This watch has a wonderful history...what is it?



Read the discussion forum at myBulova.com to find out.

hmmm...could be....

The Ambassador was the first men's wristwatch advertised by Bulova. The Ambassador appeared in Bulova ads from 1924 to 1930. The ad shown below is from 1929.

The myBulova website has some great vintage Bulova ads, see: http://www.mybulova.com/vintage-bulova-watch-ads

Oh I don't think that this particular model at the top of the forum is an Ambassador.

Sure looks like an Ambassador! 1926 Ad,
Bottom Left. Worn by Crockodile Dundee?

A few aspects that seperate this watch from that of the Ambassador.

1. This watch is rectangular, the Ambassador is very much a square watch.
2. The Ambassador in the ad above does not have a sub-second hand.
3. The Ambassador does also not have the sub portion of the 6 underneather the sub-second hand.

Stephen, is it fun yet?

1. The Bulova ads are the only data that I have available. The ads are very decieving as far as shapes & details go.

2. In 1924 this watch didn't have a name yet, but it had a number, 39744 & is as close as I can decipher the number. The 39744 watch (bottom center of the 1924 ad 1)appears to be the introduction of this watch,(ad wise)and is a rectangular shape with seconds sub-dial.

3. The 39744 watch appears again in 1924 ad 2 (top right)and is a rectangular shape with seconds sub-dial.

4. The 39744 appears again in 1924 ad 4 (top left).

5. The 39744 appears again, but with the Ambassador name in 1925 ad 1 (right column, left watch).

1924 Ad 2

1924 Ad 4

1925 Ad 1

After researching all the Bulova ads, I checked the Complete Guide to Watches and found an Ambassador on page 713 (top right)that had engraving on it. All examples except for the 1925 ad 1 depict the Ambassador as the only advertised Bulova with no engraving (slick bezel). I also found a Tonneau cased Ambassador with engraving on page 214. I appologize to Stephen Ollman because I misread the Bulova ads.
But it has turned out to be a real learning expierence for me, thank you. I am looking forward to the truth about about the mystery Bulova (slick bezel) shown in our initial discussion.

Attached is a picture of an Ambassador with the proper case.

Wayne, the reason I love vintage Bulova's soo much I think is because of the lack of information and the mystery that surrounds many of their 1920/30 and even 40's watches. It is in deed fun for me to try and identify a mystery Bulova watch. I've helped out a few people that contact me via the myBulova.com website and it's an imense pleasure when I can get it right.

I feel that this watch as you have shown above is certainly the watch we are trying to identify, but as you rightly say Bulova didn't start to name their watches until late 1925, using model numbers instead.



The problem is that the watch at the top of this forum has a 1926 date stamp and was presented to its owner in 1927.

Still nothing would surprise me about how Bulova re-used, re-issued and re-badged their watches during this period.

Stephen.

Anyway......

The history of this watch will be revealed very very soon....

If you are like me you're going to love it!

Stephen
myBulova.com

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The answer awaits..... click here

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^^
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Here's a similar two tone, wonder if that's an Ambassador as well?

Stephen, send that beauty over the pond to me. If I hold it for awhile I will be able to tell!

Wayne

The Bulova Ambassador is very much a square watch, the watch presented to CAL is rectangular in shape and more resembles that of the 'Bulova President'

Stephen
myBulova.com

Great find!

Sadly, is seems to prove that a Lone Eagle was not given to him at all. I say this is sad because I've seen SO much speculation over the years of what became of this "original" Lone Eagle, and whether it was in fact a 18K Conquerer or Lone Eagle at all. To me this seems to proove that all of the "hype" around the Lone Eagle was likely merely clever marketing and nothing more. For me, this makes the intrigue surrounding this important historical event a bit less interesting... and the Lone Eagle watches a LOT less interesting to collect.

A real "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" moment... and I kind of wish that you would have continued the legend rather than tell the truth.

Rick, whilst I totally agree that the legend aspect certainly makes the Lone Eagle model desirable, one of my main undertakings from the very start was to understand just how it was that Bulova were able to sell 5000 of these $50 watches in just 3 days back in 1927 and the importance of the event that took place which fuelled these unbelievable sales.

What I wrote in the article, whilst seems true enough, still does not answer all the questions...the main one for me being why did Bulova choose the Conqueror model to be rebadged as the Lone Eagle. What component triggered this? Also how was it that they were able to sell 5000 of these watches in the 3 days as claimed by Bulova.

Regardless of the actual watch Bulova presented to Lindbergh (and there may have been more than one) the fact still remains that the 1927 Corner Cut Bulova Lone Eagle is one of Bulova most famous watches and its attraction over the decades and that of the era still exists today.

I take great pride and joy wearing my 1927 Lone Eagle daily...to me its more than just a watch....it's a piece of history and I hope the interest in it never dies.

I still hope and believe that there is more to this story.

Stephen
myBulova.com

Stephen,

BUT if the same stories and ads that discuss how Lindbergh was given his Lone Eagle watch to celebrate his historic event are the EXACT same stories and ads that tell how 5,000 Lone Eagle watches were supposedly sold in 3 days... might we infer that perhaps it is ALL just PR hype and simply not true?

It could be as simple as this model was chosen because it allowed the most profit? Or perhaps it was chosen because they were overstocked? Or perhaps the early 18K version had set a value for the design and the entire event allowed a bit of sleight of hand/bait and switch to downgrade the prior solid gold case to a cheaper filled model?

A side note, I also wonder if the 18K version might have only been available in Europe because this was far less common in the US? Have you located specific American ads where the Lone Eagle or Conquerer were offered in 18K?

I have enjoyed following this story along.

This is probably old news for you Lindbergh Bulova folks but I thought I would post it anyway.

It is from June 12, 1927 Syracuse Herald.