Fabulous and very rare 1950 Bulova Academy Award Watch in superb condition. Either a commemorative watch or a presentation piece to someone associated with the awards, this is a very special piece. The Rare 1950 Academy Award Watch is in it's original "Oscar" Stage Case Made By Bulova, The First Official Sponsor Of The Academy Award Ceremonies. Gorgeous case and dial, with vertical lines on the dial and raised hour markers. The manual wind watch has a 21 jewel movement. This is a NOS (new old stock) and looks to never have been worn.
 
In addition to being available to the general public, these were apparently given out to the nominees in the early 50's. I decided to wear this today, as I haven't in a while. Keeps excellent time and is almost 60 years old... I will have to take a picture of the Original Bakelite "Oscar" Stage Case
 
CONDITION: Excellent overall condition. Watch is running and keeping time. The case could use a buffing from having sat around for so long.
 
SIZE: The watch is 35mm lug to lug and 27 mm wide
 
In 1949, academy director Margaret Herrick authorized a four-year contract with Bulova watches for the film organization's first commercial license. The manufacturer paid the academy $145,000 (a little more than $1 million in 2007 dollars) to create an exclusive line of Academy Award watches.
 
Leveraging Oscar
 
"The academy was a very hand-to-mouth organization at the time," said Davis of the choice to leverage Oscar. "And all that money went to paying off its headquarters, which was then on Melrose. But more importantly, the license with Bulova meant that it would be in Bulova's best interest to fight off infringements with its own legal department, which was significantly larger than the academy's. So they believed that this would finally put an end to all the illegal products out there."
 
But when the company began running ads touting that its Academy Award watch had a "winning" design, the academy charged it with "perpetrating a fraud" on the public.
 
Arguing that Oscar's symbolic value had been diminished because people would assume that Bulova had earned an Oscar for "best watch design," the academy aligned with the Federal Trade Commission to break its contract with the company two years early. (Some of those watches now appear on EBay selling for as much as $2,500.)