Bought this one minus the band in a jewelry box random lot at an estate sale. Didn't think much of it as it has "Bulova Movement" on the face. I figured it was a no-name with a bulova movement. Much to my surprize, when I opened it up, I found a 1931 dated movement and "Pat.Jan.11,1927 Bulova 14K Gold Filled New York" on the inside of the caseback, along with a 1930 serial number and a multitude of jeweler marks.
White gold case has intricate engraving and inlaid black enamel in the corners of the front. Crystal and case show literally no wear; even after I opened it, I had a hard time accepting the fact it was 87 years old. All I could think was "where have you been hiding?" Band is a NOS "Lance Quality" from my archive of period bands and a near perfect fit.
Movement is dirty but appears to have a sound balance and hairspring, and is apparently missing the celluloid inner movement cover.
Face has raised gold numerals, Is this an original Bulova that was redialed? Dates on movement and case would say it's good and not a replacement movement.
In reply to The case looks like the by Daca102090
Good call, I think you nailed it. Re-dialed Franklin. Based on the overall exterior / interior condition, I will speculate the face and hands replacement was an owner upgrade to update the look of the watch when styles changed away from the "dated" look of 20's and early 30's watches. That seems more plausible to me than the watch suffering some catastrophic damage and needing a total rebuild.
An odd combination here. Case is a Franklin, s/n dated to 1930 in very nice condition, movement date coded to 1931 yet the dial and hands are aftermarket, probably the 1950's. I'm leaning to Non-Conforming on account of the dial/hands although we could note is a Franklin with non standard dial. My preference is the former.
In reply to An odd combination here. Case by Geoff Baker
Hey Geoff, I just revisited the inside of this watch. Thanks for the movement date correction, my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. 31 shield and not 29 shield. Watch is nowhere near as nice as the beauty you posted; but hey, can't have everything . My "Wayback Machine" is on the fritz. Sherman and Peabody are working to correct it for me but are having a hard time finding a replacement flux capacitor.. Do me a favor and see if you can get me a correct dial and hands the next time you time travel back to the 30's on a buying trip.
Well we could call it a Non Conforming and note that the case appears to be a Franklin, or call it a Franklin and note that the hands and dial are NC. In this case, I think NC best describes the watch, with the info to show the case being a match with Franklin.
NC for me.