I have a Bulova Watch that was given to a Clark Candy employee with a Serial Number of 523791. Looking for what year it was made and is it worth anything

The value of your watch depends greatly on the model / style, age, and case composition. It goes without saying, but watches (of any mechanical quality) that have real gold cases right now are worth quite a bit more than watches with gold plated, gold filled, gold-tone, or stainless steel cases. Presentation watches like those given to employees upon retirement were often gold or gold-filled--but there's a world of difference in value between those two types of watches.

In terms of age, it's much easier to date vintage Bulova watches by their "year code" than by their serial number. If you look carefully, usually above or below the serial number, you'll see a little alphanumeric code, like L5, N3, or P6. These can be translated as follows:


Lx = 195x Mx = 196x Nx = 197x Px = 198x Tx = 199x


Pre-1947 Bulova watches used little symbols to show the year of manufacture. A picture of those codes can be found here, as well as elsewhere on the Internet:

http://www.manleyhorlogerie.com/Watch_History/bulova.htm#Bulova%20Date%20Codes