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Caravelle (Bulova) Full Hunter Skeleton Pocket Watch, 17 Jewels, circa 1980 — view 1 of 4
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Pocket Watches · Pocket watch

Caravelle (Bulova) Full Hunter Skeleton Pocket Watch, 17 Jewels, circa 1980

DocumentedDocumented from an auction catalogue; attribution as stated by the auction house.
Maker / attribution
Bulova (maker)
Date
c. 1980
Country of origin
United States
Object type
Pocket watch
Lot
Item 237139720
Credit line
Auction lot record: lot 172, EXCLUSIVE WATCHES AND POCKET WATCHES 13, Sphere Auctions LLC (2026), via LiveAuctioneers
Catalogue title (original)
Caravelle (Bulova) Full Hunter Skeleton Pocket Watch, 17 Jewels, Circa 1980 (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by LiveAuctioneers auction archive (lot Item 237139720), this is a pocket watch by Bulova, made in United States, dated c. 1980. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Pocket Watches collection. The record is illustrated with 4 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

Lot description — Sphere Auctions LLC

This is a Caravelle-branded pocket watch (Caravelle is Bulova's secondary brand), housed in a gold-tone full hunter case with relief-engraved hunting scenes on both covers — one depicting a hunter with hounds in a landscape, the other a running stag pursued by a mounted hunter and hound. Case diameter measures 48.05mm. The dial is a skeleton design signed "Caravelle, Swiss Made," with an exposed mechanical movement visible through a cutout, black and red Roman/24-hour markings, and blued steel hands. The movement is signed "Caravelle Watch, Seventeen 17 Jewels, Unadjusted," caliber 1241.50, Swiss. The interior front cover bears a personal engraved inscription dated 11-17-80: "To Jimmy, with love, Mitzi" — a period gift inscription rather than a maker's mark.This watch runs well.This is a vintage mechanical pocket watch and is sold as a collectible. The case is gold-tone base metal, not solid gold. It bears a prior owner's engraved inscription.

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz pocket watches and inexpensive novelty watches appeared, while traditional mechanical pocket watches survived mainly as collectibles and gifts.

Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

Atlas type guide

Hunter, half-hunter and open-face watches

In the nineteenth century the pocket watch case settled into a few standard forms. The hunter (French savonnette) has a hinged front lid protecting the crystal — reputedly for riders who could not risk broken glass — and is opened by pressing the crown or a push-piece. The half-hunter has a small window in the lid so the hands can be read when closed. The open-face (lépine) watch has no front cover, with the crown at 12; hunters normally carry the crown at 3.

Case types also changed with winding: key-wound watches gave way to keyless (stem-wound) mechanisms after Adrien Philippe's and others' designs of the 1840s, with pendant setting or lever setting.

What to look for

  • Crown position relative to the seconds dial: at 3 for hunters, at 12 for open-face watches.
  • Spring-loaded front cover with a push-piece in the pendant.
  • Half-hunter chapter ring enamelled on the lid.
  • Key holes in the inner dome (cuvette) versus keyless winding.

Dating clues

  • Keyless winding spread after c. 1850 and became standard by c. 1890.
  • English hallmarks inside gold and silver cases give the year of assay.

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.

Read next:Detached lever escapement

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