Bulova Men's Archive Series Lunar Pilot 6-Hand Chronograph High Performance Quartz Stainless Steel and Black Nylon Strap Watch Set, Sapphire Crystal Style: 96B251

There isn't really much to be said about the Bulova Lunar Pilot that hasn't already been said. It's a absolutely stunning piece in person. None of the photos or videos did the vast array of changes in height and depth of the different complications and watch elements justice. I genuinely love looking at this watch every single time I turn my wrist. So far, it's accuracy has not been lied about. It has remained bang on down to the second from the moment I set the time. The fit and finish are excellent. As others have said, it is a lot of watch for the price especially if purchased on sale as I did.The main reason I am writing this review is because at the time of purchase and of writing this review (about a week a part) the items description lists the band size at 22mm. Which surprised me as I also purchased a 22mm nato strap at the same time and it did not fit at all. I checked today with my calipers and it's absolutely a 20mm width for the strap. So, the watch is incredible and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone but, just know, it's 20mm when purchasing other straps!Edit: I've been wearing this wonderful watch daily for a little over a month. I wanted to share a quick update with a few thoughts. First, this watch seems wonderfully durable. I haven't been abusing it by any means but, the sapphire looks as clear and perfect as the day I got it. And the case remains pristine. Secondly, it hasn't dropped even a second in that time which I am extremely please about. Thirdly, and finally, the lume is... garbage. I love everything about this watch with that as the one exception. Even after 45 minutes of charging in direct sunlight at noon, the lume does not glow brightly, and dims within 10~ minutes of going into dark. It's a shame because the blue hue of the lume is absolutely gorgeous. And every other part of the watch is divine but, the lume. If you really *need* legibility in dark situations or spend a lot of time in the dark, this may not be an ideal watch for you. While I am slightly disappointed, most of my work is done on the light side of the moon, so it's still all good for me haha.

Really cool “Worn on the Moon” story. All the things that made it great for wearing on that trip make it great down here as well.This is a Big watch, at 45mm case size, and a larger lug-to-lug, it covers all the real estate on a 6.5in wrist. However it feels fine - it isn’t particularly heavy when worn on a light strap, and I didn’t notice the size almost immediately after wearing it. The size does impart a major advantage - combined with the very legible dial-hands color combination, and the flat crystal, this is a very clear, easy watch to read - particularly for middle aged eyes starting to lose their acuity!The Precisionist movement is all it’s advertised to be; its accurate to within a couple of seconds after 5 months. All the chronograph, tachymeter functions work really well - it is neat to see the smooth tachymeter hand sweep. I don’t really use these much, but nice to know it’s there when needed to time the steep on a nice pot of tea… really like the flat chrono pushers as well.

It's hard to imagine a better deal than that offered by Bulova for this watch. Often what sets a watch apart from countless other similar watches is the "story" behind the watch. Whether it's the Rolex worn by Sean Connery, the Tag Heuer worn by Steve McQueen, or the Cartier worn by JFK. The most sought after watches have a story. Indeed, one of the most sought after watches is an Omega Speedmaster Professional. This is the watch worn by the American Astronauts for the Gemini, Apollo and Skylab missions, and until recently, were the only watches ever to make it to the moon. However, owning a "speedy" will set you back several thousand dollars, but that's what you need to spend to get a "moon watch".Up until now. The story goes that David Scott, commander of Apollo 15 was given a Bulova prototype to "test" while on mission. While he did not plan on actually "testing" the watch, he did put it in with the rest of his stuff as backup. As luck would have it, it was needed as his Speedmaster failed when the crystal popped out, and Scott wore the Bulova on the moon for EVA 3 and on the return trip.That watch recently sold for 1.6 MILLION dollars in auction and is the only privately owned watch that has been on the moon.Bulova has taken that story and created an homage to that prototype. The Lunar Pilot is the result.Even without the space pedigree, this is one special watch. It's quartz movement beats at 8 times the normal frequency giving the watch an accuracy of approximately 10 to 15 seconds a YEAR vice the normal 10 to 15 second a month variance on normal quartz watches. This movement also features a second hand that ticks every half second and a sweeping chronograph hand that is normally found only on mechanical watches.Encased in it's bead blasted stainless steel case, the watch is 45mm wide which makes it a large watch. The watch is capped by a thick sapphire crystal, and the back is engraved with the mission information from the Apollo mission.The face detail is exquisite. Instead of a "flat face" like on many watches, the seconds marker track is recessed, and the face is raised. The 5 min lume markers are raised further on the base and the subdials are slightly recessed into the dial. This type of detail is rarely found on a watch of this price point.A date window between the 4 and 5 position discreetly gives the day of the month. The subdial at 3 o'clock is used for measuring 1/20th seconds in chronograph mode while the 9 o'clock subdial shows minutes elapsed. The 6 o'clock subdial shows running seconds for timekeeping and remains moving whether or not the chronograph is in operation or not.The watch is very clean and legible as would be expected for a watch designed for space travel. In fact the face is much like an Omega Speedmaster, not due to any copyright infringement, but rather due to the necessity of maintaining the NASA specifications already laid forward. The case design, however is very distinctive with recessed pusher bars that pivot for the chronograph functions. It's easy to see that these pusher bars were designed specifically to be operated by a large gloved hand.The watch itself is water resistant to 50 meters, but really isn't designed for water sports.This version of the watch comes with two straps, a leather strap and a fabric strap that is reminiscent of the NASA strap used by the astronauts. A strap removal tool is also included along with a certificate of authenticity and booklet describing the history of the watch.This watch also comes with a stainless steel bracelet version, but they are not interchangeable as the lug holes are in different locations for both watches.Even without it's interesting inspiration, this watch would be a bargain. The accuracy of 10 sec a year makes this one of the most accurate watches you can reasonably own. The attention to detail of this watch rivals that of much more expensive watches. The fact that it comes with such an interesting back story makes it a must for anyone who values unique and collectible time pieces. And you don't have to plop down several thousand dollars to do so.

So glad I opted for this version! I’m not saying that If I listened to others, and chose the smaller version, I would be terribly disappointed, but I’m really liking this one especially having the date complication! It wears smaller on my 7” wrist than I expected, much like my 43 mm TAG Heuer. Finishing is first rate, too. I really live the contrast between the hands and dial. So reminiscent of aeronautical instruments, I just love tool watches like this. The supplied straps appear well made, though I’ve only used the leather one so far and I imagine I’ll also buy the bracelet Island Watch offers in a matching blasted finish. Anyone on the fence about buying this one really needs to just pull the trigger. I’m sure they’ll be glad they did!