The Best Bulova Watches, from Lunar Pilot to Surveyor

How to choose among the best Bulova watches

Bulova makes everything from Moon-mission chronographs to slim quartz dress watches, so the right pick depends on what you want the watch to do. Below, the picks are grouped by buyer type, along with the main compromise on each spec sheet.

A little background first. Bulova was founded by Joseph Bulova in New York City in 1875 and has been owned by Japan's Citizen Watch Co. since 2008. In 1960 it introduced the Accutron, a watch regulated by a tuning fork rather than a balance wheel.

The price bands below are from Amazon US in October 2026. Prices move, so check the product cards for the latest figure.

Best chronograph with a story (the Lunar Pilot)

The Lunar Pilot is based on the Bulova chronograph that astronaut David Scott wore on the Moon during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. If you want a chronograph with real history behind it, start here.

The Bulova Lunar Pilot (96A225) has a 45 mm steel case, a black dial, a sapphire crystal and the High Performance Quartz movement, and it sells for around $450 to $500.

Bulova Lunar Pilot 96A225, 45mm, Black Dial, Black Stainless Steel Bracelet

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The trade-off is size. At 45 mm wide and 15.5 mm thick, it sits better on medium and larger wrists than on slim ones. Water resistance is 50 m, which is fine for swimming but not for diving.

If you'd like more complications, the Archive Series 96B251 adds a moonphase and date to the chronograph. Its 45 mm case is 14 mm thick, with 22 mm lugs and a nylon strap, and the price is around $450 to $500. If you're open to other brands, try our guide to the best chronograph watches or browse our chronograph page.

Best for quartz accuracy (Precisionist and High Performance Quartz)

Bulova's Precisionist and High Performance Quartz movements run at 262 kHz, far higher than the 32 kHz of a standard quartz watch. The extra frequency is there for better accuracy and a seconds hand that sweeps smoothly rather than ticking.

The Precisionist 96B158 is the cheapest way into this technology in this guide, at around $250 to $300. It's a chronograph with a calendar, housed in a 42 mm case just 10 mm thick and fitted to a leather strap. The downsides are a mineral crystal and water resistance of 30 m, which is fine for rain and hand washing but not for swimming.

The Bulova Icon (98B408) costs around $400 to $450 and sorts out both weak points with a curved sapphire crystal and 100 m of water resistance. The 40 mm case is a moderate size, it comes on a steel bracelet, and there's a date alongside the chronograph. At 13.1 mm, though, it's thicker than the Precisionist.

Bulova Icon 98B408, 40mm, Black Dial, Black Stainless Steel Bracelet

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Best automatic at a moderate price

An automatic watch winds itself as your wrist moves and needs no battery. Where the calibre is listed, these Bulovas use Miyota movements, made in Japan by the Citizen group. If you can't decide between the two technologies, read automatic vs quartz first.

The trade-off they share is water resistance: four of the five automatics in this section are water-resistant to only 30 m, so treat them as everyday watches rather than swimming watches.

Classic Automatic and Military Hack

The Classic Automatic (98A187) is the cheapest automatic here, at around $225 to $275. It uses the Miyota 82S7, with a 40-hour power reserve and hacking (the seconds hand stops when you pull out the crown, so you can set the time precisely). You also get an open-heart grey dial and an exhibition caseback in a 39 mm case on a leather strap. It works well as a dress watch, but the crystal is mineral.

The Military Heritage Hack (96A246) costs around $250 to $300 and uses the Miyota 8215, again with hacking, in a 38 mm case, a good size for slimmer wrists. Expect an off-white dial, luminous hands, a leather strap and a double-domed mineral crystal.

Surveyor and Classic Surveyor

On paper, the Surveyor 39mm (96B429) is the best-value pick among the automatics. For around $350 to $400 you get a Miyota 8215, a sapphire crystal, a green dial, a visible movement and a steel bracelet. The 22 mm lug width is generous for a 39 mm case.

Bulova Surveyor 96B429, 39mm, Green Dial, Silver Stainless Steel Bracelet

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The Classic Surveyor (97B234) switches to a rose-gold-tone steel case, an aubergine dial and a deployant clasp for around $400 to $450. It keeps the sapphire crystal and exhibition caseback, but the calibre isn't listed.

Maquina

The Maquina (98A224) is the odd one out: a full skeleton dial, a sapphire crystal and 100 m water resistance for around $350 to $400. The catch is size, as a 46 mm case with 27 mm lugs is very large, and again the calibre isn't listed.

Best dive and sports watches

If you plan to get the watch properly wet, look for 200 m of water resistance, a screw-down crown and a unidirectional bezel. Two picks here have all three, and you'll find more on our diver watches page.

The Bulova Marine Star (96B431) is the value pick at around $350 to $400. It runs on the 262 kHz Precisionist movement and adds a ceramic bezel insert, a sapphire crystal, a date and a yellow dial. The 43 mm case is 12.1 mm thick and comes on a silicone strap.

Bulova Marine Star 96B431, 43mm, Yellow Dial, Black Silicone Strap

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The Oceanographer Snorkel GMT (98B407) is the most expensive pick, at around $800 to $850. The money buys you the Miyota 9075 automatic, with a GMT function for a second time zone and a 42-hour power reserve, plus a double-domed sapphire box crystal and a fully luminous white dial in a 41 mm case. Choose it if you travel; otherwise the Marine Star handles swimming and diving for less than half the price.

Best smaller and women's models

The Bulova Modern Millenia 32mm (97L175) is a two-hand quartz watch just 6.9 mm thick, with a domed sapphire crystal, a black dial and a gold-tone steel bracelet. It costs around $200 to $250.

Bulova Modern Millenia 97L175, 32mm, Black Dial, Gold Stainless Steel Bracelet

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The Sutton (96P249) is smaller still, at 28 mm across and 8 mm thick, with a pink dial, a sapphire crystal and a steel bracelet with a push-button clasp, for around $250 to $300. Both are water-resistant to just 30 m, so neither is meant for swimming. For more ideas, browse the best watches for women.

Bulova picks compared

Model	Case	Movement	Water resistance	Crystal	Price band
Lunar Pilot 96A225	45 mm	High Performance Quartz	50 m	Sapphire	$450 to $500
Archive Series 96B251	45 mm	High Performance Quartz (262 kHz)	50 m	Sapphire	$450 to $500
Precisionist 96B158	42 mm	Quartz	30 m	Mineral	$250 to $300
Icon 98B408	40 mm	Quartz	100 m	Curved sapphire	$400 to $450
Classic 98A187	39 mm	Miyota 82S7	30 m	Mineral	$225 to $275
Military Hack 96A246	38 mm	Miyota 8215	30 m	Mineral	$250 to $300
Surveyor 96B429	39 mm	Miyota 8215	30 m	Sapphire	$350 to $400
Classic Surveyor 97B234	39 mm	Automatic, calibre not listed	30 m	Sapphire	$400 to $450
Maquina 98A224	46 mm	Japanese automatic	100 m	Sapphire	$350 to $400
Marine Star 96B431	43 mm	Precisionist	200 m	Sapphire	$350 to $400
Oceanographer Snorkel GMT 98B407	41 mm	Miyota 9075	200 m	Sapphire box	$800 to $850
Modern Millenia 97L175	32 mm	Quartz	30 m	Domed sapphire	$200 to $250
Sutton 96P249	28 mm	Quartz	30 m	Sapphire	$250 to $300

All but one of these picks come in under $500. To compare them with other brands, see our guide to the best watches under $500.