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My Review of the Bulova MoonwatchIn October 2015, shortly after Dave Scott's personal Bulova Chronograph that was worn to the Moon was sold for a cool $1.6 million (Link), Bulova announced that, due to their new-found moonwatch heritage, they will be releasing a Bulova Moonwatch Re-Edition, albeit beating with a modern UHF quartz movement (Link)
This proves to be an affordable alternative to the more prevalent moonwatch, released by another commercial entity, whose price inflation in recent years knows no bounds.
I shall provide a short review of the Bulova Moonwatch that comes on a solid metal bracelet (Model #96B258). This is a new version first announced at the recent Baselworld in March 2016 (Link) and is different from the leather and canvas straps version (Model #96B251) announced in November 2015. I had seen the number "1500" being brandished about in the forums, but I still cannot confirm if Bulova meant it to be a limited edition, or if the 1500 quantity belongs to one model only, each model, or cumulatively both.Let's start the review with a little unboxing.
The watch is shipped on a standard black wooden Bulova presentation box, protected beneath the standard cardboard box with inventory barcodes and the RRP.
Once the box is opened, your heart will be set racing by the moonwatch sitting right smack in the middle on a cushion, in sharp contrast with the blingly steel bracelet. Bulova tags it proudly as one of its own UHF quartz movement.
Taking the closer look at the watch dial, it is entirely framed by the tachymeter scale and protected behind a flat crystal. 3 sub dials can be found symmetrically at the 3, 6 and 9 positions, functioning as 1/10 second counter, running seconds and 1 hour counter. The sub dials are set deep into dial with circular grooves, giving out radial rays of light when reflected correctly. The date window is at the increasingly popular 4:30 position surrounded by rectangular applied indices with a brushed silvered finish and filled with white lume. The hour, minute and central chronograph second hands are slim, lengthy and painted white, filled with an equally white lume material. While some may lament the lost opportunity for Bulova to put "vintage lume" into this watch, I do not find the white lume displeasing me at all.
The Bulova UHF movement is new to me, and I find the running seconds at 2Hz an unique feature. My brain simply can't decide properly if it is a quartz or an auto as I am looking at something split right in the middle. End of the day, I can only describe the running seconds hand as smooth. I shall not comment further on the movements of the various hands and leave you with the review video by Mr Ariel Adams of ABTW below.
Other items included in the box include the big money card - a certificate of authenticity certifying your watch as an "authentic replica (???)" of the moonwatch worn by Dave Scott in the Apollo 15 mission during 1971. This card can ensure high resale potential, should it end up to be a limited edition years down the road.
There is another booklet, trumpeting the "eminent collectivitiness" of the moonwatch I just bought. Nice touch. And also the standard Bulova UHF movement instruction manual, all found in the lower compartment of the box
The bracelet comes with solid end links that fits the lugs nicely. I see that Bulova did not went to replicate the bracelet design of "the other moonwatch" and stuck to its own, something I would describe as a mix of the popular Oyster and President styles.
Now for points of contention that I had came across so far, not from owners, but from "experts" who could form an opinion after looking at photos of watches. There is a mix of polished, brushed and bead-blasted surfaces as seen from the side profile view. It is a matter of design aesthetics, Bulova did not do design by committee, and I do not find the presence of 3 different finishes inducing a nauseated response from me whenever I look at it. In fact, the contrast between the finishes is indeed, quite well executed. But one's man's meat, is another's poison, YMMV.
Another "reason this watch sucks big time" I came across on the interwebs mentioned the high profile sapphire crystal, that could cause problems. Yes, I do agree that the sharp corners of the crystal looks unprotected and the whole thing may shatter when hit at the right angle, but I dun find it more fragile than any other automatic watches I own. I'm sure something will shatter too if I hit my, say Visodate, on something hard. I think owners would be fine as long as they dun treat the Bulova Moonwatch like a G Shock Mudman. The look and position of the crystal is part of Bulova's efforts to replicate as much as possible, the design of the original moonwatch.
The polished signed crown and chrono pushers deserve praise. The pushers are of a not often-seen design that does wonders in preventing the chrono buttons from being accidently activated or digging into your wrist. I think you are not likely to enjoy traditional tall chrono pushers after this.
The back of the bracelet comes with a butterfly clasp with a small signed Bulova logo. Resizing is straightforward with pins and 2 half links are provided for microadjustments. The action is smooth, the bracelet is solid and no discomfort whatsoever.
(End Part 1 of 2)
This proves to be an affordable alternative to the more prevalent moonwatch, released by another commercial entity, whose price inflation in recent years knows no bounds.
I shall provide a short review of the Bulova Moonwatch that comes on a solid metal bracelet (Model #96B258). This is a new version first announced at the recent Baselworld in March 2016 (Link) and is different from the leather and canvas straps version (Model #96B251) announced in November 2015. I had seen the number "1500" being brandished about in the forums, but I still cannot confirm if Bulova meant it to be a limited edition, or if the 1500 quantity belongs to one model only, each model, or cumulatively both.Let's start the review with a little unboxing.
The watch is shipped on a standard black wooden Bulova presentation box, protected beneath the standard cardboard box with inventory barcodes and the RRP.
Once the box is opened, your heart will be set racing by the moonwatch sitting right smack in the middle on a cushion, in sharp contrast with the blingly steel bracelet. Bulova tags it proudly as one of its own UHF quartz movement.
Taking the closer look at the watch dial, it is entirely framed by the tachymeter scale and protected behind a flat crystal. 3 sub dials can be found symmetrically at the 3, 6 and 9 positions, functioning as 1/10 second counter, running seconds and 1 hour counter. The sub dials are set deep into dial with circular grooves, giving out radial rays of light when reflected correctly. The date window is at the increasingly popular 4:30 position surrounded by rectangular applied indices with a brushed silvered finish and filled with white lume. The hour, minute and central chronograph second hands are slim, lengthy and painted white, filled with an equally white lume material. While some may lament the lost opportunity for Bulova to put "vintage lume" into this watch, I do not find the white lume displeasing me at all.
The Bulova UHF movement is new to me, and I find the running seconds at 2Hz an unique feature. My brain simply can't decide properly if it is a quartz or an auto as I am looking at something split right in the middle. End of the day, I can only describe the running seconds hand as smooth. I shall not comment further on the movements of the various hands and leave you with the review video by Mr Ariel Adams of ABTW below.
Other items included in the box include the big money card - a certificate of authenticity certifying your watch as an "authentic replica (???)" of the moonwatch worn by Dave Scott in the Apollo 15 mission during 1971. This card can ensure high resale potential, should it end up to be a limited edition years down the road.
There is another booklet, trumpeting the "eminent collectivitiness" of the moonwatch I just bought. Nice touch. And also the standard Bulova UHF movement instruction manual, all found in the lower compartment of the box
The bracelet comes with solid end links that fits the lugs nicely. I see that Bulova did not went to replicate the bracelet design of "the other moonwatch" and stuck to its own, something I would describe as a mix of the popular Oyster and President styles.
Now for points of contention that I had came across so far, not from owners, but from "experts" who could form an opinion after looking at photos of watches. There is a mix of polished, brushed and bead-blasted surfaces as seen from the side profile view. It is a matter of design aesthetics, Bulova did not do design by committee, and I do not find the presence of 3 different finishes inducing a nauseated response from me whenever I look at it. In fact, the contrast between the finishes is indeed, quite well executed. But one's man's meat, is another's poison, YMMV.
Another "reason this watch sucks big time" I came across on the interwebs mentioned the high profile sapphire crystal, that could cause problems. Yes, I do agree that the sharp corners of the crystal looks unprotected and the whole thing may shatter when hit at the right angle, but I dun find it more fragile than any other automatic watches I own. I'm sure something will shatter too if I hit my, say Visodate, on something hard. I think owners would be fine as long as they dun treat the Bulova Moonwatch like a G Shock Mudman. The look and position of the crystal is part of Bulova's efforts to replicate as much as possible, the design of the original moonwatch.
The polished signed crown and chrono pushers deserve praise. The pushers are of a not often-seen design that does wonders in preventing the chrono buttons from being accidently activated or digging into your wrist. I think you are not likely to enjoy traditional tall chrono pushers after this.
The back of the bracelet comes with a butterfly clasp with a small signed Bulova logo. Resizing is straightforward with pins and 2 half links are provided for microadjustments. The action is smooth, the bracelet is solid and no discomfort whatsoever.
(End Part 1 of 2)
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