Is Bulova a good watch brand? Yes. It's one of the oldest American watch names, and its history includes the first electronic watch and a chronograph worn on the Moon. It isn't a luxury brand in the Rolex or Omega sense, though, and that's worth knowing before you buy.
New Bulovas are well-made watches at a fair price, mostly with Japanese quartz movements from Bulova's owner, Citizen. They sit next to Seiko and Tissot rather than Omega.
Vintage Bulovas are where the brand gets interesting. WWII military pieces, the tuning-fork Accutron and the 1970s divers all have a real following, and many of them are still affordable.
In this guide we look at where Bulova came from, how it compares with similar brands, and which vintage models are worth knowing. We also show the Bulovas we've sold and explain how to date one from the code on its caseback.
Bulovas don't come through our shop often, and both of the ones we've sold were made in the 1940s. They come from the years when Bulova was one of America's biggest watchmakers, and one of them was made for the US Army.
How Bulova Compares With Similar Brands
Bulova is usually compared with Hamilton, Seiko and Tissot, which sell at similar prices today. We've added Omega as a reference point, since it's the brand Bulova shared the Moon with.
| Brand | Founded | Known For | Owned By Today | Vintage Appeal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulova | 1875, New York | Accutron tuning fork (1960), Apollo 15 chronograph | Citizen (since 2008) | ★★★★☆ |
| Hamilton | 1892, Lancaster, Pennsylvania | Ventura electric watch (1957), military watches | Swatch Group | ★★★★☆ |
| Seiko | 1881, Tokyo | Astron, the first quartz wristwatch (1969), divers | Independent | ★★★★☆ |
| Tissot | 1853, Le Locle | Swiss dress watches at accessible prices | Swatch Group | ★★★☆☆ |
| Omega | 1848, La Chaux-de-Fonds | Speedmaster, the NASA-issued Moon watch | Swatch Group | ★★★★★ |
The ratings in the last column are our own view of how much interest each brand's vintage watches attract. Bulova's strongest card is its technology history, because few brands at its price can point to anything like the Accutron.
A Short History of Bulova
Bulova has been around for 150 years, and its timeline is full of firsts. Here are the moments that matter most if you're looking at a vintage piece.
Two of these stories are worth a closer look. The Accutron replaced the balance wheel with a tuning fork, which gave it a soft hum and an accuracy of about two seconds a day. Accutron movements also went into NASA equipment, and Bulova's ads invited buyers to "wear a piece of a satellite".
The Moon story is the other one. All the Apollo moonwalkers wore NASA-issued Omega Speedmasters, but the crystal of David Scott's Omega came off on Apollo 15. He wore his backup Bulova for his third moonwalk, and that watch sold at RR Auction in 2015 for $1,625,000, according to AFP's report of the sale.
Where Are Bulova Watches Made?
The answer depends on when the watch was made. For most of the 20th century, Bulova built its movements in Biel, Switzerland, and had workshops in Woodside and Flushing, New York. Many vintage Bulovas have Swiss movements in cases made in the United States.
Today Bulova is based in New York but doesn't make watches in the US. Most models are made in Japan or Hong Kong with quartz and mechanical movements from Citizen's Miyota and from Bulova's own range. A smaller number of higher-priced models are Swiss-made.
Vintage Bulova Watches Worth Knowing
If you're looking at vintage Bulova, these six types are the best-known. The first two photos show watches that have passed through our shop, and the others show vintage and modern Bulovas that follow the same designs.
Bulova made the US Army's Type A-11 with the 16-jewel cal. 10AK, most of them 32 mm with a hacking seconds hand. Look for "Ord Dept" and an ordnance serial number on the caseback.
Civilian Bulovas from the 1940s are small by today's standards, often around 30 mm. They're simple, hand-wound and still affordable, which makes them a good first vintage watch.
Before round watches took over, Bulova sold many rectangular and tank-shaped watches in the Art Deco style. Many have gold-filled or rolled gold plate cases, so check the stamp on the back.
An Accutron with no dial, so you can see the tuning fork and its coils. The story goes that it began as a shop display model, and buyers liked it so much that Bulova put it on sale. Early ones use the cal. 214.
A colorful 1970s diver whose dial reads "666 Feet", which earned it the nickname. Cases are often around 41 mm, and these divers have a strong following today.
The family of the watch David Scott wore on the Moon in 1971. Bulova reissued it as the Lunar Pilot, so you can try the design on before you look for an original.
Many vintage Bulova dress watches from the 1940s to the 1960s have gold-filled or rolled gold plate cases. The stamp on the back, such as "10K RGP" or "10K Gold Filled", tells you what you have. Our guide to gold, gold-filled and gold-plated watches explains each stamp.
How to Date a Vintage Bulova
Bulova made dating easy. From 1950 onwards, a two-character code on the outside of the caseback gives the year. The letter stands for the decade, and the number is the last digit of the year, so "L3" means 1953. Try it with your own watch below.
Code L3 means your Bulova's case was made in 1953.
USA
Found on WWII military Bulovas, usually with a letter code and an ordnance serial number on the back. Our sold Army watch carried "OF", the code for a 15 to 17-jewel watch in a waterproof case.
RGP
A layer of 10k gold bonded to base metal, very common on vintage Bulova dress watches. It's real gold on the surface, but the case isn't solid gold.
Gold Filled
Made the same way as rolled gold plate. Under US rules the gold must be at least 1/20 of the metal's weight.
The whole case is gold alloy. Solid gold Bulovas are rarer and carry real material value on top of the watch itself.
Accutron on the dial or caseback means a tuning-fork movement. Hold it to your ear: a working one hums instead of ticking.
Steel Back
The back is steel. On a gold-colored watch, the front is plated or gold-filled, so check for a second stamp.
Before 1950, Bulova stamped a small date symbol on the movement instead. You'll need to open the case to see it, and a symbol chart such as the one on MyBulova will tell you the year.
Bulovas We've Sold
Here are the Bulovas that have passed through our shop. Both are WWII-era pieces, and both are now with new owners.
The two watches show how wide the range is. The Ord Dept piece sold for $1,088 because its military markings tell a clear story, while the civilian watch from the same decade went for $400.
With vintage Bulova, the history printed on the caseback often matters more to the price than the movement inside.
How Much Is a Bulova Worth?
New Bulovas mostly cost a few hundred dollars. In Gear Patrol's 2023 buying guide, the Lunar Pilot was listed at $620 and the Precisionist X at $1,036, with Swiss-made chronographs at $2,495 and above.
Vintage prices depend far more on the model and its condition. Everyday dress watches from the 1950s and 60s are usually affordable, and military pieces with clear markings sell for more, as our own sales show. At the very top sits David Scott's Apollo 15 chronograph, which reached $1.625 million in 2015. That price was about the Moon, of course, and not about Bulova in general.
Adds Value
Lowers Value
Is Bulova a Luxury Brand?
Not in the way Rolex, Omega or Patek Philippe are. Bulova has always aimed at good watches for a wide public, and most of its range today is priced like Seiko or Tissot. Its higher-end Swiss-made models sit closer to entry-level luxury.
Where Bulova does stand out is in its history. The Accutron changed how watches could keep time, and the Apollo 15 story gives it a place in space history that very few affordable brands have.
Pros and Cons of Owning a Bulova
On the plus side, you get a long history and genuine firsts like the Accutron for a modest price. The modern range is wide, from simple quartz dress watches to divers and chronographs, and the Precisionist is very accurate for a quartz watch.
The downsides are mostly about expectations. Modern Bulovas rarely gain value, and most use the same Japanese movements you'll find in watches at lower prices. With vintage Accutrons, servicing needs a watchmaker who knows tuning-fork movements, and those are fewer every year.
Opening and Setting a Vintage Bulova
Most vintage Bulovas have a snap-on caseback, while some sports models screw down. We'd always leave opening a vintage case to a watchmaker. A slipped blade can scratch the case or damage the movement, and an old gasket won't seal again once it's disturbed.
Setting is simple on a mechanical Bulova. Pull the crown out and turn it to set the time, and on hand-wound watches, wind it gently until you feel resistance. Early Accutrons with the cal. 214 are different, as their setting crown sits on the back of the case.
For what a proper service involves, our vintage watch servicing guide walks through it step by step.
Start with the caseback. A date code from 1950 onwards, or an Ord Dept stamp and serial on a WWII piece, tells you a lot about whether the case is right for the watch. If the code says 1966 and the seller says 1950s, ask why.
Then check that the dial and hands fit the period. Bulova made so many watches that parts were swapped often over the years, and an all-original example is worth paying a little more for.
If you'd like to see what's in stock now, browse our vintage men's watches. Bulovas appear only now and then, so they don't stay long.
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