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The last year or so has shown collectors to not underestimate the enjoyment they can get from smaller watches. Go back 15 years ago, watches had to be above 39mm for collectors to enjoy. Noses were sometimes turned up at watches below the 39mm mark, let alone below the 35mm mark. But as the collecting community has grown, so to has the appreciation for smaller-sized watches.
The 1950’s was a great era in watchmaking and an era that collectors have turned to as they continue to appreciate vintage watches, especially those of smaller case sizes. Bulova, one very popular brand during this era, did things well. For those who do not know, Bulova is an American watch manufacturing founded in 1875 by Joseph Bulova in New York City. They began their operations in New York’s Maiden Lane and in 1912, began manufacturing watches at their factory in Biel, Switzerland.
A very big part of Bulova’s history was their advertising. They began their advertising campaign’s in the Saturday Evening Post in 1922 and even produced the first advertisement broadcast on radio in 1926. They produced many popular models, including the Accutron and Computron. The Ashford, which later was referred to as the Jordan, is another example.
The example today is a great representation of what the brand produced. This Bulova was manufactured in 1950. The watch has a 10k rolled gold case that is 29mm in diameter. There is some wear on the top of the lugs and caseback. Now knowing collectors, many would stop thinking about this model right away. 29mm? Way too small no? Well, a distinctive part of this watch are its lugs. The watch features very unique knotted lugs at the four corners of the case. It also has the traditional straight lugs that attach to the knots, that flair out towards the strap. They are quite long, and curve very nicely towards the wrist making it sit comfortably.
The watch features a cream, pie-pan dial with applied gold hour markers. The patina on the dial is even and a beautiful hue that takes one back to the 1950’s. The gold hour markers match the sword hands nicely and the printed 3, 6, 9, and 12 hour markers stand out in their black text.
Based on databases that can be found online for historical Bulova pieces, it appears the Ashford was launched in 1948. Below you will see a nice advertisement for this watch during the era.
From 1948 to 1952 the watch can be seen in a variety of advertisements with the same name and was an extremely popular model during this era. Given the uniqueness of the design and the relative ease and wearability, no wonder the model was popular. But, in 1953, it appears the model was renamed to the “Jordan”. It is difficult to identify why the model was renamed. There are many theories as to why the watch was renamed, or why there are two names for this specific model. Some argue that Bulova renamed the watch to try and generate a resurgence of interest in the model. Others feel that whether the watch came on a bracelet or strap played a part in the naming of the model.
There are additional theories that state that the name change was connected with the ascension of His Majesty Hussein I, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to the throne. He was gifted a limited edition clock and so the model was named after him. This would obviously be a marketing play that a brand might have thought through to sell additional units. It is worth adding that apparently this was documented in the 1951 Annual Report from Bulova so there is some substance to this theory.
The watch runs on the caliber 10BC manual wind movement. The movement was made from 1944 to 1951 and is based on the AS 1200. The movement has the import code BXW on the balance wheel bridge. This was the import code used by Bulova to import movements from their factories in Biel, Switzerland to the USA market. They were then combined with their cases and sold to end users. The movement is attractive, well manufactured and a workhorse of a movement.
Looking at the caseback, one can see the serial number as well as “LO” indicating its production in 1950. Additionally, on the inside of the caseback, one can see “Bulova Fifth Ave New York” printed. This obvious indicates that location of the Bulova company during this time.
Enjoy!
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