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Vintage Early

Bulova Mens Watches: An Ageless Timepiece For The USA

Who has not heard of Bulova mens watch? Adorning the wrists of men and women around the world, the Bulova brand is well recognized and very well respected. Over the years it has developed several different styles, each with its own brand name and own personality.

In the early days, pocket watches were used by both the professional working man and the laborer. Women wore simple watch pins that adorned their blouses. Wristwatches were new and considered avant-garde and worn only by the elites. It would not be until World War I that the wristwatch became an object of everyday use and worn by men, women, and even children.

Between the years of 1875 and 1920, Joseph Bulova devoted himself to designing new styles of clocks and watches. He developed new mechanisms that would provide more accurate timekeeping, down to one-thousandth of a second. He was not satisfied with the beauty of the watch exteriors, but worked to create the most accurate timekeeping mechanisms known to man.

In 1923 the company introduced and perfected a revolutionary concept in the industry: complete standardization of parts. From then on, every Bulova watch was made with such precision (standardized to ten thousandth of an inch) that it is interchangeable with the same part in other Bulova watches. This is a revolution in the watch servicing industry.

Other firsts include the introduction of the first clock radio in 1928. In 1929 they re-engineered how automobile clocks were made and installed. In 1924, Bulova was the first watch company to introduce a line of women’s watches, including diamond-encrusted styles. By now, more Americans were wearing Bulova watches than any other watch brand.

The “Lone Eagle”, a special commemorative men’s watch designed for the Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight was snatched up as soon as they hit the ground. Five thousand watches were sold in three days! So fond of the Bulova was Charles Lindbergh, that he appeared in much of their print advertising for several years.

The Bulova Watch Company has worked closely with the US Government to produce timekeeping and precision instruments for the Army at cost, making no profit during World War II. A resolution was passed by the President, Arde Bulova, son of Joseph Bulova, in 1941, to sell products for national defense at actual cost. They designed and manufactured watches for the military, as well as critical torpedo mechanisms and fuses.

At the end of the war, the company opened the Joseph Bulova School of Watch Making in New York. Here disabled veterans would learn the skills of watch making. The building was specially designed to accommodate wheelchairs and those with disabilities, including automatic doors and extra wide aisles. After graduating from the school, employment was assured with over 1,500 positions pledged by American jewelers.

How many watch brands have visited the moon? Bulova’s first electronic timekeeping mechanism based on tuning forks, was an integral part of the U. S. Space program in the later years of the 1950′s until the first moon walk of 1969. NASA was unsure of how traditional mechanical watch movements would work in low to zero gravity environments, so they found an alternate in the Bulova Accutron. All instrument panel clocks and time-keeping mechanisms in NASA spacecraft, including the Moon Rover, were provided by Bulova.

The story of mens Bulova watches is the story of America. From the imagination and hands of a poor immigrant from Bohemia, came beauty and craftsmanship, endurance, and practicality. Joseph Bulova changed the way Americans kept time.