Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Bulova A-17 'Civilian', 1950s
- Maker / attribution
- Bulova (maker)
- Date
- 1950s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- United States
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 32 mm
- Stock no.
- 40992955
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40992955)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Bulova A-17 'Civilian' (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40992955), this is a wristwatch by Bulova, made in United States, dated 1950s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 32 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Analog/Shift
The story of Bulova is deeply entwined with American manufacturing. Its founder, a Czech immigrant named Joseph Bulova, was inspired by the advances that Ford made in his factory in Highland Park, Michigan. Starting in 1912, Bulova built a factory in Biel, Switzerland, using Ford’s principles of mass production. The brand was among the first to offer a wide range of wristwatches for men, with a distinctive visual style that—thanks to its innovative adoption of advertising and a relocation to Astoria, Queens—became fixed in the American imagination. Bulova took over offices in the Empire State Building and installed an observatory on the roof, in order to measure universal time. In the workshop down below, watchmakers timed the watches they were working on to readings taken in the observatory. The watches that Bulova produced were varied, from handsome three-handers to divers and even chronographs. This particular piece, a Reference A-17 dates to the 1950s. The A-17 was produced for the US military initially, this piece a 'civilian' example. Measuring in at 32mm and sporting a 10BNCH manually wound movement, this piece has a classic military aesthetic with a beautiful charcoal dial with incredibly legible indexes in excellent condition. Whether you're a seasoned collector or just getting started, it's hard to go wrong with a timelessly designed manually-wound watch with a military history. And lets face it, wearing a nearly 100 year-old watch is just cool.
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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