The History of Bulova Watches: While Bulova may not be as well respected to seasoned collectors as some other manufacturers, they have a history which extends even beyond our planet! So, let’s step back in time to 19th Century New York City and learn about the history of Bulova watches. Bulova’s Beginnings: Joseph Bulova was a Czech immigrant who was only 23 years old when he originally founded Bulova. Initially Bulova was a modest jeweler store located on Maiden Lane in New York City, but by 1911 Bulova was manufacturing clocks and pocket watches which were selling in huge quantities. As he was having such success with his clocks and watches, Joseph Bulova launched a plant dedicated to producing Bulova watches in Switzerland. This plant produced watches at a level of standardized mass production which had never been seen before in the watch industry. 1875 Joseph Bulova, a 23-year-old Czech immigrant, opens a small jewelry shop on Maiden Lane in New York City. 1911 Bulova begins manufacturing and selling boudoir and table clocks as well as fine pocket watches. These pieces are sold in unprecedented numbers. 1912 Bulova sets up its first plant dedicated to the production of watch components and their assembly into jeweled movements in Bienne, Switzerland. 1919 During World War I, the convenience of wristwatches (as opposed to pocket watches) is discovered. In 1919 Bulova introduces the first full line of men's jeweled wristwatches. 1923 The name Bulova Watch Company, Inc. is adopted. Bulova perfects a new concept in the watch industry with total standardization of parts. Every part of a Bulova watch is made with such precision (standardized to the ten thousandth part of an inch) that it is interchangeable with the same part in any other Bulova watch. This revolutionizes the servicing of watches in the industry. 1924 Bulova unveils the first full line of ladies' watches, including diamond accented pieces. 1926 Bulova produces the nation's first ever radio spot commercial, "At the tone, its 8 PM, B-U-L-O-V-A Bulova watch time." 1927 In honor of Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic solo flight from New York to Paris, Bulova ships 5,000 Lone Eagle watches, packaged with pictures of Lindbergh. The supply is sold out within three days. During the next few years Bulova sells nearly 50,000 of these commemorative watches. 1927 is also the year Bulova Watch Company goes public on the American Stock Exchange. Bulova Watches Industry Firsts: Bulova were not just ahead of the game in terms of mass production of watches, they were also ahead of the game in other areas. They introduced the first complete line of jeweled wristwatches for men, then the first line of wristwatches for ladies, then the first line of diamond wristwatches. These 'firsts' helped ensure that Bulova were one of the biggest American watch manufacturers of the day. They were especially ahead of the game when it came to advertising. This started in 1926 when they ran their first national radio advertising campaign which featured the slogan “At the tone, it’s 8 p.m., B-U-L-O-V-A Bulova watch time.” Only five years later Bulova watches launched the industry’s first ever million-dollar advertising campaign, followed ten years later by the world’s first television commercial. The commercial aired before a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game which proudly proclaimed that “America runs on Bulova time!” 1931 Bulova conducts the watch industry's first ever million-dollar advertising campaign. Throughout the Depression years, Bulova supports retailers by offering Bulova watches to buyers on time-payment plans. 1935 Joseph Bulova, founder of Bulova Watch Company, dies. Bulova in World War II: Bulova were involved heavily in military manufacturing during the Second World War, mainly in terms of producing high precision military watches. Their mass production facilities were used for other purposes as well, producing many other mechanisms for the war effort. Near the end of the war they opened the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking which helped war veterans learn a trade for their return to civilian life. As the war ended Bulova were one of the most famous watchmakers in the United States. Within 10 years of the end of World War II sales had reached $80M per year and in the US if you didn’t already own a Bulova – you knew about them! 1941 Continuing its tradition of advertising firsts, Bulova airs the first television commercial: a simple picture of a clock and a map of the United States, with a voice-over proclaiming, "America runs on Bulova time." 1941 also marks the year that the Bulova Board of Directors adopts a resolution to manufacture products for national defense at actual cost. Throughout World War II, having perfected the skill of creating precision timepieces, Arde Bulova, Joseph's son, works with the U.S. government to produce military watches, specialized timepieces, aircraft instruments, critical torpedo mechanisms and fuses. 1945 The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking opens its doors to help disabled veterans learn watchmaking skills. 1948 Bulova begins developing the Photo timer, a unique combination of photo-finish camera and precision electronic timing instrument. 1950's Bulova develops a dating system for their watches. A letter followed by a number indicates the year of manufacture. L4=1954, M7=1967, N2=1972 and so on. The Bulova Accutron Range: One of the watch ranges which Bulova are most known for is their Accutron range. They used a tuning fork instead of a balance wheel as the timekeeping element which made them ultra-precise at a time before quartz watches. This technology pushed them to the cutting edge of the watchmaking world for most of the 1960’s. Unfortunately for Bulova, by the end of the 1960’s Japanese manufacturer Seiko brought the first quartz wristwatch – the Astron – to the market allowing them to make cheaper watches which were more precise. The Accutron was still a popular range during the 1970’s, especially with the release of the Spaceview Accutron. The Spaceview Accutron was one of the first mass produced visible movement watches, which came about by accident! The original idea was for these to be special display models of Bulova watches which would only be used by sales reps. The thinking was that by showing the inner workings of the watch the sales reps could impress the customers with the amazing timekeeping technology. After some of these visible movement watches were used in advertisements and by sales reps, customers started asking to buy them. Not one to let down their customers, Bulova started producing versions of these watches for customers, which were incredibly popular until production stopped in 1977. 1952 Bulova begins developing Accutron, the first breakthrough in timekeeping technology in over 300 years. Accutron, the first fully electronic watch, promises to keep time to within 2 seconds a day. 1953 Recognizing a new trend in the watch industry, the self-winding and shock-proof watch, Bulova adds more of this type of watch to its line. Also added this year is the Bulova Wrist-Alarm, an entirely new kind of watch. 1954 Bulova introduces the "Bulova 23," a self-winding, waterproof, 23-jewel watch with an unbreakable mainspring, made entirely in the United States. 1955 An A.C. Neilson Co. Survey reveals that Americans see more national advertising for Bulova products than for any other products, in any other industry, in the world. 1956 Bulova completes negotiations to co-sponsor the Jackie Gleason Show, a one-hour live television show airing Saturday night from eight to nine o'clock. This is the first time in history that any watch or jewelry allied industry has made a sponsorship commitment of such magnitude. 1959 Bulova offers an unprecedented 1-year warranty on all of its clock radios. The Wristwatch Space Race: As well as the well known the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, there was another space race which also took place in the 60’s – between Bulova watches and Omega Watches. Unfortunately for Bulova, it was Omega who managed to secure the rights to produce the official space watch. But the story doesn’t end there. All the timekeeping mechanisms the first spacecraft to reach the moon were Bulova Accutrons, which were also used in 46 NASA missions. In fact, the United States government thought the technology in Accutron 214 movements were so important that they delayed Bulova’s commercial release of the movement to ensure the Soviet Union did not get their hands on it. The story took another twist in 1971 as, despite not being the official NASA watch, a Bulova watch did manage to make it onto the wrist of an astronaut on the moon. The mission commander of Apollo 15’s Omega watch was broken so he used his personal Bulova Chronograph for the mission. This watch managed to sell for $1.6 million at an auction in 2015. Thanks to the media coverage of this device, Bulova released a re-issued version of this chronograph which was unveiled at Baselworld 2016. 1960 NASA asks Bulova to incorporate Accutron into its computers for the space program. Bulova timing mechanisms eventually become an integral part of 46 missions of the U.S. Space Program. Also, in 1960, Bulova reintroduces its redeveloped Photo timer clock, improved with updated photographic and electronic technologies. It features an infrared sensing element patterned after those used on heat-seeking missiles. Mounted on the starter's pistol, the Photo timer senses the flash of the gun and starts a timer clock at the same instant that the runners leave their marks. 1961 Accutron, the first watch to keep time through electronics, is introduced. It is the most spectacular breakthrough in timekeeping since the invention of the wrist watch. This revolutionary timekeeping concept of a watch without springs or escapement is operated by an electronically activated tuning fork. The Accutron watch goes on to become a presidential gift to world leaders and other dignitaries. President Johnson declares it the White House's official "Gift of State." 1962 The Accutron Tuning-fork watch becomes the first wristwatch certified for use by railroad personnel. 1962 is also the year that Bulova introduces its Caravelle line of jeweled watches. Designed to retail at $10.95 to $29.95, Caravelle competes with non-jeweled watches in the same price range. 1967 Accutron clocks are the only clocks aboard Air Force One. 1968 The Bulova Satellite Clock, the world's first public clock to display time controlled by time signals broadcast by orbiting satellites, is inaugurated by Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, President of Mexico. The clock is installed atop the Torre Latino Americana, Mexico's tallest skyscraper. 1968 also marks the year that Caravelle becomes the largest selling jeweled-movement watch in the United States. 1969 An Accutron watch movement is part of the equipment placed on the moon by Apollo 11 astronauts, the first men on the moon. A Bulova timer is placed in the moon's "Sea of Tranquility" to control the transmissions of vital data through the years. Bulova Watches Today: Bulova watches continued to be popular throughout the 1970’s, despite issues in the boardroom. The company became a part of the Loews Corporation in 1979 with the hope that this would help bring some stability to the company. Unfortunately, things weren’t all that plain sailing in the 1980’s with the company reporting massive losses. The 1990’s did not start too promisingly either, with the company facing fierce competition from international companies. The famous brand name still held sway with customers and this helped the company increase their profits. The brand continued to grow throughout the rest of the 90’s and into the 21st Century. In 2008 Citizen bought the Bulova Watch Company, making Citizen the largest watch company in the world. Shortly afterwards Bulova watches brought to the market a high precision quartz watch called the Precisionist which sported a beautiful sweeping hand. They also became the official timekeeper for Manchester United in 2013, producing incredible watches for the world-famous football club. Bulova are a brand with a great history who continue to innovate and differentiate themselves from the competition. What’s next for Bulova is hard to tell, but their next innovation is never far away and we’re looking forward to seeing what it is! Present: Bulova today is owned by CITIZEN CORP. They are still making excellent mid-priced watches. Comments are closed.
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Old Time WatchesI enjoy collecting mechanical (manual wind and automatic) and early electric and quartz timepieces. I take great pleasure in researching and writing about the companies and people that created these beautiful watches. PF
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