BULOVA A-15 UNBOXING: The Pilot's Watch That Never Was (Sort of)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2024
- I just got in a new Bulova A-15 Pilot watch for my personal collection and I'm excited to open it with you. This watch dates back to the 1940s where 500 units were made and tested by the American Air Force before being shelved and archived. Well, Bulova has dusted off the blueprints and given us a modern interpretation of a very cool piece of history. Check out the video to see my first impressions.
"The A-15 Pilot Watch is inspired by the 1944 Military Issue A-15 “Elapsed Time Watch” and incorporates unique features of the original. A stainless steel case with distinctive black dial features two rotating inner discs operated by two crowns. The 2H crown rotates elapsed time while the 4H crown indicates dual time. The unique design of this timepiece, as well as its functional features, are made more authentic by the fine 21-jewel automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve. The subtle topstitched brown leather strap completes the look. Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. Water resistance to 30 metres." (bulova.com)
Thanks to Chris at Watch Chris for the recommendation. Check out his review here: • Bulova A-15 Hands On R...
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Beautiful Bulovas. I have a weakness for Bulova. You picked two great watches. Congrats! 🍾🎊🎉
Thanks a lot, buddy! 👍 👍
That’s a stunner man! Thanks for talking about Bulova again, one of my favorite watch brands out there!
My pleasure! They are so hit and miss sometimes. But when they do it right they do it right. 👍
That's a gorgeous watch! Great addition to the collection. Enjoyed the video, as usual. Take care!
Thanks for stopping by, Jamie. 👍 It is gorgeous indeed. I'm very pleased. 😊
I really like it. Hadn't heard of this one until now.
Thanks, Bob. They also have a new 38mm hack but it has a mineral crystal and I'm all done with that.
Wow....that is a stunning watch...I love the pilot/military type look...that's gorgeous. I must get myself one of those.
I highly recommend it. And I saw the price has come down quite a bit on Jomashop and I'd wager that authorized dealers will have some good sales December 26th.
It's really nice. I like the dial a lot
It's pretty cool isn't it? Busy but not cluttered. 👍
Good choice bulova undervalued, I myself am a bulova fan 👊🏿
Nice vid man! 😎🍻👍This watch is a really nice Bulova! Thanks for sharing and introducing it to me, I had no idea this even existed. 😲
Dave
You are most welcome and thanks very much! 🤟🍻😊 It is definitely a neat piece that hasn't really hit the mainstream. 👍
What a beauty
What a great dial! The 2 rotating bezels is such a nifty feature. Great purchase. Looks great on your wrist. 😁
Thanks so much!
Like the vintage logo much better on this reissue. Awesome watch! Can't wait to get mine soon!
I think you will really enjoy it!
Watching you use those scissors was hair raising. Ordering the watch though. :)
Lol. I'm a menace. I hope you enjoy it.
Excellent looking watch, my brother. Hilarious packaging situation.
Ha ha. Thanks very much.
Nice watch mate! Have you looked into the Bulova Lunar Pilot? Another awesome watch...
Thanks! Almost bought one a few times. 👍
@@halfpastblog Do it its a amazing watch in person.
Nice clean looking watch....these days people do not want all thew complication, just need to tell the time !
I agree. Sometimes it nice to just have a simple 3 hander. 👍. Thanks for writing!
@@halfpastblog maybe you can soon do a review for my new micro brand ? www.stronduk.com/
@Half Past Blog
I've recently had a couple watches from Halifax Watch Co.. and it was the best packaging I'd ever seen. Awesome store and unique selection!
I'm happy you took a look at this watch, it's been on my mind with the hack watch and the devil diver. I don't have a Bulova watch, but one among those will be soon, hopefully.
I enjoyed your video from a technical aspect as well...subbed and anxious to see more!
You are far too kind! It is a beautiful watch that I highly recommend. I like the Hack as well but the big downside for me is mineral crystal. But of course that is reflected in the price. The devil diver is very cool, as are the surfboards. But for me the A-15 won my heart.
Halifax Watch has impeccable packaging. I bought a Seiko Monster 4th Gen from them. I don't know if you follow me on Instagram but I posted a pic a week ago of a surprise apology gift from Citizen Canada. I was very pleased and surprised.
@@halfpastblog Whoa! That's sharp alright.. way to keep a customer Citizen!
By the way, about the watches... I have my annoyance with the A-15, but while I don't care that much for glass vs sapphire.. one thing that does tick me off a watch are the size of the hands compared to the dial.
On the hack, I REALLY like how the hands reach right to edge... and on the A-15, I find the hands really short compared to the dial. I'd almost rather see the GMT outer ring be at the complete extremity instead of right next to the hour markers.
Hours are right next to hours, and the outer minutes indicator is far out away from the minute hand.
Honestly though, it's a niggle... it's realyl a good looking watch. I really think the shape of the hands, the fonts and the colors are spot on and attractive.
I appreciate the fact it clearly incorporates pilot watch elements and what we usually compare to modern field watch elements (24 hour track, high legibility).
;)
@@GODSPEEDseven I can see now what you mean about flipping the rotating rings. But I disagree about the length of the hands, and I know I'm in the minority. The hour hand perfectly covers the 24 hour markings and the minute and second hands hit the train track chapter ring nicely. Maybe they could have lengthened the second hand but I'm good with it. Pilots watches have a history of short hour hands. But of course this is all personal preference. I respect it all
@@halfpastblog Absolutely! There is no "bad" taste when it comes to "taste".. hehe!
One thing I also noticed, watches are one of those things that are so different when held in hand vs. simply being looked at through photos/videos.
I enjoyed your video because of the angles and clarity of the focus.
I've also been looking for that 96b230 because that coin-edge bezel is killing me man!! But I'm completely out of luck... not to mention watches with names like Russian top secret weapons "96b230" is usually misleading, because most ppl have no idea about the model number, they simply call it something like a "bulova automatic" or a "bulova accutron" and don't realize that's pretty generic.
Looks like you got a return but looks in good shape.
Thanks for posting this review. I saw one in store last month and have been contemplating a purchase ever since. Still trying to decide between the A-15 or the Hack.
If you want a cheaper, smaller, and more simple watch with mineral crystal then get the Hack. If you dig the size and dial of the A-15 and don't mind the price then go that way. 👍
Great review! I'm still on the fence about this one, but I really like a lot of the features. Both inner dials for the elapsed time and the 12 hour dual time are ones I would actually use for various situations in my life. I like the boxes sapphire with AR coating, the numerals are all very legible and neat despite being a busy dial, and even the strap looks kinda cool.
However, there's a lot of gripes I have, too, though some are preferences and not necessarily an indicator of a bad watch. I wish it had a better movement as well, but as long as it's a 40-41 hour power reserve with hacking I can live it it. The water resistance is...going from 100m-200m divers to 30m is jarring. I don't understand why they couldn't have made the back and crowns screw down and help on that front. I think it would help to secure the crowns for the inner dials so they don't accidentally get moved during the day to day wear.
No date window is a bummer. I get why but it's a function I almost always need on a tool watch. They could have put a cut out date window at the 3:00 or 4:00, but then they'd have to swap out the movement for something else to accomodate that, right?
Lastly, the size of the lug to lug kind of rides on the edge of the max dimensions for wearability for my 7" wrist. I think 50mm could work, but seeing as how the lugs do curve slightly downwards might help out. The strap, again, looks cool but I'd probably put it on a more substantial one.
Oveall I like it more than I dislike it so I'm just waiting to see where to get it at a good price. But this review definitely helps get an idea of what I'd be in for.
Ya I definitely need to do a deeper review of this bad boy. Having worn it for some months has provided insight. Prices have plummeted and I'd definitely snatch one up if you don't need to go near water. It is gorgeous in person.
500 originals were made, not 50. Recently received one as a birthday present from my wife. Very pleased overall. The size is perfect for my 7.5 inch wrist. The lume is good and remains visible all night long. The strap is the best factory strap I've seen on a Bulova, very supple with just the right amount of distressing. I'll put mine on a Bund strap, but this supplied strap is nice. A nice effort from Bulova.
Yes the strap is very nice. It's one of the few stock straps that I actually like. Yes, there were 500 made. Caught that in editing and added a correction to the description and there's a note in the vid at around 6:40. Thanks for writing. 👍
I wish they would have put the Precisionist movement in it.
Now that would be cool! Love that movement. 👍
Wow, this watch is looks so 👨 man! A must for biker!
It's a cool one for sure. 👍 👍
The design reminds me a bit of the Hamilton " Skymaster" UTC , the black version. The Bulova is also a nice piece, regardless of price ! ;-)
Now that one I had to look up. I can see what you mean. Thanks for commenting! 👍
Check out Davosa watches. Swiss brand with some very nice pieces. I have the Neoteric Pilot, it is somewhat similar to your Bulova. The list price is roughly the same.
I've seen them but haven't really looked closely. Great advice. Thanks!
I would very much like to have that watch. That is remarkably attractive. The movement is really the poorest part of the watch. I know that Bulova, owned by Citizen, uses miyota movements because Citizen owns them however they’re really not my favourite. Great looking watch, cool review. Like that we have similar size wrists, hard to judge a watches size when someone says it’s too large and then you realize they have a 6.5” wrist. Very, very cool.
You are spot on. I wish at the price they'd have used a better movement. But honestly, the rest of the watch is so great that it doesn't bother me any more. The accuracy has been decent.
The least Bulova could have done was to use a 9000 series Miyota or even IMHO use a Precisionist UHF / 262Khz movement. Remember It has a Closed Caseback, anyway ... just sayin'. ;-)
But still, a Miyota movement of any series is better than a Chinese Seagull movement.
Time the wife at Superstore. lol. That is VERY Canadian.👍
😂😁
Hello!
Thanks for your work!
This is my first watch, I know that it is self-winding. Could you please tell me: is this watch supposed to be wound with a crown? Or do they just need to be shaken to run? The fact is that the crown does not spin smoothly, I'm afraid it might break the watch. Thank you in advance, respectfully, Mikhail.
The movement is also hand winding. Give it about 20 turns and start wearing it. The movement of your arm will keep it running. It will last almost 40 hours at full wind.
I bought the Bulova A-15 a few months ago. I like the look, but the movement ( A2S6 Miyota ) is running +30 seconds, which is disappointing. Would I buy it again....not sure, but I need to adjust the time about twice a week.
Oh ya that's definitely on the high end. Mines around ten seconds. Could be magnatized or just needs adjustment.
I am not trying to be critical - I genuinely want to know - is it pronounced Bul-low-va (as was pronounced in this video, or is is pronounced Bul-uh-va, which is the way I have always heard it. Maybe this is one of those differences between Canadian and US English. Curious to know what others think. Either way, this is going to be my Fleiger watch. I love the design and I also like the fact that is an homage to the original that is pretty faithful. Thanks very much for the review.
I appreciate the question. I really do t know. Some have yelled at me for my pronunciation and others seem to agree. Sorry I'm not more helpful in that regard.
I think you will enjoy it!
You won't scratch Sapphire with anything except a diamond however it can shatter if hit hard enough it's second in Hardness to a diamond.
You are correct. That's why we love sapphire. 👍
Curious to know if while wearing the piece if the crowns get moved inadvertently throwing off the timing of the hour/minute tracks?
They absolutely do. That will be a negative when I get to a full review. It doesn't bother me much though. It's usually out by half a second by end of day.
hello
nice video
nice day
connected!!!!!
Thanks very much for checking in. Have a great one!
Hi, what about presicion , how many seconds+/- a day???
Greetings from Argentina
I'm getting around +8
I have a 6 3/4 inch wrist. Does it wear small for a 42 mm case? Thanks in advance.
I don't think so. It has a very minimal bezel which adds to the presence as well as the thickness of the watch. And the 50mm lug to lug means that you'd need a wide and flat wrist to pull it off. With that size wrist I would consider a few different options. 40mm Alpina Startimer if you want an aviation watch. Hamilton Khaki mechanical is a great field watch. Or the new Baltic compressor at 39mm if you want the inner rotating bezel. Just a thought.
No one cites the lug to lug width! 42mm in diameter, but what's the lug to lug?
50 give or take a half mm
@@halfpastblog Ok--thanks.
I want one
Definitely love mine. 👍 👍
I too wish Bulova would stop using the miyota 8000 series in their automatics. They are otherwise lovely pieces
Right on. Thanks for watching and commenting. 👍 👍
Nevertheless, better than Chinese movements.
how bizarre to have the box supplied empty and a Citizen box at that.
It was weird. But Citizen owns Bulova so not as weird as you might think. Citizen apologized and sent me a free book. Very cool of them.
Love the watch, HATE, and I dont use that term lightly, HATE the strap. It’s a strap worthy of a $20 timex.
Really? And I liked the strap. How funny.
@@halfpastblog I've heard mixed reviews on the strap. Some say it is too thin, others say the feel of the leather isn't quality, others say that it's pretty nice and they like the distressed look. I think it looks great, but I know I'd probably swap it out for something else lol.
Is it automatic or battery,mechanical or quartz?
It is a Miyota automatic. 👍
great video amigo, im between this or the 666 , saludos
Thanks a lot! That's a tough call! Both look great. I guess it comes down to whether you want a field/aviation watch or diver. Might also come down to size.
Half Past Blog thank you 👍🏻👋🏻 i have a channel too , hope go and see it . Saludos
I will!
Too many numbers making me dizzy
Sounds like you need to see a doctor. 😂😂
800 dollars watch made in china??? Rip off.
Definitely don’t pay that. It is always deeply discounted.
What a shame. The watch in a plastic bag. The box from other watch company. Return it immediately. We are not animals. The seller at least is unprofessional
Well this was months ago so I won't be returning it but the seller made it right. 👍
Most Bulovas suck, a few are good for the price. This is one of the good ones.
What is the lug to lug length of the watch? Best regards
50.2mm Look forward to a full review in coming weeks