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Bulova was on the Moon… But what about the Omega? Bulova, Omega and other watches were tested and prepared to reach the surface of the Moon or participate in the space mission. One of the watches that reached the moon and the only one merchantable, Dave Scott‘s Bulova chronograph, was sold in 2015 on auction for 1625000 USD.
Nice is that Bulova reissued the Moonwatch in a modern version at a very affordable price – 550 USD: “Bulova Moon Watch replicates that original timepiece, updated with our exclusive high-performance quartz movement with a frequency of 262 kHz for unparalleled accuracy, continuing a history of precision timing.” – Bulova Website.
The modern version has 44mm 316L surgical-grade stainless steel case in silver-tone with anti-reflective coating sapphire crystal and 50m water resistance. The watch comes in a nice Giftbox that includes a Certificate of Authenticity.
The crown has the same mat finish as the case and the Bulova logo embossed but the chronograph pushers are polished and make a nice contrast. A little bit unusual is the shape of the chrono-pushers, but they are beautiful and increase the watch appealing.
The watch comes with a set of two interchangeable straps: a textured black leather and a black nylon with a nubuck leather patch that commemorates the date of the mission (DOM) as 08021971.
The black dial has super-luminous hands and markers, tachymeter inner bezel, date window at 4:50 o’clock, and three subdials for the chronograph function. The subdial from 3 o’clock is a 1/10th of a second display. The dial layout is classic for a chronograph and together with the case reminds of the vintage chronograph – quite normal since it’s origin is a 70’s watch.
The caliber is an in-house “High-Performance” 262 kHz quartz chronograph movement from the “UHF” (ultra-high frequency) movements family and it is promised as a very precise timepiece (approx. 10 seconds pro year).
There is also a version with a steel bracelet with 675 USD. Despite the good looking steel strap, my favourite will remain the leather strap version with nylon strap option.
I would like to thank Bulova for the images, video and information. Please visit the website for more information and the Vimeo Official Channel for more videos. The watches can be seen and bought from the Official Retailers.
A nice review can be read on ABlogToWatch: Bulova Moon Watch Hands-On.
A lot of information about the Moon related watches: What we know about the watches that were worn on/near the moon…