Bulova celebrates the seventieth birthday of three-time Grammy winner Nile Rodgers by unveiling two watches to be sold to benefit the We Are Family Foundation, which funds schools and creative programs for youth across the globe.
Bulova has worked with Rodgers previously as the campaign mentor to new musical artists a part of Bulova’s Tune of Time music program, as well as with existing We Are Family offerings.
One of two new Bulova ‘We Are Family’ watches.
One of the new We Are Family watches is a 40mm steel-cased, two-hand quartz model with a black IP dial designed to look like a vinyl record. The ‘record’ dial, which is emblazoned with a white signature of the famed musician and producer, is framed by a wood-grain decoration that resembles the neck of Nile’s Fender guitar, affectionately known as “The Hitmaker.”
That reference recalls Rodgers’ role in producing/writing and playing on global hits for artists such as David Bowie, Madonna, Daft Punk, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, The B52s and many others.
On the back of the watch Bulova fits a flat black mineral case with ‘HAPPY 70TH NILE!’ imprinted on it with an image of his guitar and a unique serial number. Priced at $295, the watch will be made as a limited edition of seventy.
A chronograph too
The second new We Are Family watch is also a limited edition of seventy pieces and utilizes the Bulova Lunar Pilot Chronograph, one of the most popular models in its Archive Series model.
The Bulova We Are Family Lunar Pilot Chronograph.
The watch is a commemorative reissue of the original chronograph worn on August 2, 1971, during the Apollo 15 mission. Bulova has updated the watch with its own high-precision quartz movement (which features a frequency of 262 kHz).
The chronograph also features a black dial, but with highly luminous hands and markers, anti-reflective sapphire glass, a tachymeter scale and date display, all within a sandblasted stainless steel 45mm-case with an originalBulova logo.
Like the time-only benefit model, the We Are Family chronograph also features an engraved caseback that reads “HAPPY 70TH NILE!” next to an image of a guitar and the watch’s individualized number. Affixed to a textured black leather strap, the Bulova We Are Family Lunar Pilot Chronograph is priced at $795.
“We are delighted to carry on our relationship with Nile Rodgers and to be part of this significant milestone,” says Jeffrey Cohen, President of Citizen Watch America, which includes Bulova within its corporate sphere. “Bulova fully supports the mission of We Are Family Foundation and is proud to support that mission through these celebratory timepieces.”
There are more than a few iconic American companies that can trace their success to one product in particular. There’s Ford’s Model T, The Coca-Cola Company’s Coke, and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.
In the watch world, there’s Accutron, which was a revolutionary electronic watch with a tuning fork that Bulova debuted in 1960. Accutron today operates as its own brand.
Before writing this article, my knowledge about Joseph Bulova was limited. However, after diving deep into researching him, I have come to realize that Joseph Bulova was an innovative entrepreneur who not only loved to invent and visualize the future but also was guided by a strong sense of ethics and values.
Joseph Bulova emigrated from Bohemia (known today as the Czech Republic) to New York in 1870. As a fully trained watchmaker, he landed a job at Tiffany & Co. but left five years later to open a small jewelry store on Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan. It’s interesting to note that before dedicating his life to wristwatches, Joseph Bulova already had a few inventions under his belt, including making jewelry improvements to earrings, bracelets and rings.
Joseph Bulova understood time better than most and was always one step ahead. During his time in America the country was in its golden age of industry and progress thanks to railroads, manufacturing, electricity and light. It was the perfect era for Joseph Bulova to make his mark on timekeeping design and production.
By 1912, Bulova established a plant in Bienne, Switzerland, dedicated to the production of watch components and their assembly into jeweled movements. Although he was driven by the values of quality before quantity and perfection before production, Joseph Bulova was an early pioneer of mass and standardized production of watches, which he sought to fulfill his vision of putting an affordable watch on every wrist in the United States.
Bulova was one of the first brands to recognize the shift from pocket watches to wristwatches even before World War I. This was in large part due to Joseph’s 17-year-old office assistant, John Ballard, who would later become acting president of the company for almost fifty years.
Fifth Avenue
By 1927, the Bulova Watch Company moved to 580 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, complete with the Bulova Observatory on the roof — the first Observatory ever built on the top of a skyscraper. The Bulova School of Watchmaking is established in 1946. In 1948, Bulova develops the phototimer, which combined a photo-finish camera with an electronic timing mechanism. Bulova then introduced the unprecedented Accutron 214 electronic watch in 1960. In 1970, Bulova unveiled the 666 Devil Diver.
Bulova is associated with so many “firsts” in the industry, including the first radio clock, the first Dust-Tight Protector (to keep dust out of the watch movement), the first national radio commercial (1926), and the first television commercial (1941).
Bulova was also no stranger to pop culture with banners at the first Beatle concert in the United States. The Frank Sinatra Show musical variety show that ran in the early 1950s was also known as Bulova Watch Time. Earlier than this even, Bulova understood the importance of associating watches with celebrities of the era, like pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller (who later became an actor famous for playing Tarzan), and General of the Army Omar Bradley.
In Space
The Bulova company was also involved with NASA, participating in forty-six space missions). In fact, the U.S. Air Force purchased an Accutron Astronaut watch for every pilot in the X-15 project, which ran from the late-1950s until the late-1960s. More recently, astronaut Dave Scott’s Bulova chronograph, which he wore on the Moon, sold for nearly $1.6 million at RR Auction.
Astronaut David Scott wore this Bulova chronograph on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. It sold for nearly $1.6 million in 2019.
Bulova was involved in many other applications such as developing timing instruments, clocks, and altimeters. However, some of Bulova’s work remains unknown as Bulova worked with the U.S. government on plenty of top-secret military projects.
Archives
Carl Rosen at Bulova’s museum in the Empire State Building.
Six years ago, Jeffrey Cohen, CEO of Citizen Watch America, called up Carl Rosen, a trained engineer and the former COO of Bulova, and archivist Julie Loftus and proposed creating a Bulova archive, complete with vintage watches, ads, memorabilia, sketches, designs, patents, marketing materials, and other ephemera.
The archive contains physical recordings, as well as digital electronics files stored in a database. Not only will this work serve to keep the Bulova brand alive forever, but it also lends inspiration to the current design, marketing, and sales teams. There’s plenty of material to inspire reissues or modern interpretations of vintage Bulova classics.
Furthermore, the Bulova museum is charged with showing the history and evolution of this important watch brand. Items are presented to represent key moments of both Bulova and American history. I was amazed to see unique and iconic pieces like one of the oldest Bulova watches with an open back, as well a watch that once belonged to Elvis Presley.
Today, the company has more than 2,000 physical items like advertisements, books, memorabilia and packaging, in addition to 6,000 digital documents like scans of Bulova annual reports, catalogs, commercials, and images. If you look at the packages, names of the watch lines, and advertisements, you quickly begin to see the history of the United States unfolding in front of you.
It’s clear that Bulova is an integral part of American history.
If you have the opportunity to visit the Bulova museum at the Bulova offices in the Empire State Building, I highly encourage it! Carl is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about his work.
Bulova and Accutron have teamed with their headquarters, New York City’s Empire State Building, to light the building in Accutron’s signature green hue in celebration of Accutron’s anniversary on October 25.
Rosen is the encyclopedia of Bulova and he knows the ins and outs, the origins of everything, the timing, the advertisements, the why of this design or packaging, alongside a plethora of interesting anecdotes and charming stories.
If you want to learn more about the fascinating history of Bulova, I also recommend two beautiful books published by the brand. The first is “Bulova, A History of Firsts” and the second is “Bulova, A Legacy of Innovation.” A lot of documents are also accessible via the Bulova and Accutron websites.
I commend Julie and Carl for their amazing work to preserve the history of Bulova.
Laurent Martinez is the proprietor of Laurent Fine Watches, Greenwich, Connecticut. Read more by him at blog.laurentfinewatches.com or visit his store’s site at www.laurentfinewatches.com
Bulova has teamed with the Apollo Theater in New York to offer the new Special Edition Apollo Theater watch. The debut is part of the watchmaker’s Bold at Heart initiative in which Bulova partners with civic, arts and veterans’ organizations.
The new Bulova Special Edition Apollo Theater watch.
The new steel-bracelet, steel-cased, quartz-powered Apollo Theater watch is available in two sizes, 43mm and 32mm. The time-only watch boasts a contemporary edge-to-edge crystal with a red outline replacing a traditional bezel.
The red that frames the dial represents the bright red lights on the Apollo Theater marquee as it overlooks Harlem’s famed 125th Street. On the dial you’ll find a repeated “Apollo’ pattern appliqué that highlights the sign itself.
Bulova places a capital letter A on the solid steel case back, alongside the ApolloTheater’s name and its neighborhood. Price: $495 for either size.
Bulova expands its Frank Sinatra collection with two new automatic watches inspired by the watchmaker’s Bulova Date King, a 1960s-era collection.
One model from Bulova’s new Frank Sinatra Summer Wind collection.
The new Frank Sinatra Summer Wind collection, named after a Frank Sinatra song of the same name, consists of two 40mm casual time and date watches with clear 1960s style and more than a few Sinatra-inspired special accents.
Most notably, Bulova places a fedora, the Frank Sinatra collection’s trademark, in relief at the top of the dial. The orange seconds hand and orange hour markers (on the steel-cased model) are an ode to Sinatra’s favorite color.
One watch is cased in stainless steel case and features a black enamel dial and matching black leather strap with white top stitching. The second is cased in rose gold-tone stainless steel case and offers a grey enamel dial with matching grey leather strap with grey top stitch.
Inside Bulova fits an 8215 Miyota Automatic 3H Calendar movement, visible through an exhibition caseback. Bulova packages each watch in packaging inspired by a vinyl album box set with lyrics from five Sinatra songs.
Long Relationship
Bulova’s Frank Sinatra collection features a series of watches named after songs made famous by the singer. It underscores the relationship between the singer and Bulova that started in the 1950s with the Frank Sinatra Show television program, also known as Bulova Watch Time, which the Bulova sponsored.
“We are proud to carry on our relationship with Frank Sinatra, including at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, which happens to be a New York school,” says Michael Benavente, U.S. Managing Director of Bulova. “Bulova has made a longstanding commitment to the support of music through various partnerships that help spotlight and encourage young musical talent to discover American music heritage and culture.”
Prices: $795 (steel) and $850 (rose-gold colored).
Accutron expands the color options within its groundbreaking electrostatic-powered Spaceview 2020 collection with three new models. These include a brown-dialed collaboration with the La Palina cigar company, a new dark grey-dial edition and a version with a full green movement plate with contrasting, darkened bridges.
The new Accutron x La Palina Limited Edition Spaceview 2020.
With an openwork design, the Spaceview 2020 displays its dual electrostatic ‘turbines’ and accumulator framed by a clear bezel and connected bridges, all within a 43.5mm steel case. One model from the initial 2020 launch is cased in gold.
Retaining that original layout, Accutron commemorates the La Palina partnership by coloring the watch’s dial and outer ring brown and adding light green luminosity to the markers, hour and minute hands. Accutron then adds a cigar-friendly warm yellow second hand and a matching brown alligator strap to the new watch.
Finally, Accutron rolls the entire package into a humidor set with a cigar cutter and ten ‘Accutron blend’ cigars. The custom-designed humidor, which will hold a minimum of fifty cigars, is handmade by master craftsmen in the Nicaraguan region of Estelí.
The new Accutron x La Palina Limited Edition Spaceview 2020 watch is a limited edition of 222 pieces. Priced at $5,000, it is available for pre-order with a fall delivery.
Grey and green
Just prior to the La Palina debut, Accutron also added two new models the ongoing Spaceview 2020 collection.
The first new style boasts a smoke-grey open-work dial with signature Accutron green accents and transparent outer ring, light green super luminous markers, hour and minute hands and orange second hand. Finished on a matching stainless steel bracelet, the watch is priced at $3,850.
The second style features a new green dial treatment with transparent outer ring, grey bridges, light green super luminous markers, hour and minute hands and orange second hand. Offered on a charcoal calf leather strap, this model is priced at $3,450. Both watches feature a 43.5mm polished stainless steel case with domed scratch resistant sapphire crystal and water resistance to 50 meters.
