Bulova Precisionist Owner Review : Pleasant, classic and endearing

Bulova: A legendary name in American watchmaking. The company was born in 1875, when Joseph Bulova began selling his watches in New York. Bulova became a leader in marketing, with the first radio advertisements broadcast in 1926. Bulova watches were very popular, recognized and admired in particular for its famous Accutron from 1960 with its "electromagnetic tuning fork" with its inimitable sound. Bulova joined the Citizen group in 2008, without however benefiting from CITIZEN technologies (eco drive, radio control, GPS, etc.). Bulova Precisionist Claremont is a series of watches that surprised many fans of the brand, and many collectors. The surprise is linked to the Precisionist technology which incorporates a high-frequency quartz movement operating at 262 Khz, compared to the 32.7 Khz quartz modules usually used in watchmaking. That is an oscillation frequency 8 times higher than conventional quartz watches. Precisionist watches feature a "continuous" sweep seconds hand, or "fluid second hand" that advances by 1/16 of a second! Which is very unusual for a quartz! The seconds hand literally seems to float smoothly under the dial, like the seconds on some station clocks. Note that the first SEIKO quartz watch from 1969 had this 'fluid second hand' feature, but this feature was very quickly abandoned by SEIKO in order to save battery life. Indeed, without the fluidity of the seconds hand, the battery life was multiplied by 4, hence the second jump. Bulova has called its Precisionist range the most precise watch in the world! The claimed accuracy is 10 seconds per year. I was able to observe, at worst, a difference of +15 seconds over 1 year… Which is remarkable for a non-radio-controlled quartz… Bulova explains that the precision of the quartz and its calculator depends on two factors: The temperature variations and the oscillation frequency of the quartz. This quartz is therefore thermally compensated and has triple “pins” which allows a stable frequency of 262 Khz (or 2p18 hertz or exactly 262144 hertz!). The Bulova Claremont collection is very stylish and has a hyper classic and endearing look. This watch with the CURVE line has another interest… Its “3D” style dial which highlights raised numeral indexes, which seem to be machined. The case is slightly curved with an excellent fit on the wrist. The watch measures 41 mm in diameter for a lug to lug of 51 mm. The lug to lug is 22 mm. The Claremont weighs 78 grams and provides a light and pleasant presence when worn. The glass is a polycarbonate, also curved, very transparent. Finally, the seconds hand is polished, and highlights the continuous sweep. I never tire of its vintage look and its raised numbered indexes. The Bulova Claremont has no "LUMINESCENCE" lume on either the hands or the indexes. The water resistance is 30 meters. The button cell is a CR 2016, whose lifespan, in use, is 3 years. The watch has a dial with excellent visibility and readability. There are 3 variations in different colors of this watch (Black, chocolate brown and cream white). The Bulova Precisionist Claremont had a list price of $299 to $349 depending on the bracelet version… Today, you can find them on the second-hand market for around €150/200, for a model in perfect condition. I really like this timepiece for everyday wear, and so… I have 4 different examples:  The black model with indexes and double silver rim ref 96B127 for every day.  The black model with indexes and single silver rim ref 96B128 for every day.  The chocolate-brown model with indexes and silver rim ref 96B128 for the weekend.  The cream-white model with gold indexes ref 98B140 for holidays... In conclusion, thank you to Bulova for inventing and marketing these high-frequency quartz movements. An ultra-precise and nice watch at a reasonable price.