Hey all, hope you find these as wonderful as I do. I love being able to compare the same watch in both Quartz and Mechanical. I mention that glass crystals have been the norm for 100 years. What I meant was 'not Sapphire'. For a long time it was some mix of glass and acrylic. If anyone knows the details of the WW2 watch this homage, or VWI, let me know! I see a ton of vintage Bulovas for sale, but the background isn't clear.
Bought the one with the green strap and red 24 hour numerals a month ago. Absolutely love it as a daily wearer. Keeps excellent time and power reserve is very good also. Great watch for the money!
Bulova perplexes me as a brand. As you say, they were there for everything. Ignoring even the fact that they managed to get one of their watches on the moon, their accutron movements were in the panel clocks on every Apollo mission. They have dive watch history, military watch history, space, serious horological history in their accutron movements, list goes and on and on. Blows my mind theyre not as collectible as a brand like Heuer or Universal Geneva. Suppose it’s a good thing for us budget vintage collectors, but still odd, I haven’t quite figured out why that is
Agree 100%. I think I've learned that the past doesn't matter nearly as much as the present to most collectors. If somehow Omega went away today as a brand, they'd be dirt cheap in 50 years, their history would no longer be told as loudly. For now, I can only enjoy great watches at a fair price, both the actual vintage watches and their killer Reissues and classically styled watches. I just nabbed a Joseph Bulova collection watch and it's fantastic.
@@lookatwrist I think you’re right. Most brands of that era still around today leverage their history towards massive overpricing. I suppose it’s respectable that bulova choose to maintain relative affordability despite their pretty wild past. Still blows my mind though that you can get a vintage bulova with a dial made by the same folks that made the exotic Paul Newman dials, case by the same company that did the og speedmaster case and an in house movement for a couple hundred bucks. i can see the tide turning as bulova focus more on their back catalog, so get em while we can I guess lol. enjoy that Joseph Bulova, been eyeing one of the LE automatic surfboards.
I’ve had the ivory dial for four months. The feature I noticed most was the smell of the strap, which is marked Bulova and Genuine Leather. I bought a military-style strap for it, but as the smell has subsided, I’m happy with the thin, soft original. I hope to get another Bulova military revival, the A-15.
What a great selection of bulova field watches! Thhe brand is always overlooked, but its offer of high accuracy quartz and very affordable automatics, paired with its history, makes it very attractive. Thanks for sharing
No problem! To be honest, I really liked the quartz one, the fact it has a thinner case was pretty interesting no me. I wound up keeping just one, the limited VWI one.
My new favorite watch channel! There’s so little spotlight shed on all the amazing quartz offerings on the market! Glad I got in on the ground floor before this channel really takes off, keep up the great work
for the price you got these, they are brilliant watches. you guys get the second best prices, japan is still 1st. the design of these bulova hack is great as-well and there's something special about field watches that are simple and interesting at the same time.
Makers don’t include dates because “more is more,” they include dates because it’s the most phenomenally useful feature there is and so many buyers won’t buy a watch without a date. For these stylish retro reissues, it makes sense to leave the date off for the style. A bolder move would have been to go with the period-correct 32mm case size! I woulda bought one, but imagine how few they would have sold to men if they had done that.
Yes a 32mm version of this would have been completely unexpected. I don't know if that would make me love it twice as much or hate it. I think it would have had twice the buzz but half the sales? Wrt date windows, I have had a few beautiful dress watches that have had an ugly date just plonked right into it that just disrupts the dial completely. My peeve there is when the movement chosen has a date wheel way too big or small for the dial, with the date practically in the middle of the watch or sitting against the chapter ring. I love having a date when it fits the watch, I could have been clearer.
@@lookatwrist Yeah for dress watches I have the Timex Marlin, which is 34 and has no date, and a Seiko SNK621K1, where the date with day fully written out in letters is kind of the point. I'd like to have a nicer dress watch... buuuuut I always think how often I am actually going to wear a dress watch, especially nowadays, which is: extremely seldom. Sooo I buy another dive watch instead, with its glorious timing bezel. 😅... and date, always, of course... in fact I found my no-dates so aggravating that I sort of vowed to myself I would never buy a serious piece with no date unless it was a dress watch or there was some other compelling reason.
@@yoinkhaha LOL...I'm in the total opposite camp. Really aggravating to see what would have been a clean, symmetrical dial that's now disrupted with a date window. To me, it's just another complication that will cost more to repair in the future, while making for a cluttered appearance. At my advanced age, I can't even read the date anyway, so I just see a blurry rectangle, which makes it even more unsightly and useless (in my case). All that said, I do have a few watches with a date complication, but only because they don't come without it. Good news is that I never bother setting the date because I can't read it! To each his/her own, though...it's what makes the watch community fun and interesting. Enjoy.
I have two of the watches shown , the amazing quartz with a leather nato ( its stamped leather on the back side of the strap!,) I also have the red 34 hour automatic with tge green leather nato ! Both are superb and have excellent build quality and vintage vibes fit well on my 7.5 inch wrist and worth the money we'll spent
Great video and so nice to see these watches side by side! Been collecting genuine WWII-era A-11 examples for years, and just discovered these wonderful modern interpretations. However, I haven't seen prices as low as what you quoted in the video...even on eBay. Best I can find is in the mid $200's, so just curious where you purchased these.
96A259 is the winner in my opinion. I am not a fan of fake vintage accents like fauxtina or bronze cases and this watch looks shiny with prestine lume and bright steel lined hands. I like this better over a Hamilton Khaki. My only issue is the water resistance. Bulova should have made them with more resistance than just 100 meters to ensure everyday wear. But overall great looking watch.
Hi Matt, I had no idea you like watches. I did watch your channel intensively in the past (mainly in the beginning when it was small). I liked how you approached sometimes controversial linux stuff with a cool and well-thought out ideas. But for the last few years I went to FreeBSD and kinda lost interest in the linux turmoil. And also, it felt like a logical step, I've been with linux since the early 00's. What kind of watches do you own?
Great video! I've been wanting a vintage style infantry field watch for a while now. I also have a Khaki pilot pioneer mechanical, the one modeled after the 1970's RAF W10. But I also have an Explorer so it was hard to justify the ~$600 for a Khaki mechanical. Yesterday I came across the Hack VWI version on sale so went for it! Really like the tie in with the VWI history. Looking forward to getting it on wrist! I also find the faux-Nato design of those straps kind of odd though. I feel like from a manufacturing stand point, a true nato would have been cheaper and less complex. But the Hack really is a chunky watch for the 38mm diameter. I agree the design choice may have been to keep the thickness down.
@@lookatwrist I've had the watch for about a week now and love it! The domed crystal looks amazing. Currently have it on a dark brown crazy horse leather zulu strap. Enjoying it!
Probably in the minority here but the quartz watch inches the others out for me due to its slimness. Owned the auto, returned it & kept the quartz. Keeps perfect time, needs no attention & just drives.
Yeah, it could have been a few bucks cheaper and a bit thinner. I don't know if Bulova/Citizen has their own manual wind movement, they would have to go swiss and that would impact the price.
Buying all of them is exactly what I had to do! I can't keep them all but it's hard trying to pick just one. I like the more pronounced lume on the Quartz watch but like the limited caseback on the black Auto.
I love military watches - the Hamilton Khaki line gets all the time in the sun and to some degree deservedly so - they’re great watches with real heritage - but in fairness? No more so than these Bulova reissues - however, if genuine vintage military credibility is what you want look no further than CWC - nowhere near as commercially available, truly niche enthusiast and available at reasonable prices - aside from Marathon CWC is one of VERY few watchmakers still providing actual military spec watches to governments around the world
I got mine on the 'bay. I'm not really a watch reviewer proper, where I'd review watches as they come out. I tend to pick things up long after they've been at a discount. I guess my channel is less about watch buying advice, and more about documenting what was. Though, keep your eyes open you may find the quartz one soon enough. The autos are easy to find now.
No, and given the success of that video I'll probably hang on to it for a while. I really do love the way it looks, and the metronome is a fun party trick. Though everyone I know has already seen my video so no one left to show..
Hey all, hope you find these as wonderful as I do. I love being able to compare the same watch in both Quartz and Mechanical.
I mention that glass crystals have been the norm for 100 years. What I meant was 'not Sapphire'. For a long time it was some mix of glass and acrylic.
If anyone knows the details of the WW2 watch this homage, or VWI, let me know! I see a ton of vintage Bulovas for sale, but the background isn't clear.
I have the off-white version. Paid $195.00 at Jomashop
Bought the one with the green strap and red 24 hour numerals a month ago. Absolutely love it as a daily wearer. Keeps excellent time and power reserve is very good also. Great watch for the money!
Bulova perplexes me as a brand. As you say, they were there for everything. Ignoring even the fact that they managed to get one of their watches on the moon, their accutron movements were in the panel clocks on every Apollo mission. They have dive watch history, military watch history, space, serious horological history in their accutron movements, list goes and on and on. Blows my mind theyre not as collectible as a brand like Heuer or Universal Geneva. Suppose it’s a good thing for us budget vintage collectors, but still odd, I haven’t quite figured out why that is
Agree 100%. I think I've learned that the past doesn't matter nearly as much as the present to most collectors. If somehow Omega went away today as a brand, they'd be dirt cheap in 50 years, their history would no longer be told as loudly.
For now, I can only enjoy great watches at a fair price, both the actual vintage watches and their killer Reissues and classically styled watches. I just nabbed a Joseph Bulova collection watch and it's fantastic.
@@lookatwrist I think you’re right. Most brands of that era still around today leverage their history towards massive overpricing. I suppose it’s respectable that bulova choose to maintain relative affordability despite their pretty wild past. Still blows my mind though that you can get a vintage bulova with a dial made by the same folks that made the exotic Paul Newman dials, case by the same company that did the og speedmaster case and an in house movement for a couple hundred bucks. i can see the tide turning as bulova focus more on their back catalog, so get em while we can I guess lol. enjoy that Joseph Bulova, been eyeing one of the LE automatic surfboards.
I’ve had the ivory dial for four months. The feature I noticed most was the smell of the strap, which is marked Bulova and Genuine Leather. I bought a military-style strap for it, but as the smell has subsided, I’m happy with the thin, soft original. I hope to get another Bulova military revival, the A-15.
I just bought the white dial last Sunday, absolutely fantastic time piece.
Nice.
I’m not into Bulova but found your review interesting, so thank you.
What a great selection of bulova field watches! Thhe brand is always overlooked, but its offer of high accuracy quartz and very affordable automatics, paired with its history, makes it very attractive. Thanks for sharing
I saw one in a jewellers window...looked good
I love this Bulova Hack’s. Great video congratulations. Leonardo 🖖
Wow dude, you just save me from buying the quartz one thinking it was automatic
No problem! To be honest, I really liked the quartz one, the fact it has a thinner case was pretty interesting no me. I wound up keeping just one, the limited VWI one.
My new favorite watch channel! There’s so little spotlight shed on all the amazing quartz offerings on the market! Glad I got in on the ground floor before this channel really takes off, keep up the great work
I just bought me the ivory one cant wait to get it
I sold 3 of these (Cant keep em all.), but I miss the Ivory one.
@@lookatwrist which one did you keep ?
for the price you got these, they are brilliant watches. you guys get the second best prices, japan is still 1st.
the design of these bulova hack is great as-well and there's something special about field watches that are simple and interesting at the same time.
Great video,lovely looking watches
Great review! Just bought the quartz model can’t wait to see it! 👍
Nice, they're all a great choice.
Makers don’t include dates because “more is more,” they include dates because it’s the most phenomenally useful feature there is and so many buyers won’t buy a watch without a date. For these stylish retro reissues, it makes sense to leave the date off for the style. A bolder move would have been to go with the period-correct 32mm case size! I woulda bought one, but imagine how few they would have sold to men if they had done that.
Yes a 32mm version of this would have been completely unexpected. I don't know if that would make me love it twice as much or hate it. I think it would have had twice the buzz but half the sales?
Wrt date windows, I have had a few beautiful dress watches that have had an ugly date just plonked right into it that just disrupts the dial completely. My peeve there is when the movement chosen has a date wheel way too big or small for the dial, with the date practically in the middle of the watch or sitting against the chapter ring. I love having a date when it fits the watch, I could have been clearer.
@@lookatwrist Yeah for dress watches I have the Timex Marlin, which is 34 and has no date, and a Seiko SNK621K1, where the date with day fully written out in letters is kind of the point. I'd like to have a nicer dress watch... buuuuut I always think how often I am actually going to wear a dress watch, especially nowadays, which is: extremely seldom. Sooo I buy another dive watch instead, with its glorious timing bezel. 😅... and date, always, of course... in fact I found my no-dates so aggravating that I sort of vowed to myself I would never buy a serious piece with no date unless it was a dress watch or there was some other compelling reason.
@@yoinkhaha LOL...I'm in the total opposite camp. Really aggravating to see what would have been a clean, symmetrical dial that's now disrupted with a date window. To me, it's just another complication that will cost more to repair in the future, while making for a cluttered appearance. At my advanced age, I can't even read the date anyway, so I just see a blurry rectangle, which makes it even more unsightly and useless (in my case). All that said, I do have a few watches with a date complication, but only because they don't come without it. Good news is that I never bother setting the date because I can't read it! To each his/her own, though...it's what makes the watch community fun and interesting. Enjoy.
I have two of the watches shown , the amazing quartz with a leather nato ( its stamped leather on the back side of the strap!,)
I also have the red 34 hour automatic with tge green leather nato !
Both are superb and have excellent build quality and vintage vibes fit well on my 7.5 inch wrist and worth the money we'll spent
I've let go three of these, wasn't easy for sure. Bulova is underappreciated.
Great video and so nice to see these watches side by side! Been collecting genuine WWII-era A-11 examples for years, and just discovered these wonderful modern interpretations. However, I haven't seen prices as low as what you quoted in the video...even on eBay. Best I can find is in the mid $200's, so just curious where you purchased these.
eBay. I probably bought them at a low. I've found that prices decrease, hit a bottom, and never get that low ever again.
96A259 is the winner in my opinion. I am not a fan of fake vintage accents like fauxtina or bronze cases and this watch looks shiny with prestine lume and bright steel lined hands. I like this better over a Hamilton Khaki. My only issue is the water resistance. Bulova should have made them with more resistance than just 100 meters to ensure everyday wear. But overall great looking watch.
Great vid as always. White dials are my favorite too. Black and blue are so overdone.
Hi Matt, I had no idea you like watches. I did watch your channel intensively in the past (mainly in the beginning when it was small). I liked how you approached sometimes controversial linux stuff with a cool and well-thought out ideas. But for the last few years I went to FreeBSD and kinda lost interest in the linux turmoil. And also, it felt like a logical step, I've been with linux since the early 00's.
What kind of watches do you own?
Great video! I've been wanting a vintage style infantry field watch for a while now. I also have a Khaki pilot pioneer mechanical, the one modeled after the 1970's RAF W10. But I also have an Explorer so it was hard to justify the ~$600 for a Khaki mechanical. Yesterday I came across the Hack VWI version on sale so went for it! Really like the tie in with the VWI history. Looking forward to getting it on wrist!
I also find the faux-Nato design of those straps kind of odd though. I feel like from a manufacturing stand point, a true nato would have been cheaper and less complex. But the Hack really is a chunky watch for the 38mm diameter. I agree the design choice may have been to keep the thickness down.
Weird strap right? Took it off and keep it in the box. The watch wears a single pass canvas strap from Haveston now. Looks killer.
@@lookatwrist I've had the watch for about a week now and love it! The domed crystal looks amazing. Currently have it on a dark brown crazy horse leather zulu strap. Enjoying it!
Probably in the minority here but the quartz watch inches the others out for me due to its slimness. Owned the auto, returned it & kept the quartz. Keeps perfect time, needs no attention & just drives.
Can't go wrong with a good quartz watch.
Nice video...too bad Bulova does not offer a manual wound version of the Hack.
Yeah, it could have been a few bucks cheaper and a bit thinner. I don't know if Bulova/Citizen has their own manual wind movement, they would have to go swiss and that would impact the price.
Really NICE watches! Is it a sin to want them all? Thanks for the video!
Buying all of them is exactly what I had to do! I can't keep them all but it's hard trying to pick just one. I like the more pronounced lume on the Quartz watch but like the limited caseback on the black Auto.
I love military watches - the Hamilton Khaki line gets all the time in the sun and to some degree deservedly so - they’re great watches with real heritage - but in fairness? No more so than these Bulova reissues - however, if genuine vintage military credibility is what you want look no further than CWC - nowhere near as commercially available, truly niche enthusiast and available at reasonable prices - aside from Marathon CWC is one of VERY few watchmakers still providing actual military spec watches to governments around the world
Hello amazing watch is the glass scratch proof ?
No, they don't use sapphire sadly. But, I've not scratched mine yet.
@@lookatwrist cool thanks !
I don’t care for the quartz watch a eco drive movment would be awsome.
great video, just one question from me, what exact quartz movement is used in the 96A219 model ?
Good question, not sure, I've since sold this off. Probably a Miyota, as it's owned by Citizen. It wasn't a fancy quartz, just a plain jane model.
That's a very thick watch. 13.5mm
Great video but why would you try on the quartz one? 😂
The quartz doesn't seem to be available on Macy's website. Is it available elsewhere?
I got mine on the 'bay. I'm not really a watch reviewer proper, where I'd review watches as they come out. I tend to pick things up long after they've been at a discount. I guess my channel is less about watch buying advice, and more about documenting what was.
Though, keep your eyes open you may find the quartz one soon enough. The autos are easy to find now.
whats the reference for the quartz version?
96A219
Did u sell the metronome?
No, and given the success of that video I'll probably hang on to it for a while. I really do love the way it looks, and the metronome is a fun party trick. Though everyone I know has already seen my video so no one left to show..
@@lookatwrist can you tell me where you bought it tho
@@oliverhaq3s254 I bought mine on eBay. Lots of Japanese importers are selling through there. Search for Seiko SMW.