Bulova's Latest Watch is a Stunning Racing Chronograph That's Surprisingly Affordable
Next year Bulova celebrates its 150th anniversary in horology and throughout that history the brand has produced purposeful watches with style and panache. So it will come as little surprise that the brand found its way into motorsport during both’s ascendency in the 1940s. In 1957, Bulova became the official timekeeper for NASCAR and branched out in the 1970s, sponsoring the Formula Ford series from 1972 to 1976.
A little more than a decade later the watchmaker became a sponsor of the Benetton Formula One race team, notching a win with the Bulova embossed on the front wings of the B189s driven by Alessandro Nannini and Johnny Herbert during the 1989 season.
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Will Bulova make a return to motorsports? We certainly hope so, but in the meantime, the brand is honoring its 20th century legacy in racing with a new and incredibly affordable Racer Chronograph in three flavors.
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True to the piece’s name, the watch features a 60-minute chronograph function on the sub-dial at 9 o’clock as well as a black and orange tachymeter scale, aluminum insert on the bezel. The second sub-dial at three o’clock counts the time in 24 hours and there is a date display at 6 o’clock. The dial, which comes in either light blue or black features applied silver-tone markers and beveled hands, all coated with a super-luminous material for legibility in low-light situations.
The contours of the case, available both in stainless steel and black stainless, are meant to conjure the aerodynamically sculpted panels of a mid-century speed demon. Inside the metal, the watch is powered by a 0S21 quartz movement that is accurate to 15 seconds a month.
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Customers can choose a blue dial Racer on a steel bracelet or a stealthy, black dial, black steel piece on a black racing leather strap. But we’d go with the black dial, silver-tone stainless case on brown leather for its classic motorsport style and its (current) sub $500 price point.
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