Watchlords

I found a vintage looking Baylor datofix while perusing a small mom and pop jewelry store/pawn down the street from where I buy my morning coffee this morning and all I can seem to dig up on the company is that it is or was owned by Dallas texas based Zales jeweler. Clerk asked for $150 and the watch looked vintage old, I'm guessing 50/60's, but was in decent enough shape to wear as is. Should have taken a pic, but was in a bit of a hurry. Did I find a jewel in the dirt or is this the vintage equivalent of an Invicta?

I have quite a few vintage pieces and I have heard of the name Baylor. This is all I could find:

Baylor is the name of a watch firm that was and may be still owned by the giant Dallas (Texas) retail jewelry firm of Zales. Heuer made numerous watches for Zales under the Baylor watch name. When Heuer decide to unload most all their mechanical and automatic watches and concentrate on the automatic chronograph Zales purchased the entire stock for pennies on the dollar. This is the story as told to me by one of the former top manager for Zales. Baylor is a American watch company and it was probably named after a Texas University that is located in Dallas.

I will try to dig up a little more info. when I get back to the office on Monday. I think $150.00 might be a bit steep for a 50's/60's piece.

I did find a Datofix moonphase on the web from the 1940's. Seller was asking $999.00
It appears to be a primo piece.

Age:
1940's

Features:
Collectible Baylor Moonphase Calendar
Watch with Day, Date, Month and
Moonphase Indicators. Original Finish Dial.
Stainless Steel Case Triple Signed on the
Dial, Case and Movement. Most Vintage
Moonphase Watches Were Not Made with
Stainless Steel Cases. I Believe Baylor was
the Brand Name for Zales Jewelers in the
USA.

Case:
Solid Stainless Steel Case with Screw-Back.
Case Signed Baylor Watch Co, Swiss.
Reference 284 and Serial Numbered
958432. Large Side Pushers Control the
Manual Advancement of Moonphase, Month
and Date Functions. Excellent Condition.

Dial:
Original Finish Silver Dial with Aged
Luminous Numbers and Matching Luminous
Filled Hands. Day Aperture at 9:00, Month
Aperture at 3:00 and Moonphase Aperture
at 12:00. Red-Tipped Date Hand Points to
Perimeter Date Chapter from 1-31. Sunken
Sub-seconds Register. Dial Signed Baylor
Datofix and Swiss. Dial in Excellent
Condition with Minor Aging and Light Fading
at the Perimeter.

Movement:
High Grade, Swiss Made, 17 Jewel, Caliber
107C, Manual Wind Movement Signed
Baylor W. Co. Swiss. Recently Serviced by
www.farfo.com Vintage Watch Repair

kevco did a great job on this one. All I knew is that at one point, Baylor was Zales' "house brand."

I do a lot of secondary market/used store shopping, and I see Baylor watches usually selling for 100 to 200 dollars. Decent mechanical wind movements on most of them.

TemerityB wrote:kevco did a great job on this one. All I knew is that at one point, Baylor was Zales' "house brand."

x2

Considering Zales is "the diamond store", theres not enough watch heritage there for me to want to proudly display this on my wrist. Thanks for the info guys.

for history sake