Bulova watch marked as Stainless Steel but could it be wrong?

[J]

I've unearthed a rather rare Bulova Accuquartz N4 watch, which I've never seen
any photo of before nor have I seen it on Ebay and that comes from 5 years of
searching Bulova auctions (missing 10 days in all that...Yeah I have no life).

Anyway, the back plate says Stainless Steel Case, however, the case has a few
very small, hard to see spots, that are tarnished. I'm wondering if Bulova
goofed and the case is actually base metal. It's interesting to note that
this watch is very plentiful (on Ebay and seen in old publications) in 10K
Rolled Gold Plated finish. So I'm thinking Bulova realized their error,
rather quickly, and from then on made it in 10K RGP only.

I was so shocked when I first saw it I thought the gold color wore off. :)
But of course, that is not to be true. There are some other slight variations
with this "stainless steel" version as well.

So, does stainless steel tarnish or does anyone think this could be base
metal?

Thanks,

MJ

[z***@gmail.com]

Post by J
So, does stainless steel tarnish or does anyone think this could be base
metal?

Read <http://www.catra.org/services/CATRACOC/CATRACOC.htm> for several
descriptions of how SS can corrode or otherwise acquire stains.

[unknown]

Post by J
I've unearthed a rather rare Bulova Accuquartz N4 watch, which I've never seen
any photo of before nor have I seen it on Ebay and that comes from 5 years of
searching Bulova auctions (missing 10 days in all that...Yeah I have no life).
Anyway, the back plate says Stainless Steel Case, however, the case has a few
very small, hard to see spots, that are tarnished. I'm wondering if Bulova
goofed and the case is actually base metal. It's interesting to note that
this watch is very plentiful (on Ebay and seen in old publications) in 10K
Rolled Gold Plated finish. So I'm thinking Bulova realized their error,
rather quickly, and from then on made it in 10K RGP only.
I was so shocked when I first saw it I thought the gold color wore off. :)
But of course, that is not to be true. There are some other slight variations
with this "stainless steel" version as well.
So, does stainless steel tarnish or does anyone think this could be base
metal?

Stainless stell can corrode under some circumstances.

Does a small magnet stick to it?

(Note to the reader, magnets are OK near Quartz watches but keep
them away from mechanical watches)

[J]

Well, from what I've read magnets can stick to some stainless steel items. A
magnet will stick to my SS cutlery, although it's not the best SS cutlery in
the world. :)

Anyway, I got an eraser and I gently rubbed an area that had a "yellow spot"
and it started making it more yellow so I stopped. This suggests to me that
it's bass metal but I could still be wrong. I've taken watches to a jeweler
to get polished up before and sometimes we won't know if it's SS unless a tiny
polish will start making it yellow, which...and correct me if I'm
wrong...means it's base metal.

By the way, a magnet won't stick to the case but it will stick to the
stainless steel band. (Go figure). Also, on the gold version of these
watches, I've noticed that the gold color on the band is almost always darker
than the case, which suggests base metal under the 10K RGP finish.

Jeff




In article <***@giganews.com>, http://www.guymacon.com/
says...

Post by unknown

Post by J
I've unearthed a rather rare Bulova Accuquartz N4 watch, which I've never seen
any photo of before nor have I seen it on Ebay and that comes from 5 years of
searching Bulova auctions (missing 10 days in all that...Yeah I have no life).
Anyway, the back plate says Stainless Steel Case, however, the case has a few
very small, hard to see spots, that are tarnished. I'm wondering if Bulova
goofed and the case is actually base metal. It's interesting to note that
this watch is very plentiful (on Ebay and seen in old publications) in 10K
Rolled Gold Plated finish. So I'm thinking Bulova realized their error,
rather quickly, and from then on made it in 10K RGP only.
I was so shocked when I first saw it I thought the gold color wore off. :)
But of course, that is not to be true. There are some other slight variations
with this "stainless steel" version as well.
So, does stainless steel tarnish or does anyone think this could be base
metal?

Stainless stell can corrode under some circumstances.
Does a small magnet stick to it?
(Note to the reader, magnets are OK near Quartz watches but keep
them away from mechanical watches)

[St. John Smythe]

Post by J
Well, from what I've read magnets can stick to some stainless steel items. A
magnet will stick to my SS cutlery, although it's not the best SS cutlery in
the world. :)

Yes, some SS alloys are non-magnetic, others not.

Post by J
By the way, a magnet won't stick to the case but it will stick to the
stainless steel band. (Go figure).

Could be a different alloy, could be regular steel pins or springs in
the band.

Post by J
Also, on the gold version of these
watches, I've noticed that the gold color on the band is almost always darker
than the case, which suggests base metal under the 10K RGP finish.

Even solid 10K, being less than 50% gold content, will darken (tarnish).

[Richard Sexton]

Post by J
I've unearthed a rather rare Bulova Accuquartz N4 watch, which I've never seen

Modern cheap crap. They'd be in deep shit if it were marked as stainless
and it wasn't. They're not stupid.

Some of hose old Bulovas are bloody amazing, the most underrated American
watch IMO.

[J]

No it's not modern cheap crap. I should have been more specific. It's an old
digital LED watch with a 1974 Hughes Aircraft module. Trust me, I know my
digital watches. Bulova never made a base metal digital watch, up until their
last LCD in 1978. This one has me very puzzled because it was never mass
produced. My guess is what I originally stated or maybe the stainless steel
wasn't up to par with this case but was good enough for the 10K RGP watches.

Jeff

Post by Richard Sexton

Post by J
I've unearthed a rather rare Bulova Accuquartz N4 watch, which I've never seen

Modern cheap crap. They'd be in deep shit if it were marked as stainless
and it wasn't. They're not stupid.
Some of hose old Bulovas are bloody amazing, the most underrated American
watch IMO.
--
Need Mercedes parts? http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home pages: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

[Richard Sexton]

Post by J
No it's not modern cheap crap. I should have been more specific. It's an old
digital LED watch with a 1974 Hughes Aircraft module. Trust me, I know my
digital watches. Bulova never made a base metal digital watch, up until their
last LCD in 1978. This one has me very puzzled because it was never mass
produced. My guess is what I originally stated or maybe the stainless steel
wasn't up to par with this case but was good enough for the 10K RGP watches.
Jeff

Nice module.

By 74 was on its knees begging. God knows what they did. Yellow
stainless is a little unusual.

The back is almost certainly stainless, that may be what the
inscription means. "Stainless back, base metal case".