# Caravelle/Bulova movement question



## tayloreuph (Mar 9, 2015)

Was there a difference between Caravelle and Bulova movements? Did they all share the same manufacturer? Or was the different signature part of a plan to place b-stock quality movements in the b-line of watches? I know that was common in the 50's and 60's with musical instrument manufacturers, ie Boosey & Hawkes and Besson or Buffet-Crampon and Evette. Any ideas?


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## simpletreasures (Apr 22, 2012)

A real good question, maybe Samantha can explain the difference.


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## Addictedtowatches (Aug 22, 2011)

Different movements. From what I've seen over the years Caravelle typically used Japanese movements in their lower end basic models and sometimes Swiss in the higher end like divers. Which makes sense because Caravelle was supposed to be a budget brand and used less expensive movements. They wouldn't use a nice 21j Swiss auto in a cheaper base metal case.


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## Watch Carefully (Feb 13, 2006)

Hamilton did something like this with their Vantage line in the 1960s-1970s also. Some were assembled off-shore (actually in the West Indies, IIRC) and used movements made/sourced outside the USA instead of the top US-made and Swiss (Buren, etc.) movements found in Hamiltons. That said, I think I recall seeing Vantages with Valjoux 7733 chronograph movements, but I believe the level of finishing was rudimentary.


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## Samantha (May 14, 2010)

There were differences in the movements and they didn't all share the same manufacturer, even within just Bulova or just Caravelle. There were some Caravelles that used Japanese movements, but a lot if them used Swiss movements. For a period of time, the Bulova movements were typically a gold color and Caravelles were a silver color. The movement numbers were also different, even if there wasn't really any difference in movements. The ABC catalogs didn't show a Caravelle part as fitting a Bulova movement, even if it could, at least until the !970's when in the ladies movements they came out with the 1000 series. Some Bulova movements had a higher jewel count, but there were also a lot of 17 jewel movements on both sides.
Samantha


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## Proliant (Nov 22, 2017)

I know this is a long time later, but the info was useful to me. Thanks.


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## simpletreasures (Apr 22, 2012)

Nothing finer than a walk down "memory lane"...


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