Description: 1935 Hancock |
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Model Name |
Hancock |
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Case Date |
1935 |
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Case Serial |
589008 (outside case back) |
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Signature Locations |
Outside case, movement, dial |
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Case Signature Format |
"Bulova" |
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Movement |
10AN, 15 Jewels, Adjusted |
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Movement Date Code |
1935 |
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Case Material Description |
10K Rolled Gold Plate (white) |
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Case Dimensions |
35.5mm lug to lug x 25mm without crown |
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Case Type |
Single-hinged, tonneau |
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Crystal Specifications |
24.1mm x 19.0mm, hexagonal (G-S 462-15) |
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Other Details |
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NOTES: This watch, and all those very much like it, are getting increasingly difficult to identify. More and more advertisements showing variations of this same case—or simply different model names for the same case--are turning up, and crystal catalogs list quite a few models that take this same crystal but about which we have no other information. Below is an analysis of the ads, crystal data, and observed examples seen to-date.
Vintage Advertisements
- Hancock - unengraved bezel; white or yellow gold, fully indexed dial or fully numbered dial, 15 jewels, white dial, link bracelet (1933, 1935, 1936)
- Commander – engraved or unengraved bezel, yellow gold, fully numbered dial, 15 jewels, white dial, link bracelet (1936)
- Goldcraft - unengraved bezel; yellow gold, fully numbered dial, 15 jewels, white dial, link bracelet (1937)
- Cavalier – engraved bezel, yellow gold, fully numbered dial, 15 jewels, white dial, link bracelet (1936, 1938)
- Hudson – unengraved bezel, yellow gold, fully numbered dial, unspecified jewel count, white dial, leather strap (1936)
There is some overlapping of characteristics on that list. For example, the Hancock in yellow gold with a numbered dial matches the Goldcraft, the unengraved Commander, and, possibly, the Hudson. Also, the Cavalier and the engraved version of the Commander appear to be identical. The Hudson, Cavalier, and unengraved version of the Commander have so far only been found in retailer-created newspaper ads, so there may have been a mistake in one or more of those ads. Note also that the two ads we have for the Hudson do not provide a jewel count, and the Hudson is the only one of the models shown on a leather strap versus a metal link bracelet. Those factors could distinguish it from other models.
The only model specified as offered in white gold is the Hancock, which has only been seen with an unengraved bezel, but ads do show it with both a fully indexed and a fully numbered dial. No advertisements describe a two-tone case, but several examples of those have been seen.
The only jewel count mentioned in the ads for these watches is 15-jewels (either a 10AN or 10AE).
Crystal Data
Judging from the models on hand, this case takes a hexagonal crystal that measures 24.1mm x 19.0mm. G-S catalogs identify this crystal as H462-15. G-S Crystal Catalogs 1937 and 1943 list the following models as using that crystal:
- Clayton
- Duncan
- Edison
- Goldcraft
- Hancock
- Legion
I found no listings in crystal catalogs for the hexagonal Commander, Cavalier, or Hudson for this time period.
Observed Examples
- White gold, engraved case, 15 jewels, numbered dial (in this collection)
- White gold, unengraved case, 15 jewels, numbered dial (in this collection)
- Two-tone, unengraved case, 15 jewels, numbered dial (in this collection)
- Yellow gold, engraved case, 15 jewels, index dial (in this collection)
- Yellow gold, engraved case, 15 jewels, numbered dial
- Yellow gold, unengraved case, 15 jewels, index dial (in this collection)
- Yellow gold, unengraved case, 15 jewels, numbered dial
Two of the above examples have black dials. Those could be later re-dials, or black could have been the original color, as black was a popular dial variation in the mid-1930s. We do not, so far, have any ads showing this style of case with a black dial under any name.
1935 Hancock
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