Dating your Bulova watch can be a useful first step in determining the model of your Bulova timepiece and in getting an idea about the potential value of your watch. In this article, we provide a list of Bulova date codes that can help you identify the year of your Bulova watch through its serial number, as well as some insights on how to date older vintage Bulova watches.
Searching Bulova watches by their serial number
Before diving into the adventure of dating your Bulova watch model, it's important to know that there isn't an universally-available dating system for all of the years that the brand has produced watches. Like many other watch manufacturers, Bulova have not thought of a long-lasting dating system from their beginnings.
Consequently, the watches that have been produced before 1949 have a different dating system than those produced from 1950 onwards. These different types of date codes will be illustrated below.
Where to find the date code/serial number on my Bulova watch?
In order to date your Bulova watch, you can use the serial number written either on the case back of your Bulova watch, either on the watch movement. See the two examples below:
The date code is often written on the movement of your Bulova watch when the timepiece was produced in earlier years. You will most-likely need a watch back opener to access the movement and read the serial number.
Proceed with care if you decide to open it, in order not to scratch the back of the watch or to damage the movement. Many old Bulova watches are gold-plated, so you need to be extremely careful not to damage the plating.
Dating a Bulova watch manufactured between 1925-1949
Bulova watches manufactured between 1925 and 1946 feature a symbol/drawing that indicates the year when the watch was made. From 1947 on, the dating is indicated through numbers and letters, as you can see in the table below:
Image credit: mybulova.com
As mentioned before, it is quite common for Bulova watches manufactured in the earlier years of the brand to have a date code or a symbol engraved on the movement, rather than on the back of the watch case, such as in the example below:
However, some of them can also have the symbol engraved on the case back, so make sure to inspect that part of the watch as well.
As you can see in the table above, some year symbols are identical, for example the one for 1925 and 1934, or the one for 1926 and 1935. For this reason, in order to find out the exact year your Bulova watch is from, you will need to do some more research (such as using Google Lens to find watch models similar to yours, or consulting a database of vintage Bulova watches). This will also be the case of the watch we featured above, since the triangle corresponds to 3 different years.
Another useful indicator, in the case of ladies Bulova watches, is that the models released between 1940 and 1949 feature one of the following letters in the serial number on the case back:
| 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 |
| A | B | C | D | E |
| 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
| F | G | H | I | J |
Dating a Bulova watch from 1950 onwards
If your Bulova watch model dates back to 1950 or a later year, you will be able to identify the year more easily. A date code formed by a letter and a digit should be engraved on the case back of your Bulova watch, indicating the exact year the watch is from.
In the table below, you can find all the year codes from 1950 to 2029. Here are some examples on how to read the year of your Bulova watch by using the date code:
L0 = 1950; M3 = 1963; A7 = 2007
Find the year of your Bulova watch below:
| L | M | N | P | |
| 0 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 |
| 1 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 |
| 2 | 1952 | 1962 | 1972 | 1982 |
| 3 | 1953 | 1963 | 1973 | 1983 |
| 4 | 1954 | 1964 | 1974 | 1984 |
| 5 | 1955 | 1965 | 1975 | 1985 |
| 6 | 1956 | 1966 | 1976 | 1986 |
| 7 | 1957 | 1967 | 1977 | 1987 |
| 8 | 1958 | 1968 | 1978 | 1988 |
| 9 | 1959 | 1969 | 1979 | 1989 |
| T | A | B | C | |
| 0 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 |
| 1 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
| 2 | 1992 | 2002 | 2012 | 2022 |
| 3 | 1993 | 2003 | 2013 | 2023 |
| 4 | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 | 2024 |
| 5 | 1995 | 2005 | 2015 | 2025 |
| 6 | 1996 | 2006 | 2016 | 2026 |
| 7 | 1997 | 2007 | 2017 | 2027 |
| 8 | 1998 | 2008 | 2018 | 2028 |
| 9 | 1999 | 2009 | 2019 | 2029 |
As an example, we have the ladies' Bulova watch below, for which we found two date codes: M1 engraved on the movement of the watch, and M2 engraved on the back of the case. Consequently, this model dates back to 1961-1962:
Wondering what's the value of your Bulova watch? Check out this article.
Determining the year of your Bulova watch through its design elements
It's important to remember that the design of your Bulova watch can say a lot about the time period when it was produced. If you only use the tables above, it's easy to make mistakes when dating your timepiece.
Let us give you an example. The watch below has the the code A9 engraved on the case back. Thus, is would be easy to assume that the piece was manufactured in 2009.
However, if you look at the design of the watch, you can tell that the timepiece is way older (it features very tiny and intricate design elements, the watch hands and numerals have a particular vintage style, etc.):
In order to accurately date this Bulova watch, we opened it and actually found a second serial number on the watch movement, indicating that it actually dates back to 1949 (J9):
Remember to be careful when opening a Bulova watch, especially a vintage one, and to use the proper tools not to damage your timepiece. If you're unsure how to do this at home, you can ask the help of a watchmaker. They may also be able to give you some insights on the approximate age of your Bulova watch, based on its design features or movement. Bulova watches have significantly changed throughout the years, from the Art Deco period, to the post-war era, and of course, from the quartz crisis until recent years.
Each timepiece tells a beautiful story, and we often find that the older the piece is, the more intricate and spectacular its design can be.
Did you manage to search and find the year of your Bulova watch by using its serial number? Let us know if you looked up the date code on your Bulova watch. And if so, what year is your timepiece from?
Vintage Bulova watches
If you're looking to add a delicate vintage Bulova wristwatch to your collection, we invite you to check out our vintage selection of watches by Bulova.
Our collection is home to Bulova watches from the 1930s until recent years, mechanical and quartz timepieces, restored with care and ready for a second chance.
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