If you remember America few decades ago, a simpler time in the world, you have an appreciation of the well-made, less-complicated, tools around us, and it brings back fond memories.
This very nice men's Caravelle by Bulova vintage 1966 is an excellent example of the world we have left behind
The chrome plated tonneau case surrounds a slightly aged silver dial complimented by silver stick hour, minute, and sweep second hands, raised silver numbers and markers, and gray outer chapter, all under a new bright crystal.
The reliable 7 jewel Japanese made movement, sets and winds as it should, is running well, and keeping good time.
It has a snap-down back and has been fitted with a period-correct stainless steel flex band that suits it perfectly.
STOCK CODE: C-4
History of
the Bulova Watch Company:
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 wrist watches, 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 them as 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.
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 side real 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.
Accutron: The World's First Electronic Watch
Beginning in 1952, Bulova began exploring and developing
technologies that would create the first revolutionary change in time keeping
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
fora 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.
We are Stonehenge Watch Company and have been selling vintage timepieces and new watches on the internet for over 17 years with hundreds of happy, satisfied, often repeat, customers.
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