Bulova 23J automatic (self-winding) with day and date wrist watch, mint flat black dial with white Harley Davidson motorcycle advertising on lower half and 2 diamonds at 12 and 6, heavy silver steel baton-style hands with black enamel inserts, unusual oval shaped stainless steel (SS) water resistant case with brushed finish and heavy extended lugs, black leather band with textured finish. While this watch looks to be running a bit sluggish, which is expected as it has been in storage for some time and could use a cleaning, the larger problem is that the day and date disks continually slip. We feel that either the wrong disks were used at some point, or that the current disks are simply worn and are due for a replacement. An exceptionally attractive watch in excellent+ condition, sold as-is.
- Age Description:
02Vintage (1940-1980)
- Company:
Bulova
- Jewels: 0523J
- Setting/Movement Type:
self-wind (automatic)
- Movement Details: date display, day display
- Dial Details: Harley Davidson advertising, diamond markers
- Hand Style:
baton - heavy
- Case Style:
oval
-
Case Material:
Stainless Steel
- Case Details: water resistant (WR)
-
Case Thickness:
10mm (0.39 inches)
-
Interior Lug Width:
18mm
(11/16")
- Band Material: leather strap
- Condition:
As-Is
-
Gender:
Gentlemen's
This watch is in our Mechanic's Special section because we consider it to have serious cosmetic or mechanical problems that are currently cost prohibitive to repair in-house, but the watch itself is of a high enough quality that it may be of interest as a repair project for some of our customers. Please read the Full Description, where we attempt to note the specific flaws or problems with the watch. In many cases, these problems do result in the watch not running, winding, or setting properly as is.
With that in mind, we do NOT offer our standard 30-day return on any Mechanic's Special items.
On these items, all sales are AS IS and FINAL.
On all but a few of the advertising logos, mainly Packard from the Hamilton company and Studebaker from South Bend, the logos would have been commissioned through a professional dial company after they left the factory to have the logo applied. For instance, a car dealership might have them added as a promotion, a motorcycle club would have ones done for each of their members, etc.
On the watch/logo combinations that may not match up on a timeline (the watch was made prior to the automobile company being formed, for instance), what we understand could have happened is, say for a car club, the members would need to provide their own watch to which the emblems would be added. Someone might have wanted a Harley logo on "Grandpa Bob's" old pocket watch, and would have had the dial pulled from that. Other than the Packard/Hamilton & Studebaker/South Bend arrangements, it was a free-for-all on the pairings and you could find just about any combination of manufacturer with the different logos.
We do also have a pretty good selection of the vintage dials that have emblems on them, but that are not attached to a watch yet. Often in the past, a customer would want a watch without the advertising, so we would just pull the printed dial and replace it with a similar-style plain dial, then set the printed one aside. If you have something specific you are looking for, please
drop us a note to see if we have anything in our stock that might work for you.
And, if you are interested in this watch without the current advertising dial, please
drop us a note as well. On wrist watches, we can give you a quote on what the current charge to re-finish the dial would be (typically it will run $35 to $75 depending on the dial style). On American-make pocket watches, we may have a replacement dial in stock and could exchange the current dial with an unmarked dial for a small fee. Most European-make watches would need to have the dial refinished to remove the emblem.
Unlike modern quartz watches, most vintage watches need daily winding in order to keep the watch functioning for timekeeping. Additionally, there are a number of different ways to set the time other than simply pulling the crown away from the watch body. We are happy to provide an overview of each of the different setting types on our
"How To Use" page, where we also provide information on proper winding techniques for each style and some suggestions for the proper long term care and storage of your watch.
For your gift giving convenience, please find a consolidated overview of the information on this item, with no reference to the price, on this
printer-optimized page.
