman of the Board). Arde Bulova 'wished to repay, in some small measure, the sacrifice and service of returning disabled veterans after the Second World War.'*

The Bulova school helped train an entire generation of American watchmakers. The school provided tuition-free education to teach disabled servicemen the skills of watchmaking 'under the most expert supervision and with an all-inclusive curriculum in a pleasant environment where similar interests and problems developed a close-knit, affable group of men working toward common goals.' *

By the early 50's, as the demand for skilled watchmakers increased in America, the Bulova school opened its doors to disabled civilians as well, and graduates of the Bulova school went on to pursue meaningful careers as not only watchmakers, but also as instrument makers, instrument repairers, micro-machinists, and other trades requiring the precision skills and dexterity of a watchmaker. Over 1500 jewelers pledged to hire Bulova graduates, so employment upon graduation was assured.

The school provided a well-equipped facility for its disabled students, and was a pioneer of 'accessibility' with automatic doors and extra-wide elevators. Facilities included a medical department on school premises which housed an infirmary, dispensary and exercise room. The services of a physician, physical therapist, full-time registered nurse and a 'physical medicine consultant' were provided free to the students. The school also housed an extensive horological library, recreation facilities, and a full kitchen and dining room.

The school received its financial support from the Joseph Bulova Foundation.

* 'Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking Training Manual', 9th edition, pub. 1968.

Bulova Innovations:

In the early 1920s, Bulova constructed an astronomical observatory atop a skyscraper in mid-town Manhattan (at 580 Fifth Avenue) for the accurate measurement of sidereal time. On the top floor of the Observatory an expert mathematician took readings that were simultaneously recorded on a chronograph located in the lower floors of the building. There, the Setting and Timing units used the data to set the time on all of the company's timepieces in the most accurate way possible.

The company was also very innovative with its advertising and marketing. In 1926 Bulova sponsored the first nationally broadcast radio commercial, signaling the hour with 'At the tone, its 8 o'clock BULOVA time.' Again in 1941 Bulova proved itself as an advertising innovator when it ran the world's first TV commercial: a simple ad showing an outline of the United States with a superimposed Bulova clock and the caption 'America Runs on Bulova Time'. The ad appeared at the start of a broadcast of a Brooklyn Dodgers - Philadelphia Phillies game and the cost of the ad was $9.

Vintage Bulova Watches Serial Number 8332361

Accutron: The World's First Electronic Watch

Beginning in 1952, Bulova began exploring and developing technologies that would create the first revolutionary change in timekeeping technology in over 300 years: the Accutron. Using a vibrating tuning fork rather than an oscillating mechanical balance as its time reference allowed the Accutron to achieve unparalleled accuracy of +/- 2 seconds per day. In about 1958 at the behest of NASA, Bulova applied the Accutron technology to devices which could be used for precision timing on satellites. Engineers and scientists were unsure if a mechanical timekeeping device would work properly in zero-gravity, so it was desired to have both the reliability and accuracy of the electronic Accutron movement.

More than 4 million Accutron watches were produced until Bulova ceased production in 1977, due to the increased availability and popularity of inexpensive quartz movements from Japanese manufacturers. Most Accutrons were produced as wristwatches, but Bulova also produced an Accutron pocket watch for a brief period in the 1970's. The Accutron was the first wristwatch certified for general use by railroad personnel and was also used aboard Air Force One.

Accutron watches are still quite popular with collectors, but parts are getting harder and harder to find (especially those pesky Accutron index wheels). While the modern Bulova company still produces watches which are sold under the Accutron brand-name, these watches no longer use the original Accutron tuning-fork movement (most are using ETA automatic movements).

Bulova in Space

Bulova has a long history as an important part of the US Space program. Bulova first worked with NASA on timing devices for the Vanguard I satellite in 1958, and continued to collaborate with NASA for the next several decades. Bulova and Omega competed to be chosen by NASA as the watch Apollo astronauts would wear on missions to the moon. Ultimately, the Omega Speedmaster Professional was chosen, but Accutron movements were used in instrument panel clocks and other timing instruments on the spacecraft itself, and in experiment packages left on the surface of the moon. Bulova also flew aboard Skylab, providing special timers which were launched aboard Skylab in 1973.

Modern Bulova Watches

To the best of our knowledge, the Bulova brand is currently owned by Citizen who still produces watches under the Bulova name. These watches have no connection (other than brand name) to the mechanical watches produced by the original Bulova watch company.

Determine the Age of Your Bulova Watch:

In 1924, Bulova started using a system of date 'symbols' on their movements. These date symbols can be used to date pre-1950 Bulova watches. Though some Bulova watches have serial numbers on the movements, we do not know of a way to date a Bulova watch using the serial number.

Table of Bulova Date Symbols: 1924 - 1949

Marks indicating age of Bulova movements

Year	Date Symbol
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936

Year	Date Symbol
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946	46
1947	47
1948	48
1949	J9

Table of Bulova Date Codes: 1950 - 1999

After 1949, Bulova used a 2-digit date-code which was stamped on the case back (usually near the serial number) and sometimes also on the movement (usually near the set-screw).

The first digit indicates the decade and the second indicates the year.

For example, date code L5 = 1955, date code P2 = 1982.

How To Find Bulova Model Number: 11 Steps (with Pictures)

L	M	N	P	T
0	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990
1	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991
2	1952	1962	1972	1982	1992
3	1953	1963	1973	1983	1993
4	1954	1964	1974	1984	1994
5	1955	1965	1975	1985	1995
6	1956	1966	1976	1986	1996
7	1957	1967	1977	1987	1997
8	1958	1968	1978	1988	1998
9	1959	1969	1979	1989	1999

Are Old Bulova Watches Worth Anything

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