Hi. i cannot find a serial number. Watch was purchased off eBay Australia for Aud $299 Seller does not know anything about heritage. I have done numerous Google and reverse image to no avail. Whale symbol indicates Sea King but it is unlike any models I have seen. It looks like a 1953 submariner homage to my untrained eye. Is it a Frankenwatch 😩
In reply to Does it say N-17 on the… by mybulova_admin
Thanks. It does say N17 and also Hong Kong inside (but N7 on outside). I picked it up from post office today and its tiny at 35mm but it looks and wears fantastic. The bezel is bidirectional with no clicking but turns smoothly.
I'm happy with what I paid and it has led me down the whole Sea King path with the whale symbol. I bought it from Ebay Australia person but they could give no information of its providence. The mechanism seems to date from 1977/78 based on the info from your site. Perhaps its a well done Mumbai restoration of dial and hands but the bezel has me stumped on Sea Kings of this era. Have never seen one in a dive style bezel and that blue colour. I did google reverse image searches as well and nothing close. So far it is running well and has kept time for at least 3 hours since I picked it up.
Cheers Michael
I have to lean towards this one being put together with various parts. The whale symbol was seen around 1970, and with the case being 1977 the dial would not match. The seconds hand is also rather short and should extend to the outer track. Unfortunately, the books do not list this case number, which would allow us to know the movement model that should match. 1977 is a stretch for the the 11AOACB, which by the way, is a day/date movement, and this watch clearly does not have those windows.
Non-conforming
In reply to I have to lean towards this… by Andersok
Thanks for looking at it. Not as disappointed as I thought I would be as it seems to run well and it is a unique watch. I'll just call it a Bulova modded. Re the short 2nds hand. It sort of works on that dial due to the crosshairs so the seconds hand sweeps just under the hour markers.
cheers - Michael
In reply to Michael, I've looked a… by Geoff Baker
Thanks. i did see one with a bezel (sort of like the vostok bezels) with this movement and it had a day/date function which goes with comments about wrong movement. Using magnifying glass i can see middle hand has been repainted but not well. The good part is I have been wearing it on and off for about 70 hours and it is still very accurate for an old mechanical watch. Its still a keeper for me. Thanks to those looking into it. Its an interesting journey.
Its a Sea King with a Case of unknown origins although the inside spacer around the movement looks to be a good fit. Movement needs to be tight. Sea King cases are wonderful, somebody probably scrapped for gold content the original case. I have several pristine Sea King cases that would work but I'm in the USA. I would get rid of that case and find a empty Sea King case of the same era. Before Hong Kong, look for Swiss and West German cases. If you adapt to a Sea King case then you get back to a conforming watch. JV - Time & Again
In reply to Its a Sea King with a Case… by JEV1A
Hi - thanks for the reply. I have come to reconcile the fact it is a frankenwatch. I'm not as upset as I thought I would be. I really like the case and the dial which is what seems to be the fake parts. The movement is very accurate for a mechanical movement that is 45 years old. I have decided to leave it as is and search out another Sea King that is original. I thank you for your information and its been much appreciated. Knowing what you do what model of Sea King in the vintage range would you suggest be a good one to look out for. My birth year is 1963 and so far no Sea Kings from then have come up for sale.
cheers