Joseph Bulova was just 23 years old when he founded the company Bulova, which originally operated as a modest jewellery store in New York City. By the year 1911, it was manufacturing high quality pocket watches and clocks. Eventually, Joseph Bulova created manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, which produced timepieces on a mass scale. Renowned for making several firsts, Bulova was the first company to create a jewelled wristwatch for men, followed by a selection of elegant wristwatches for women and the first line of diamond-encrusted watches.
Associated with finesse and opulence, each Bulova watch brought something unique to the wrists of those looking for a luxury statement piece to wear with their best suit or formal wear. These firsts ensured that Bulova would soon become one of the biggest American watchmakers of its day. From the year 1926, Bulova began focusing on marketing its products to a much wider audience and launched its first million dollar advertising campaign. During World War II, Bulova was heavily involved in developing military wristwatches as well as utilizing parts of their manufacturing facilities for other uses during the war. The company even set up a school for wartime veterans to learn a new trade post war.
Bulova became known for its Accutron watch range, which used a tuning fork as opposed to a balance wheel, enhancing a remarkably accurate performance. The range remained popular throughout the 1970s, however, Bulova fell victim to the effects of the quartz crisis after Seiko began manufacturing much cheaper quartz watches. Aside from using many watches like the Accutron watch for NASA space missions, Bulova also paid homage to its contribution to the aeronautical industry in 2016 with a re-released version of the chronograph worn by the Apollo 15 mission commander when his Omega watch broke.
In 2008, Citizen purchased the Bulova watch company, creating a particularly popular quartz precision watch called the Precisionist. In 2015 Bulova became the official timekeeper for Manchester United FC. Today Bulova’s modern catalogue consists of pilot’s Watches like the Military, Aerojet and Lunar Pilot collections. Sporty timepieces like the Bulova Chronograph A watches boast a uniquely crafted case shape combined with a retro inspired dial. The ladies Regatta and men’s Regatta watches from Bulova offer something more refined and sophisticated. A simple three handed dial layout strips timekeeping back to basics for those in search of a watch that avoids an overly complicated dial. Promising to sit neatly underneath the cuff of a shirt are designs like the Bulova Ultra Slim watches and Thin Series, whilst timepieces like the Bulova Computron LED watch is a design that melds both futuristic and retro aesthetics together.
Bulova Oceanographer and Marine Star watches are specialist dive watches for those with a passion for deep sea exploration. With unidirectional rotating bezels that highlight the first 15 minutes of dive time in a vivid colour, innovative models like the Oceanographer are geared towards those with a taste for sporty and robust divers watches. Today Bulova watches continue to equip the wrists of pilots, divers, sportsmen, professionals and businessmen with designs that not only catch the eye but offer uncompromised Swiss timekeeping technology.
