June 2023 – Watch space

Always on the lookout for a diver’s watch and seeing I was on a bit of a Bulova kick at the moment, surprise, surprise – a Bulova Diver.

This is the Bulova Oceanographer 96B350 200m water resistant ISO compliant Diver’s model. It is powered by a mechanical Automatic Miyota movement, so is very reliable.

Featuring a nicely shaped stainless steel case with a screw down crown, it has a bright orange uncluttered dial – this means clarity, which is a thing of mine. The minute and hour hands are large and luminous, as are the markers, plus it has a white running seconds hand, which is always useful.

It also has a rotating bezel, in black and orange with a luminous datum arrow, all of which are clear to read. Plus a good size contrasting Date window @3 (often called “calendar”, but to me it’s a Date watch – simple). And don’t get me wrong, that’s good, but I prefer to say it as it is.

Conventional rubber pin buckle strap & screw back

The dial is protected by a domed sapphire crystal, the stainless steel back is a solid screw fit, it has a standard fitting flexible rubber strap with pin buckle and the crown is knurled enough to get a good grip on it, so what’s not to like?

In essence, I rather like this Bulova model because it does what it says – no hype, no clutter and no fuss – what you see it what you get. And it is a sensible size at just 41mm diameter.

It’s also available at under £500, has a 3 year Guarantee and has a look that’s just slightly different owing to that subtle cushion shaped case, which for me lifts it above many.

As I say – I like it and certainly worth a look.

As the title says – this is without doubt, a plain & simple watch. One that is a neat size, no frills, quality maker and looks good.

This is the “Hack” from Bulova, which is a homage if you like to their military heritage, but simplified to suit the “no frills” watch wearer. It also features an Automatic 21 jewel mechanical movement as opposed to Quartz. The movement has a 42 hour reserve, so for those who don’t wear the watch overnight, no worries, it will still be running in the morning.

The black background dial is relatively, uncluttered with no day or date windows, so no distractions and complimented by decent sized and luminous hour and minute hands reminiscent of Divers models. It also has a running seconds hand, often overlooked these days, but very handy. The dial also has in red, a 24 hour inner centre track for those situations where you don’t know if it’s day or night – it happens 😉

A domed mineral crystal covers the dial and it has a water resistance to 30 metres.

The grey stainless steel watch case is a neat 38mm diameter with a Khaki green leather NATO strap, so easily replaced or changed to whatever floats your boat.

All in all, this is a nice little watch (note the decent crown size), which is practical without being too large, unobtrusive, not flashy. It costs under £300 and has a 3 year warranty.

Plain & simple – as I said. . . . .