The Bulova Excellency Series
The Excellency series is one of Bulova's most extensive and successful lines of watches, and it is also the most well-documented via available vintage advertisements. It is a line that changed and evolved over the decades. So, to fully understand this series, one must study all of its different iterations and the numerous changes that occurred in the line through the years. It is not a series that fits one particular profile (e.g., a particular jewel count or case/dial style). Instead, the Excellencies took at least three--and probably four--different formats during their life span. Three of those four profiles are well supported by vintage advertisements, which are discussed and presented in this article. The fourth, and last, iteration is still theoretical but evidence is growing in support of it.
Although we tend to think of the Excellency line as starting in 1947, the first His Excellency actually premiered in 1939. It was at some point joined by an equally elegant Her Excellency. Those original models were made in solid 14K and platinum and encrusted with diamonds, as shown in the following advertisements from 1939 through 1941:
We have only a few ads showing the Excellency line between 1939 and 1947, when it became a significant line of watches. In 1946, the ads refer to "The Excellency Group", but the watches in that group still had individual model names, such as Tuxedo, Princeton, Ambassador, Director, Treasurer, and Statesman. By 1947, most of those individual names were dropped in favor of the Excellency name, typically followed by a variant designation, such as His Excellency "A" or "AA". Eventually, the late 1940s Excellency series included four different model series--His Excellency, Her Excellency, Lady Excellency, and Miss Excellency.
Below are images of the 1946 "His Excellency Group" advertisements showing some of the known models that changed from individual names to His Excellency models later in 1947.
The late 1940s Excellency line, which is known for its 21-jewel movement and wide variety of case and dial styles, remained in vogue in both men's and women's models until the early 1950s, after which time it appears to have faded to the background, or stopped altogether, while other lines, such as Bulova's first line of automatics and the very popular Academy Award series--also a 21-jewel line--took the lead. A review of crystal catalogs and available vintage advertisements suggests that the men's and women's Excellencies each ran through the alphabet twice with variant names, starting with "A" and ending with "ZZ". Thus, there were likely 52 different watches in each of the men's and ladies' lines. The Excellency watches are seen with and without "Excellency" on the dial, but the use of that word on the dial is exclusive to the Excellency line.
Toward the end of the 1950s, the Excellency line re-emerged with a 23-jewel movement and, apparently, only as a men's model. Upon its return in the late 1950s, the model names started over with a new version of the His Excellency "A", "B", etc. The late 1950s line does not appear to have been nearly as extensive as the earlier series. To date, all models in that series have been seen with quite similar case and dial styles, as shown in the ads below. The dials in this series read "23 Jewels" instead of "Excellency". A 1964 cummulative price list issued by Bulova shows only 13 HIs Excellency models available that year, so it appears that this iteration of the His Excellency line was reaching its conclusion at that point.
In the late 1960s, the Excellency line came to life again with the Diamond Excellency series of watches. Most of these models carry 17-jewel movements, rather than the more elaborate 21- and 23-jewel movements seen in earlier Excellency lines. They are men's watches with diamonds on the dial and faceted crystals. Some have been seen with "Excellency" on the dial, but not all include that feature. The ads below depicting these beautiful watches were discovered by Bob Butler and graciously shared with me for inclusion here.
Summary of the evolution of the various Excellency lines:
1939 through early 1940s
- diamond encrusted, solid gold and plantinum cases with 21 jewels
- both men's and ladies' models
- dial bears only the Bulova signature
Late 1940s through early 1950s
- four different lines: His Excellency, Her Excellency, Miss Excellency, Lady Excellency
- gold filled or plated cases
- 21-jewel movements
- some but not all models bear "Excellency" on the dial
Late 1950s through early 1960s
- No longer any ladies' models under this name
- Models go by "His Excellency"
- 23-jewel movements
- gold filled or plated cases
- dial reads "23 Jewels" instead of "His Excellency"
Late 1960s
- A primarily 17-jewel version referred to as the "Diamond Excellency"
- only men's models
- diamonds on the dial
- some but not all models bear "Excellency" on the dial
- most, but not all, have a faceted crystal
Below are vintage advertisements for the Excellency line(s) dvided into groups by His Excellency; Her Excellency, Miss Excellency, and Lady Excellency; as well as by the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s series.
His Excellency 1947 - c. 195221 Jewels
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His Excellency "A", "J", and "M"
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His Excellency "B"
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His Excellency "AA"
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His Excellency "CC"
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His Excellency "FF"
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His Excellency "GG"
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His Excllency "JJ"
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His Excllency "LL"
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His Excellency "NN"
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His Excellency "PP"
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His Excellency "QQ"
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His Excellency "SS"
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His Excellency "UU"
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His Excellency "V V"
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His Excellency "XX" |
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Her Excellency, Miss Excellency, Lady Excellency1947 - 1952-ish21 Jewels
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Her Excellency "A"
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Her Excellency "A" and "K"
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Her Excellency - "C" and "G"
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Her Excellency - "L" and "K"
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Her Excellency - "A", "H", and "K"
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Her Excellency - "N", "R", and "U"
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Her Excellency "N", "P", and "S"
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Her Excellency "O"
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Her Excellency - "A", "K", and "O"
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Her Excellency "T" and "V"
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Her Excellency "U"
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Her Excellency "V"
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Her Excellency "Z"
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Her Excellency "CC"
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Miss Excellency "SS"
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variants
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variants
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variants
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variants
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variants
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variant
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variant
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variant
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variant
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variant
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Miss Excellency - Unknown Variant
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Her Excellency - "SS" and Unknown Variant
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Her Excellency - Unknown Variants |
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His Excellency 1958 - 1960-ish23 Jewels
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1959 His Excellency - "A"
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His Excellency "C"
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His Excellency "E"
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1959 His Excellency - "F" ?
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1959 His Excellency - "M" ?
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His Excellency "EW"
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His Excellency "HW" |
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1959 His Excellency - Unknown Variant
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1959 His Excellency - Unknown Variants
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1959 His Excellency - Unknown Variant
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1959 His Excellency - Unknown Variant
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1959 His Excellency - Unknown Variant
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1959 His Excellency - Unknown Variant
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Diamond Excellency - Late 1960sPrimarily 17 Jewels
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1966 Diamond Excellency
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1967 Diamond Excellency - Unknown Variants |
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1967 Diamond Excellency - Unknown Variants
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1967 Diamond Excellency "A", "E", "J"
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1967 Diamond Excellency "C" and "G" |
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1967 Diamond Excellency "L"
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1968 Diamond Excellency "A" |
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