Bulova is a Swiss made watch company that delivers watches in a very affordable price range. The Bulova Marine Star (ref. 96G93) is great example. Bulova’s Marine Star is an extremely versatile, sporty, casual watch. The silver dial has a fantastic symmetry about it, with elegant details. The dial is further complimented by a polished and brushed stainless steel case and bezel. The bracelet has more traditional styled links, with push button deployment clasp. The hands and date window at 6 o’clock are powered by a Swiss quartz movement. Helping to keep the cost down, the Marine Star has hardened mineral crystal protecting the face, opposed to sapphire crystal.

Pros - Affordable, great design

Consideration - Mineral crystal

  Bulova has created the most accurate watch with a continuous sweeping seconds hand! A continuous sweeping hand is typically synonymous with mechanical watches, the Precisionist is a quartz movement and a first of its kind. How did Bulova do this? They added a third prong to a standard two prong quartz crystal, creating a torsional resonator. The Precisionist has 8 times the vibration frequency of standard quartz movement. This movement is accurate to 10 seconds per year, really amazing considering that a standard quartz watch is only accurate to an average of 15 seconds per month. This is new era in quartz, no doubt about it.

  Bulova’s Precisionist Claremont (ref. 96B129) is a very well designed watch. My favorite part of the watch (besides the movement) are the recesses for the numerals. The date window at the 3 o’clock position flows quite nicely amongst recesses. The hands are polished with a small amount of lume, appropriate for this type of watch. It is a 44mm case, with a stainless steel bracelet and deployant clasp. One downside, the Claremont has mineral crystal, though standard at this price point. Overall, the Precisionist Claremont is a great watch, with a breakthrough new movement.

Pros - Precisionist Quartz, nice dial, price point  

Considerations - Water resistance

  There is a lot of buzz about the breakthrough movement from Bulova, the Precisionist (more info on the Precisionist movement in the Claremont review below). The Champlain is sporty and bold in design. From the many crisp angles to the carbon fiber dial, the Champlain is not under designed. The first time I saw this watch the hands of all things grabbed my attention, they remind me of IWC’s Aquatimer 2000 hour/minute hands. Anyway, the Champlain comes in few different color scheme options, this version 96B131 (96B132, 96B133 available) is accented in blue and yellow. The yellow seconds hand manages to be distinctive and subtle, a nice touch. The date is nicely displayed at the 3 o’clock position and integrated into the flow of the 24 hour time. The screw down crown has machined diagonal groves for easy gripping. At 300m of water resistance the Champlain is ready to get wet.

Overall, with the unique Precisionist movement, deployant bracelet, and carbon fiber dial, the Bulova Champlain delivers a well rounded watch at nice price point.

Pros - Precisionist Quartz, carbon fiber dial, 300m  

Considerations - Mineral crystal scratches much easier than sapphire.