
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Bulova Caravelle Worldtimer, 1969
- Maker / attribution
- Bulova (maker)
- Date
- 1969
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- United States
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- BLVCRVWT-2
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (BLVCRVWT-2)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1969 Bulova Caravelle Worldtimer (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number BLVCRVWT-2), this is a wristwatch by Bulova, made in United States, dated 1969. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. 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 — Craft & Tailored
The vintage Bulova obsession in the watch community is very real and here to stay! The unique and funky watches that Bulova made from the 60s-80s are always a cause for conversation. Ranging from colorful diving chronographs to eccentric electric watches like the famous Accutron. This Caravelle hosts a particularly exciting world-time black bezel, which rotates bi-directionally and features 19 different cities from across the globe, written in contrasting silver and orange font. A must for any world traveler! SPECS Stock # BLVCRVWT-2 Brand Bulova Style Caravelle Model Worldtimer Serial M9 Size Men's Material Chromium Plated Brass Dial Silver Millimeters 37 Bracelet 2pc Handmade Leather Strap CASE & BRACELET The wonderful chromium-plated brass case is believed to remain unpolished and displays significant signs of use throughout with the brass beginning to show in some areas on the underside of the case. The original bezel is in excellent condition, showing no major signs of use or fading. The case retains its original chromium-plated brass crown though most of the chromium has worn off. The unpolished case back retains all of its original factory markings in deep and crisp condition. DIAL & HANDS The original silver sunburst dial is very well preserved, displaying no blemishes or major signs of age. The tritium lume plots all remain intact and have taken on a handsome dark ivory patina and exhibit only minor degradation in some of the plots when inspected under U.V. light. The original tritium-tipped hands have taken on a yellow patina and show some light degradation at the tips. ACCESSORIES The watch is keeping time and functioning perfectly, previous service history is unknown.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Military, pilot and travel watches
The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.
In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.
What to look for
- Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
- High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
- 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
- Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
- Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
- GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.
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.
Related records
Wristwatches · c. 1969
Bulova 'Accutron' tuning-fork wristwatch by Bulova
Royal Museums Greenwich
Wristwatches · c. 1965
Wristwatch Accutron by Knud Geelmuyden Bull
Royal Museums Greenwich
Clocks · c. 1960s
Bulova wall clock, Lighted Advertising Wall Clock for Robert Schenck Jeweler, circa 1960s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · 1963
Bulova wristwatch, ref. 314, Diver Super Compressor, 1963
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · 1949–1992
Timex `Electric' wristwatch, with electrically operated balance wheel mechanism, United States, 1949–1992
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1972
Wristwatch by Hamilton Watch Company and Electro-Data Inc, United States, 1972
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1973–1974
Quartz watch with liquid crystal digital display, made by American Microsystems Inc. (AMI) . 1973/74
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · c. 1973
Wristwatch by Josef Bulova, United States, c. 1973
German Clock Museum
