Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Bulova Royal Oak Automatic, 1980s
- Maker / attribution
- Bulova (maker)
- Date
- 1980s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- United States
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 35 mm
- Stock no.
- Product 7266847293623
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Huntington Company (product 7266847293623)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1980s Bulova Royal Oak Automatic With Box and Papers (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Huntington Company (dealer) (stock number Product 7266847293623), this is a wristwatch by Bulova, made in United States, dated 1980s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 35 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 — Huntington Company
Description Year: Circa 1980s Model: Royal Oak Case Diameter:35mm Lug to Lug: 44mm Case: Two-tone Case Condition: No significant wear as seen Dial: Good condition Movement: Automatic Wound
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
Automatic (self-winding) watches
Self-winding watches use the wearer's motion to wind the mainspring. Abraham-Louis Perrelet and Breguet made 'perpétuelle' pocket watches with oscillating weights in the late eighteenth century, but the principle only became practical in the wristwatch. John Harwood patented a bumper automatic in 1923; Rolex's Perpetual rotor (1931) winding in one direction, and later bidirectional rotors (Eterna, Felsa Bidynator), established the modern form. Micro-rotors (Universal Genève, Buren) and peripheral rotors made automatic watches thinner.
What to look for
- A semicircular rotor turning 360° over the movement, or a 'bumper' weight that rebounds between springs.
- 'Automatic', 'Perpetual' or 'Self-winding' on the dial.
- A sealed screw-back case, since automatic watches are wound less often by the crown.
Dating clues
- Bumper automatics: 1923–c. 1955.
- Full rotors: from 1931 (Rolex); widespread after c. 1950.
- Micro-rotors: from 1954–1958.
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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