Bulova Precisionist Champlain 96B131
Feb 25, 2017 13:55:39 GMT -8
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Post by leffemonster on Feb 25, 2017 13:55:39 GMT -8
I thought I'd share my thoughts on one of my latest acquisitions, the Bulova Precisionist Champlain 96B131. I spotted it in a jewellers outlet store earlier this week, and managed to pick one up at a really good price on-line. The case design really appealed to me, even though my tastes lean more towards 'standard' dress watches.
Here are some specs -
Although this is a big and heavy watch, it wears really well and you actually don't really notice that it's on your wrist. This may sound like a contradiction, and I can't really explain why, but it's just so comfortable that I almost forget I'm wearing it.
The case is most definitely not your run-of-the-mill affair. It's a very angular design with a fixed bezel sporting hexagonal screws at each corner of the case. The solid end-links are angled down in such a way that the watch sits at the perfect angle on your wrist. The screw-down crown has angled rather than straight grooves, and is signed with the Bulova Accutron logo.
The bracelet features all solid links and is secured with a 3-fold clasp with security catch and push-button release. It also sports a 3/4" snap-out extension piece and three micro-adjustments. The links are brushed/polished stainless steel, 4.5mm thick, and easily removed (pin and collar) for sizing.
The dial is what really attracted me to this watch. I suppose you could say it's a little 'fussy', but I think it looks really cool. The black chapter ring has yellow highlights for the 5-second (or minute) intervals. The dial itself is a combination of textures and colours. In the centre is a black carbon fibre surface surrounded by a steel 24-hour inner chapter ring, secured with 4 screws. Outside this is a dark blue surface decorated with concentric circles which includes a three-date window at the 3 o'clock position. This dark blue area sits over the top of a machined steel/silver ring visible between the applied hour indices. These, along with the hour and minute hands, are lume-filled and I can report that the lume is quite long-lasting. The seconds hand and date pointer are a really vibrant yellow, with the sweep seconds hand sporting the 'double-P' Precisionist symbol.
One thing that wasn't immediately apparent to me when I first looked at the watch is the curved crystal and bezel. When you see the watch 'in the flesh' and handle it, this design works really well and, for me, makes it much more attractive than if they were flat. It's quite tricky to photograph so that the curvature can be clearly seen, but hopefully these shots give an idea.
I'm not sure if the crystal is sapphire or mineral - the Bulova website states sapphire, but a number of other websites state mineral. Either way I'm pretty sure it's AR-coated.
The watch is part of the 'Precisionist' range using a Citizen P102.12 movement and their 3-prong quartz crystal vibrating at 262kHz, which is, apparently, eight times greater than standard quartz movements. I don't claim to understand all of this; all I know is that this makes for a smooth-sweeping seconds hand rather than the more usual 'tick' of a quartz watch. It's claimed that all this technology also makes the watch accurate to around 10-15 seconds per year. Obviously, since I've only had the watch for a few days I have no idea if this is true - it'll be interesting to see what it's like after a few months.
So, in conclusion, I'm really glad I decided to pull the trigger on this one. Yes, it's big and it's heavy but it fits really comfortably, even on my relatively skinny 6.5" wrists. I really like the design, the attention to detail and that beautifully curved bezel and crystal. I think this one will be seeing plenty of wrist-time!
Thanks for reading!
Here are some specs -
- Bulova (Citizen) P102.12 8-jewel movement, Precisionist Quartz
- Case diameter 46.5mm (50mm with crown)
- Case thickness 14.8mm
- AR-coated sapphire crystal
- Stainless steel bracelet, 24mm lug width
- 300 meter water resistance
- Screw-down crown (signed)
- Weight 228g/8oz
Although this is a big and heavy watch, it wears really well and you actually don't really notice that it's on your wrist. This may sound like a contradiction, and I can't really explain why, but it's just so comfortable that I almost forget I'm wearing it.
The case is most definitely not your run-of-the-mill affair. It's a very angular design with a fixed bezel sporting hexagonal screws at each corner of the case. The solid end-links are angled down in such a way that the watch sits at the perfect angle on your wrist. The screw-down crown has angled rather than straight grooves, and is signed with the Bulova Accutron logo.
The bracelet features all solid links and is secured with a 3-fold clasp with security catch and push-button release. It also sports a 3/4" snap-out extension piece and three micro-adjustments. The links are brushed/polished stainless steel, 4.5mm thick, and easily removed (pin and collar) for sizing.
The dial is what really attracted me to this watch. I suppose you could say it's a little 'fussy', but I think it looks really cool. The black chapter ring has yellow highlights for the 5-second (or minute) intervals. The dial itself is a combination of textures and colours. In the centre is a black carbon fibre surface surrounded by a steel 24-hour inner chapter ring, secured with 4 screws. Outside this is a dark blue surface decorated with concentric circles which includes a three-date window at the 3 o'clock position. This dark blue area sits over the top of a machined steel/silver ring visible between the applied hour indices. These, along with the hour and minute hands, are lume-filled and I can report that the lume is quite long-lasting. The seconds hand and date pointer are a really vibrant yellow, with the sweep seconds hand sporting the 'double-P' Precisionist symbol.
One thing that wasn't immediately apparent to me when I first looked at the watch is the curved crystal and bezel. When you see the watch 'in the flesh' and handle it, this design works really well and, for me, makes it much more attractive than if they were flat. It's quite tricky to photograph so that the curvature can be clearly seen, but hopefully these shots give an idea.
I'm not sure if the crystal is sapphire or mineral - the Bulova website states sapphire, but a number of other websites state mineral. Either way I'm pretty sure it's AR-coated.
The watch is part of the 'Precisionist' range using a Citizen P102.12 movement and their 3-prong quartz crystal vibrating at 262kHz, which is, apparently, eight times greater than standard quartz movements. I don't claim to understand all of this; all I know is that this makes for a smooth-sweeping seconds hand rather than the more usual 'tick' of a quartz watch. It's claimed that all this technology also makes the watch accurate to around 10-15 seconds per year. Obviously, since I've only had the watch for a few days I have no idea if this is true - it'll be interesting to see what it's like after a few months.
So, in conclusion, I'm really glad I decided to pull the trigger on this one. Yes, it's big and it's heavy but it fits really comfortably, even on my relatively skinny 6.5" wrists. I really like the design, the attention to detail and that beautifully curved bezel and crystal. I think this one will be seeing plenty of wrist-time!
Thanks for reading!
