Bulova Precisionist: The Most Underrated Movement in the Watch Industry?

Newcomers to the watch appreciation game can be forgiven for reflexively, and solely, crediting the Japanese with bringing electronics into the mainstream of the watch industry, but the embryonic phase of the technology took place in the United States. And the most accurate electronic movement on the market today emerged from the synergy between one of America's most historic home-grown watch manufacturers and one of Japan's most innovative pioneers of timekeeping technology. It's called the Precisionist, it's exclusive to Bulova, and while you may not have heard of it or know much about it, it's becoming a fixture in several Bulova watches that increasingly demand enthusiast attention.

Bulova, founded in New York City in 1875 by Bohemian immigrant Joseph Bulova, was one of the first watchmakers in the world to seriously explore the development of electronics in wristwatch movements. In 1960, just a few years after another American watch manufacturer, Hamilton, had introduced its flawed but groundbreaking electric-powered Ventura (more on that here), Bulova unveiled its own high-tech timepiece, the Accutron Spaceview 214. The watch took its numerical designation from its movement, Caliber 214, a revolutionary mechanism in which the balance wheel, which drives the timekeeping in a mechanical movement, was replaced by a tuning fork, powered by a one-transistor electronic oscillator. This system ensured an oscillation rate of 360 hertz — nearly 150 times faster than that of a mechanical-powered timepiece — and promised an accuracy to just one minute per month, an unprecedented precision level that inspired the name Accutron, for “Accuracy through Electronic.”

Bulova Accutron advertisement from the 1960s

The Bulova Accutron was the gold standard of ultra-precise watches for nearly a decade, until the paradigm-shifting arrival of the quartz movement, courtesy of Japan’s Seiko, in 1969. Quartz movements, which derive their energy from a battery charge that passes through a rapidly vibrating, tuning-fork-shaped quartz crystal, achieve an even higher rate of precision (32,768 beats per second, for a monthly accuracy of +/- 5 seconds) and were substantially less costly to mass produce than mechanical movements. During the 1970s and ‘80s, and even well into the ‘90s, quartz was the dominant technology in watches, adopted throughout the industry, even by Bulova’s Accutron models, whose nascent electronic movements had become obsolete.

The Seiko Quartz Astron (1969), the first quartz watch

Bulova, however, was not done innovating in the arena of ultra-precise timekeeping. Its next and most revolutionary technical feat had its origins in 2008, the year that Bulova was acquired by Japan’s Citizen Watch Company, an erstwhile competitor and the inventor of Eco-Drive, another innovative electronic watch movement whose own quartz timekeeping was powered by light-absorbing solar cells. The goal of the new Precisionist caliber, which debuted in a watch model two years later, in 2010, was no less than to be “the world’s most accurate quartz watch with a continuously sweeping seconds hand.” The latter part of that phrase is significant, because one of the telltale attributes of a standard quartz movement is that the seconds hand jumps in one-second increments rather than gliding smoothly along the minute track as it would in a watch powered by a mechanical movement. 

 The first Bulova Precisionist wristwatch (2010)

Developed in collaboration with Miyota, the prolific, Citizen-owned movement manufacturer in Japan, and used exclusively in Bulova watches, the Precisionist caliber is one of the watch world’s foremost (and few) examples of a High Precision Quartz (HPQ) movement, also referred to in shorthand as a UHF (Ultra High Frequency) caliber. It has an oscillator that vibrates at 262,144 times per second — that’s eight times as fast as a standard quartz crystal — which equates to a precision of +/- 10 seconds per year. The oscillator has three prongs instead of the standard two and functions as a “torsional resonator,” meaning that instead of vibrating back and forth like a standard quartz-watch oscillator, the prongs twist like the strings of an electric guitar. Unlike other high-precision watches, such as those that rely on external time signals from atomic clocks, or need to be recalibrated after a battery change, a Precisionist movement uses an easily replaceable lithium ion battery, like those in other quartz timepieces, as a power source. The Precisionist movement debuted in a rather large watch of the same name in 2010, setting the stage for more iterations to follow.

The original 45mm Bulova Lunar Pilot

The nomenclature of the Precisionist series of movements, along with its technical background, is somewhat confusing, largely because Bulova as an organization doesn’t share much in the way of details on its movements. Some internet searching reveals a bit of information for the mechanically curious. The original Precisionist movement, equipped with a three-handed time display, a date calendar, and a 1/20-second chronograph, carries the designation NP20, though it appears to be the same Miyota-made UHF movement that Bulova calls the Bulova 8136, and both likely use the (non-UHF) quartz Miyota 6250 caliber as a base, presumably souping it up with the three-pronged quartz crystal for increased frequency. The three-hand version of the Precisionist is Caliber P102, which seems to be identical to the Bulova UHF Caliber 8102. (The “P” in both alphanumeric names, one would assume, identifies the movement as “Precisionist.” though it’s anyone’s guess what the “N” in the chronograph version stands for.) Presuming all of this is accurate, we can venture one answer as to why we haven’t seen the Precisionist movement inside more of Bulova’s collection. Caliber Corner lists the dimensions of the Bulova Caliber 8136 as 34mm in diameter and 8.55mm thick — a rather large mechanism to fit into a watch case much smaller than 40mm or so, meaning its utility is limited in an era of (at least for now) progressively smaller watch sizes being in vogue. Nevertheless, Bulova has demonstrated justifiable pride and confidence in its elite quartz caliber series by increasingly turning to the Precisionist as the engine of some of its most enthusiast-friendly timepieces of recent years. I showcase the most noteworthy of them below. 

BULOVA LUNAR PILOT CHRONOGRAPH

One of Bulova’s 21st-Century success stories traces its origin to the NASA space program of the 1960s and ’70s. Under its then-president, American war hero General Omar Bradley, Bulova established a partnership with the spacefaring organization, providing precision timekeeping instruments for space missions, and in 1971 the company gifted a one-of-a-kind, customized chronograph watch to Colonel Dave Scott, commander of the Apollo 15 mission. Scott wore the timepiece, which had been specially engineered to withstand lunar conditions, as a backup after the crystal on his NASA-issued watch (an Omega Speedmaster, natch) had popped off. Scott’s Bulova watch — the only privately owned watch ever to visit the moon — sold at auction for $1.62 million in 2016, prompting Bulova to revive the model for the modern era, replacing the original’s manually wound mechanical movement with a Precisionist.

The new watch, called the Lunar Pilot Chronograph, has since grown into a bonafide family. The first models starting in 2016 had a substantial case diameter of 43mm, a tachymeter scale on the flange around the black tricompax dial, a date window at 4:30, and elongated chronograph pushers. In 2023, Bulova targeted the purists by releasing a smaller, more period-appropriate version of the Lunar Pilot — 43.5mm in diameter, which matches the dimensions of Colonel Scott’s watch, with the date window removed, as it was absent on the original prototype. The color palette has also expanded for the Lunar Pilot, with Bulova releasing a meteorite-dial iteration of the model in early 2024 (reviewed here) and more recently, the Lunar Pilot “Blood Moon” edition, dazzling with its of-the-moment crimson-hued “panda” dial with a subtle lunar-surface texture and silver-toned subdials. The chronograph version of the Precisionist caliber beats inside, providing a 1/20-second accuracy for the subdials’ chronograph readouts. Bulova Lunar Pilot prices range from $625 (on a fabric NATO strap) to $1,495 (with the aforementioned meteorite dial).

BULOVA JET STAR

Revived in 2023 in commemoration of its 50th anniversary, the Bulova Jet Star vibes “‘70s throwback” in a major way with its unconventional turtle-shaped case and its boldly colorful degradé-effect dials. Strictly speaking, the case, measuring 40mm, is octagonally shaped and topped with a round bezel that hugs the domed sapphire crystal. The case and the bracelet, with its distinctive link structure with two rows of inner links, feature an array of polished and brushed finishes. The somewhat chunky applied hour markers and baton hands are all luminous-treated. Whereas the 1970s Jet Star models contained Swiss automatic movements, the new ones contain the three-handed Precisionist Caliber P102.

The dial colors of the 50th anniversary Jet Stars are the same ones found on the first generation in 1973. The two unlimited models are one in a stainless steel case and bracelet with a smoked red dial that Bulova calls “Merlot,” the other in a gold-toned case paired with a brown degradé “Butterscotch” dial; the former comes on a bracelet, the latter on a perforated brown leather strap with yellow contrast stitching. The third model is a limited edition of 7,300 pieces; its bright white dial has blue accents and red hands and markers, and it comes with both a steel bracelet and an additional blue strap. Prices range from $595 - $695. 

BULOVA SUPER SEVILLE

Joining Bulova’s coterie of 1970s revivals most recently is the Super Seville collection, which dropped in early summer 2024. Today known and remembered by nostalgic watch buffs as a “budget” version of Rolex’s Day-Date President model, the original Super Seville had several of the appealing features that defined that watch and others like it — fluted bezel, magnifying lens over the 3 o’clock date window — but with a quartz movement and an accordingly more attainable price point, The Super Seville also featured the smoothly integrated bracelet design that was all the rage in the ‘70s and which has seen a major revival in recent years throughout all the price ranges of the watch industry.

With the new Super Seville models, Bulova has achieved the most compact case sizes yet for a watch outfitted with the Precisionist movement — just 38mm in diameter, in the rounded square dimensions that defined the original models, integrated into a stylish three-link bracelet with a pronounced taper. Three executions are available in this first round, with more expected to come: polished and brushed silver-toned steel case and bracelet with blue or green dials, and a gold-tone version with a white dial, all with a sloping, fluted bezel; baton hands and indexes; a quirky minute track on the flange with Roman numerals at the 5-minute markers; and a magnifying lens over the 3 o’clock date display. Also revived in these models is the period-appropriate “tuning fork” emblem to mark 12 o’clock, an iconography that is today more associated with the Accutron brand, which split from Bulova to become its own marque in 2020.

BULOVA CURV

Proving its longtime spirit of innovation was alive and well in the second decade of the 21st century, Bulova introduced what it called “the world’s first curved chronograph watch,” the simply named Bulova Curv, in 2016. The development of the watch required a bold engineering feat, basically starting with the tried-and-true, high-beat Precisionist chronograph movement and carefully bending it to fit snugly into a slim case that was similarly curved for maximum ergonomic comfort on the wrist. The Bulova Curv is now an entire collection, comprising both sports and dress models, with prices starting around $750 and going up to about $1,200. As of 2020, Bulova offers models in which the case is both ergonomically curved and tonneau-shaped for an even bolder style statement. 

All Curv watches have a transparent caseback —  a rarity for a watch with a quartz movement — that allows a view of the innovative curved mechanism inside, which Bulova has dubbed Caliber 8137. The visual effect of this ultra-high frequency is evident on the dial when the chronograph is activated: the central seconds hand doesn’t skip from second to second, as on a standard quartz watch, but moves in a continuous sweep around the dial, like that of a mechanical watch. As with the Accutron, the original Precisionist, and other innovations, the Curv models and their wonky quartz engines clearly demonstrate Bulova's continuing devotion to making watch history.