Bulova Men Analog Automatic Watch with Leather Strap 96B385

Product Information

In the watch world, you generally get what you pay for. But in the case of Bulova, you get a lot more than that.

Here's what makes this all particularly exciting: just as the Miyota 9015 and related movements have powered some of the best affordable automatic watches from a range of third-party brands, it's easy to imagine that the new 9075 will also now be an option. (There are already some examples.) The same will presumably be true of Seiko's movement. We're talking a future of quality, affordable GMT watches for all! But what about the watch that debuts this movement, the Bulova Wilton? Design-wise it’s a confusing mess. It’s great to see a new traveler GMT movement at what is sure to be an affordable price, but I’m sure that the brands that use it in the future will do a better job with the aesthetics. With a case size of 43 mm, but actually measuring 49.5 mm lug to lug, the Bulova Wilton GMT is undeniably big for a dress watch, which are typically up to 41 mm. However, with a recent trend towards chunky watches being worn on formal occasions, this didn’t bother us. And the leather strap doesn’t extend much beyond the watch case, so even for those with relatively small wrists, we found the watch doesn’t actually look too large. Stately and old-school in styling, although this makes it a great dress watch for formal occasions. The watches’ identity crisis is much more obvious on the steel/blue dial version where the silver hands and indices are more obvious. The gold/white dial version is more traditional in look and is the better of the pair.New affordable automatic GMT movements are exciting, but the Miyota 9075 movement gets us giddy for more reasons. It's a variation of Miyota's 9000 series, including popular examples like the 9015, and these are no cheap, low-end movements. They're Miyota's modern movements with solid build, decent accuracy and a premium feel more akin to the ETA 2824 movements they're intended to compete with than Miyota's older 8200 series of rather basic movements. You'll find them powering respectable watches mostly ranging from the upper hundreds into the thousands. Does the new Bulova match the importance of the movement? And yes, this movement is going to be very important. As a Miyota, it’s going to be available to a whole host of macro and micro brands and as traveler GMT it’s going to democratize this type of watch in a way that will make the watch snobs weep. Design & Watch Specifications Admittedly, the most stand-out feature of the Bulova Wilton GMT Automatic—the Miyota 9075 movement—was not actually made by Bulova. This movement, which has created quite a splash in the watch-making world, represents a significant step towards making ‘true’ GMT movements available for those on a budget.

In this Bulova Wilton GMT review, we’re going to dive deep into its functionality, aesthetics, and appeal, based on our own time spent with this ultimate traveler’s watch, and with a focus on its most exciting feature: a Miyota GMT movement with local jumping hour—a functionality conventionally found only in much more expensive timepieces. The debate around traveler or office GMTs is as filled with snobbery as any other watch debate. The traveler GMT where the hour hand is set locally is the rarer of the two types and has benefits in certain limited use cases. They are a pain to set up though and are most suitable as an only watch where set-up complications are less frequent. What does matter though is that this complication will almost certainly be available at an affordable price to many watch brands. That has to be a good thing. Price & Availability If the energy of jumping for joy could be encompassed within a watch, the Bulova Wilton GMT would be it. Just a month or so after the announcement of a beautiful GMT model in the Seiko 5 Sports collection comes a rebuttal from Citizen. But wait, aren't I looking at a Bulova watch? Don't be confused that the watch in front of you has Bulova on its dial: the company is owned by Citizen and so is Miyota who made the movement inside — and, while the Bulova Wilton GMT is a great-looking way to introduce it, the Citizen-developed movement is the star of this story.By ‘true’ GMT movements, we mean those with a jumping local hour hand. Rarer and typically more expensive, they allow the hour hand to be set locally. But thanks to Miyota and Bulova, these movements are now available for those of us with slightly tighter purse strings who want seamless timekeeping. Finally, send your watch for regular servicing. Bulova has several service centers around the world. Find out more about servicing your watch at [email protected]. Bulova Wilton GMT Price: The ultimate sub-1K ‘true’ GMT watch As for the Wilton, it’s a classically styled watch on the dressier side, and feels fairly typical of many recent Bulova releases. It has a stately and refined quality to it that isn’t particularly adventurous, but feels very much a part of the brand’s long history by employing a timeless, vintage inspired aesthetic. The Wilton, available in stainless steel with a blue dial and a gold plated version with a white dial, feels like a lot of its look is pulled from classic watches from the middle of the last century, with a Roman numeral dial and dauphine hands. An embossed representation of a globe is also featured on each dial, calling attention to a possible use case for the watch (although admittedly this style of dial is more common on world timers). What's the difference? Both use a fourth hand to display a second time zone in 24-hour format, and many Swiss GMT watches work just like the Seiko 5 Sports: pulling the crown out to its second position, you set the date by turning it in one direction and advance the GMT hand in the other. A "true GMT," however, allows you to adjust the time without affecting the GMT hand, which is set separately. The use for this is that you can set the GMT hand to your home time and then conveniently update the main time as you travel. The most famous and prestigious GMT watches like the Rolex GMT Master II and Explorer II function in this way. A watch brand that stands the test of time (forgive the pun), Bulova is one of our favorite luxury watch brands for stylish, innovative, and wearable timepieces that you won’t have to launch a crowd-funding campaign to finance.