Bulova MIL SHIPS Limited Edition Vs Standard Edition Which is Better Swiss Or Non Limited Edition
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2021
- Bulova MIL SHIPS Limited Edition Vs Standard Edition Which is Better Swiss Or Non Limited Edition
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Thanks to you breaking the news in August I pounced on an LE model and LOVE it. Based on this review, I may have waited to see the Standard model then decided. Great review.
Thanks for this, brother. I think I'll go with the non-limited in this one, as it mimics the original best. Appreciated!
Thanks for the review 👍 I haven't been getting notifications when you do a new video . As you know I'm a big Fifty Fathoms fan , I'm waiting for the price drop on the Bulova but will definitely get the standard version .
Hey Chris i have the SE and you simply move the watch head further down the strap to remove the excess strap overhang. It tucks in nicely into the keeper. Great video btw 👍🏽
THE ORIGINAL Bulova "Prototype" Diver Wristwatch, intended for use by the U.D.T. tested in 1959 by the U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit, made for the U.S. Navy in 1958. It had a three-body, brushed, screwed ring on the case back, graduated bidirectional revolving black bezel, triangular lugs, with Black dial with luminous triangular, round and baton indexes. Luminous skeleton hands, outer minute/seconds divisions, moisture indicator above the 6. Movement Cal. 10BPCHN, gilt brass, 17 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring.Dial and movement signed, numbered on the case. Diameter 41 mm. Thickness 13 mm. with 16 mm lug width.
Designated MIL-SHIPS-W-2181, Bulova Wrist Watch, Submersible, the watch was intended by the Navy to be a replacement for the obsolete Elgin "Canteen" diver's watch. The watch featured a unique two-piece water-resistant case back, a thick brass anti-magnetic case holder, and a newly designed movement - the 17 jewel manual wind 10 BPCHN. The unique movement featured a clutch mechanism that prevented the watch from being over-wound. A small number of these watches were delivered for testing by the U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit in 1958, and were successfully depth tested to 395 feet. A further small number were delivered in early 1959 for field testing by the Diving Unit and the Navy's UDT-21 frogman team. After the testing, recommendations for improvements were incorporated by the Navy in a final set of specifications for the watch, redesignated MIL-SHIPS-W-22176, and issued in September 1959.
For unknown reasons, the Bulova company pulled out from their development contract with the Navy in late 1959, about the time the new MIL-SHIPS-W-22176 specification was finalized. The prototype never went into commercial production, and only a handful were ever made, all of which were delivered to the Navy. Only three examples are known to have survived.
In March of 1961, the Navy revised the specifications for the watch as MILSHIPS- W-22176A, and solicited bids for its manufacture. The contract was awarded to the Blancpain company (Rayville, S.A.) through its U.S. distributor, Allen V. Tornek Co. The resulting watches, designated "Tornek-Rayville TR-900," were made in Switzerland by Blancpain, and approximately 1000 watches were delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1964 and 1966
Love it! Bought mine yesterday is a true to form vintage watch!
I honestly think if this had 20 or even 19mm strap, they wouldve had few more customers. The 16mm just looks fugly to me
Bulova did the same with the surfboard edition, one quartz and inexpensive, and one Swiss automatic with a heftier price. Both look very similar. Nice video on showing the slight differences.
Hence I got the quartz!🤣👍🏼
Thanks for the comparison ! Helps a lot.
im surprised with all the diffrence comparisons the crystal height wasnt mentioned,the domed crystal on the limited is higher noticably,thanon the standard which accounts for the case thickness diffrence,not the embossed caseback,,,just saw when the watches are back to back or side view in the vid,and when calipers were used to measure the thickness,also a reiew on teddys site shows the crytal diffrence height,its a big diffrence,wanted to share that,excellent review in my opinion thanks watchchris.
thanks for showing so much interest and uh diving into the details of these two watches. for me the 16mm strap is actually a detail of interest as bulova was willing to stick with the specs. i say, cool! yes, the pricing is problematic and not thrilled with the 8xx miyota but that just means i have to wait a little while before busting a move. thanks again.
I just got one for less than USD$450 so yeah waiting it out is probably not a bad idea at all
That's a great price where did you get it?
@@WatchChris An online stockist in Australia with a coupon code specifically to discount this particular model. 😀
Great video, i suppose you could fit a Swiss movt inside the non limited version!?
Another awesome video Chris! I love my limited edition Mil Ship with a modified 22m strap on it. Glad to see the differences compared to the standard one. The extra piece of fabric on the black nato is so that the loop keeper can slide up and down and be adjusted when on the wrist. I do agree that the blue nato looks sharp with the leather trim around though. Thanks for always putting out great content!
How'd you modify your strap?
@@idrizo You can take a 22mm strap and precisely cut the two edges that meets the lugs, turning it into an integrated strap. Basically cut two little squares, one on each side. If done right, it will look like it was made for it!
@@daverichards1337 interesting! Thank you for the advice 😊
@@daverichards1337 one last thing, I'm choosing between the limited and regular version. Should I go for the limited that's available locally or is it not a huge difference ?
@@idrizoI went for the limited since I plan on keeping it in my collection and for all the reasons stated in this video. It has a thinner profile, a reliable Swiss movement which then gets the dial to say “Swiss Made,” the lumed bezel, better case back and the sweet helmet display that the watch comes in. Economically though, the other version is good. It’s just the little touches for me that makes the difference.
Excelente revisión, felicidades. Queda muy clara la diferencia entre uno y otro. En lo personal no me convence del todo para comprarme uno.
Saludos desde CDMX
What about the double dome prominence of the two editions? Are they the same? I saw on another you tube video that the LE crystal prominence is little bit higher than SE one...
Can you please let me know what strap options there are for this? I just got the standard edition
I like both the watches, especially the domed crystal. Too bad the straps are so narrow, though. There must be a way to get around that.
Nice review. I just purchased the Standard Edition for
Where did you get it from if you don't mind sharing? Thanks.
That’s a good looking watch - like the 16mm nato - 😍😍😍🌶
I had the standard one, but when shake it, the second hand will stop! Is it normal?
Bezel aside, is the lume any stronger on the limited edition versus the normal?
I thought the non-limited version would not have the white painted hands, it would have a silver hands. This makes it tempting for me.
Just wandering if a 18mm nato can be squeezed between those lugs, without looking ridiculous?...
Relieved to see they did lume the pip for the standard version. Would be unforgivable if they hadn't.
Outstanding review Chris 👏 I really like them, but if I was to get one I would purchase the standard.... thank you for your great work 👍
Love your content but I have just a complain for my LE... all the lume has a weak performance and it`s a shame for a this price tag and been a tool diver.
I really like these but that Miyota 8000 series was a mistake. at this price point they should have used a 9000 series. I have two watches with the 9000 movement and they were 1/3 to half the price of this watch so no excuse Bulova using the 8k movement.
Great review Chris but bulive charge too much for that price Christopher ward has better finish in my opinion
Chris, nice vid on the standard version. I think Bulova (Citizen) bringing back models from the past is great, I have said that some old brands should re-visit their old models and modernize them a bit without taking away from them. The Sellita version, because it is Swiss made will command the price regardless, but an 8k series Miyota sort of cheap it out.
A 9k series Miyota would have made more sense because it would be high beat for a lesser price.
The "8k" is made in the Citizen factory in Japan not some chinese sweat shop and mine run well within COSC. Do you even own this movement.
@@camarocarl7130 I know that, but nevertheless the 9K series is a better higher caliber movement, so paying premium for a 8k series movement which is Miyota's lower price caliber, is a bit too much. Oh, and I have several watches with Miyota's 8 series movements, so yeah, I know a bit about them.
@@lpsalsaman I bet you know a bit about Invicta too since they have lower prices.
@@camarocarl7130 Yep I do as well, hey they weren't that bad when they revive themselves in the 90's with the ProDivers. Anyway, have a great day my friend.
@@lpsalsaman U2. IMO Seiko has gone downhill. with all their chinese factories. I like the J models though.
What is the lug to lug?
I love it, for shure will be my next wacht
1957 design language, holy smoke :-)
Very unique
They look great 💪
Nice watches but 16mm lug width, why?
Just received the swiss version 10 minutes ago. I'll pay it over 12 months interest free ($1.4k). I chose it over the miyota one just because of the lumed bezel. It fits nicely even in my small 6.5" wrist. I'll get a period correct strap for it. Maybe an af0210 strap?. I think it's a bit overpriced given the fact that you can get a very cool bronze sellita GMT glycine for just about $900 (GL0317) but I guess that for being a 1k limited edition and a piece of history is "ok".
I like the blue strap.
What a cool looking watch
What size is your wrist?
16mm.. and people find it strange it was NATO strap used on the 007 Bond Rolex Submariner? Pretty sure the famous Bond NATO was 16mm. I think was maybe closer to a standard nato strap size back then?
Bulova seems to have a lot of watches that were designed but never really made to full production. Cool they are bringing them to the masses finally after so many years.
There was no such thing as a NATO strap back in the early to mid 60s of those Bond films. It was most likely an RAF style strap.
Love em, but not the price!😱 I’ve got several Bulova’s & love the brand. Even their other WW2 reissues are great sympathetically, but those prices are not realistic. Nostalgia will only get you so far.🤔
Totally agreed. I have their 1944 aviator watch and can just about forgive the 30m WR, own a Moon Chrono and the excellent Devil Diver - this is a charming and very attractive watch like many Bulovas, but what they are asking for both versions is steep, I find it quite incredible that a Miyota powered watch with a no lune aluminium bezel is going for not far off a thousand US dollars...
Se ve muy bien, pero se parece mucho a mi Baltic Aquascape, creo que no me lo compraría.
Thanks
Even though it’s not correct, they should have gone with a 20mm strap. They’re also priced double their value, imo.
Nice watch, now I just need to wait for the price to drop by 60%.
Happy they stayed with the original design.
I'm just hoping the the replica of the "Tork - Rayville", goes back in production. As I can't imagine buying anyone of these Two, for the reasons stated in the review ... Unless, I find an extraordinary deal, either "new" or "pre-owned". And yes, 16mm straps are available. But, Not only is the variety limited. But, It shrinks more, when Your Wrist Size is 7.5 or larger. It seems those folks; may have to resort to a bespoke strap from one of those Vendors on ETSY ???
I modified a 22mm strap for it and it looks absolutely killer. Wish I could post a picture on here.
@@daverichards1337 - Dave, would I be correct, if the Overall Width of Both Lugs equals to or near 22mm ? Thanks for posting, your comment.
@@daverichards1337 P.S. 🤔 Isn't the Lug Size of most Casios also 16mm. If so, I could also use Strap Adapters for Casios; which allow "standard" Straps to be used. I think ??? 🤓
@@RoaroftheTiger Yes that is correct! Since the outermost edge of the lugs total 22mm, I took a 22mm strap and cut both sides of the edges so that the inside is 16mm. It give the watch an integrated look to it with this strap modification, which gives more of a presence on the wrist. As for Casio watches, I’m not too sure if the 16mm adapters would work well. It would have to be one where the height of it isn’t too small or big compared to the lugs of the watch. Though I’m sure if it fits right, it would look good too.
@@daverichards1337- Thanks for the quick rely, Dave. Your comments have been very helpful. I have a couple of entry level 262Khz Quartz Watches from Bulova - the Precisionist II line, which was discontinued. A WW II GI-style Field Watch & a Tribute to the Accutron 'Spaceview'. Those Second Hand sweeps are Buttery Smooth ! Not so, on the "Lunar Pilot".
btw- In 1995, I found a 14K Pink Gold Vintage Art Deco Bulova, from the Early '50s (?) It has 16mm (lol)"tear drop" Lugs.(I rescued a Vintage Mesh Bracelet & had It fitted & "rosetone plated") I believe the Dial, is either Copper or Bronze. The Crystal is a "chunk" of Exposed Glass. Obviously, I love it. But, because of it's Size & Dressy nature. I don't wear it often. Just wish Bulova; would "get their act together" ... the habitual use of the "8 series" Movements, is depressing. After all, at those price points; They should at least, be using"9000" series movements.
Stating the obvious - for what you get, the lower priced "Mil-Ships" is overpriced. Perhaps the MSRP should be about $ 700- $750, instead of the current $895 ... Not that they shouldn't offer the Sellita; as there doing with the "Mil - Ships". But It just makes sense, to offer their own "Hi Beat movement", instead of the Same Ole Thing.
Bulova Mil-ships LE vs Squale Sub-39 vs Baltic Aquascaphe vs Certina PH200M?
For me it's the Bulova because it's from a historic brand and they made it 100% faithful to the original. I would also add in the Tounek Rayville into this as well. The Certina is amazing just wish they made the size closet to the original. The squale looks great but I like the Certina a little more... But that is a personal pref on looks only.
The aquascaphe is nice but for the price the others mentioned here are way way nicer with real history behind them...
@@WatchChris I agree on your viewpoints and will definitely consider it when the moment comes for me to buy one of these beautiful timepieces. Thanks for the reply!
Love it
Yes, the limited version is better, but 10 times better? I would happily own a $400 version with a Miyota 9000 movement, if it were made
Nice review, but the thing remains tooooootally insane: the pricetag is outrageous and stupid for both types. Yes, is a very nice idea to dig inside the past and re-issue a non-issue, yes indeed, but worth another Maison like Oris for example? No, sir. Or maybe with a huuuuuge discount, yes, could be.
But Bulova is not new to very very bad ideas like a QUARTZ moonwatch re-issue (wtf???)
Don’t forget the size increase to 45mm width and lug to lug of 52mm! The quartz I can forgive as they use a very high frequency quartz which mimics an auto don’t they? And any auto chrono they put in there would automatically add 1k to the price. But yea, the size is unforgiveable
@@stuartcole4845 mmmm, no. The right movement should be a hand wind
@@lapomazza5635 Hand wind or auto, it doesn’t matter. Unless they want to put a seagull in there the price is going up massively. On top of that they then need to mod to remove the auto works because every chrono module or full integrated chrono movement in the low end of the market is auto. And I don’t think they would ever put an ST19 in there.
@@stuartcole4845 well, not exactly: the Seagull is not the only hand wind chrono on the market, but still, Seagull is originally a swiss movement, so why not? Better than quartz for this kind of piece. There is no sense to put a quartz inside a lunar re-issue of the 70! 🚣🚣🚣😎😎😎🤩🤩🤩🧐
Gotta agree with you - looks very nice and oozes vintage charm, but it is simply over priced for something with a printed, no-lume aluminium bezel when there are far cheaper yet better equivalents offered by various microbrands. Dame argument applies to the special edition. Also like you I agree that as a 'non-issue' item it is strange that they are trying to make out it has a kind of history- it doesn't. I agree too on the Moonwatch though I can understand they wanted to make it accessible to a broader market and at least used the best auto-mimicking quartz movement there is. You would be within touching distance of a far better watch like a Christopher Ward for that amount.
I've heard that the dome is bigger in the limited edition.
I didn't notice that. I did a full video compare.. Thanks for the comment
Definitivamente el precio de la versión estándar es muy, pero muy costoso, considerando que su lumen es pobre, su movimiento es básico y su correa no es la gran cosa. (ya sé que así es el original). Es hermoso, pero no debería costar más de 600 dólares.
Rewatching so the standard version is just like the limited edition but different .
Can you hear these Bulova’s tick?
I love this watch and the vintage vibe, and am a great Bulova fan, but I also smell a rat - 895 USD for a printed, non-lume bezel and unusual lug width is hard to justify when various microbrands plus Steeldive etc offer a superb quality equivalent with lumed ceramic dial and NH35 Seiko movement. Don't get me wrong I like it a lot but overall it seems well over-priced, as well as trying to big up a sort of non-history, as opposed to an actual history. And it pains me to say this as the proud owner of a Moon Chrono and a Devil Diver...
Steeldive watches are nice homages but saying they are "superb" is a little bit of stretch. They claim to be 300m WR, I really doubt that's true. I rather have an original design from Helm. But I agree, these Bulovas are grossly overpriced and the 16mm is a no-go.
@@villagranvicent Good point. However I have used under combat conditions though only dived to 120m. Vostok Amfibias hold up at that depth and so do Steeldives, Addiesdives and Heimdallrs.
After testing they were issued. The few team guys who had them used the original prototypes well into Vietnam, knowing even back then they were a cool collectible. Those originals as I understand it are the rarest military dive watches and the final US made. The history is very real, but a minor footnote of history of the guys that used them.
Lovely - but too expensive. Should’ve gone with 9 series movement and same bezel insert. Can’t justify the cost. Bit of a shame really.
I love watches and this one looks great, but I gotta be honest: In all my time wearing watches in normal, daytime/eveningtime activities, I've probably never, ever, ever, ever actually needed lume. It's one feature I really don't understand why people make such a big deal about it. Also, I don't want my watch to brighten the room when it does lume, which, as we've discussed, is entirely unnecessary unless you're truly underwater.
I have the standard. I’m surprised you didn’t mention the limited says Swiss made on the dial at the 6 position
He did :)
@VeteranPilot I should have waited until end I guess. Was expecting a mention when he talked about the dials. My B
This or the tornek-rayville reissue?
Comparison between the limited edition Bulova and the TR combing soon!!!!
@@WatchChris can't wait I'm torn between the two !
@@juniorjohnson5961 same here :)
I’m definitely picking up the TR as well on the second release
Wow! I think you have to be a big Bulova can for these. That's pretty pricey for either movement in a relatively simple case. I can understand the history, but not at this price.
Agree
I would suggest the Baltic Aquascaphe Blue Gilt if you want a much better price and I would say better appearance.
I think Bulova missed the mark with the stadard edition. The asking price is insulting for a watch with a 16mm lug width, a very cheap strap and no alternate option and the unimpressive 82S0 movement that is found in other Bulova watches that cost around $300. Bulova is owned by Citizen, they have access to Miyota 9000 series movements and that is what should have gone into this watch for the price.
Wow the price difference is HUGE
I enjoy your enthusiasm for these two watches. The 16mm lug width and strap look awful to me, very out of proportion. And the price for both versions is unreasonably high. Big pass here.
Wait for a while, I'd wager you'll see these on the gray market and also Bulova marking them down significantly within the next 12 months. They always seem to do that. For example, the Computron watches at first sold like crazy but now you can get them from Bulova direct for about 1/2 the original RRP.
16mm or 18mm??? 👍🏼
Danny mate I am totally with you 👍despite being a Bulova fan, Moonwatch and Devil Diver owner plus someone who generally likes anything owned by Citizen and thinks Bulova gets less respect overall than it deserves. However I just can't justify 895 USD for a watch with a printed, no-lume bezel and a Miyota movement (and it seems to be trying to make a virtue of a sort of non- history, rather than an actual history like the Moonwatch chrono). They don't pay me to say this but I can get a superb quality Steeldive or San Martin that looks just as good, better WR and a less obscure lug size
25% off @ macy’s right now.
What use is a dive watch without a luminous pip on the bezel. I am not a desk diver. You need to be very sure of your facts my friend.
I like the box for the standard edition…but prefer the limited edition watch. That diving helmet ‘box’ for the Limited is kinda cheap and useless
For the difference, the non limited looks like the real buy.
you should give the close shot whenever you talk.
Seriously, I do not understand Bulova. They make absolutely crazy decisions. They re-release the Lunar Pilot, but do so only in quartz and stupidly oversized with a lug to to of 52+mm. An automatic with reasonable dimensions would have been wildly popular. Then they release this thing, it’s stupidly overpriced and they can’t make a sensible adjustment to the lug width. I mean the watch just flat out looks stupid on a 16mm strap. To add insult to injury they put their $10 junk 8 series movement in the standard edition - that’s just disgusting.
What other stupid things have the done? Oh yea, re-release the awesome Accutron Astronaut GMT, but remove the GMT function and make it fixed bezel. There was a LE re-release sometime around 2011 which was GMT but then they added all these stupid coloured accents to it.
There must be some complete idiots at the helm of Bulova who are so far out of touch with what the watch community wants.
We are such a tiny segment of their business, that I doubt we really matter. The public at large probably buy 100s of times what the watch community buys, if not thousands. And if a quartz watch with "Lunar" on it sells by the truck-loads, then they'll just laugh all the way to the bank.
@@LymanPhillips Does it though (sell by the truck load to the general public)? You might be right that the general public doesn’t much care about quartz vs auto but then you also have to admit that the general public would also be ignorant (or not care much about) the watch’s actual connection to Apollo. What you can’t deny is the drastic size increase does not cater to the mass market. Having a width of 45mm and lug to lug of 52-53mm in fact severely limits the market. By any measure it is a very large watch.
I’m just not at all convinced that reissue watches in general ARE targeted at the general public because understanding the whole concept of the watch and it’s historical significance requires at least some degree of knowledge and/or interest in the history of watches.
I know I am repeating myself ad nauseum here on this (excellent and passionate) review Stuart but am totally in agreement. I can just about grasp the accessible Moon chrono with a least a quality Mecaquartz type movement, though an affordable auto movement would be welcome. I own the superb Devil Diver, and the 1944 aviator watch and can just about forgive the 30m WR (which would have been top grade for anything other than a Diver watch during the 2nd WW). However a cheap box, basic etching on the back of the case, wobbly hands during adjustment, a Miyota movement and a printed tin bezel with no lume - and they want 895 USD for it. I find this genuinely hard to justify and to quote you, yes - stupidly overpriced. I own some watches by steeldive and San Martin which are ridiculously well engineered and equivalent to modern dive standards, 300m WR and a dozen proven dives in the Med and Pacific.
I wish the watch was on rubber strap
Crystal sits higher on the limited.
Funny how you don't know how to use a calipre to measure depth
no offence only someone with too much money would by a limited edition
Selitta movements suck anyway. Bulova doesn't lubracte them properly and the reversing gears stick all the time. Just get the Miyota.
Not cool at that price.
Las correas dan vergüenza
That’s an ugly ass watch