Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
Like the Special Edition, it’s a distinctive watch. It also successfully marries the vintage aesthetic with contemporary tastes. This chunky 45mm watch is a very affordable remake. It’s significantly cheaper than Omega’s current version of their moon watch. And it’s American. It’s a beauty. A white dial chronograph with a dive watch aesthetic. The dial has a pleasing symmetry and the colouring is on point. Neither too bland nor too colourful. There are white, silver and a touch of red. The moon landings are a high-point of 20th century American history so Bulova released this quartz remake of Scott’s watch. And yes, it was his original that sold for over a million!
The styling is the same as the watch Scott wore - as pictured when he saluted the American flag. It is large and legible with a quirky asymmetrical case. NOTE: Price can fluctuate depending on sales at Macys, but at least you’re getting it an authorized dealer there. Gray market dealers won’t come with a manufacturer’s warranty. Bulova was there when the army needed watches. When surfers wanted stylish watches, Bulova created them. And when one of NASA’s astronauts needed a replacement watch for a moonwalk Bulova already had a prototype ready. A curved case means that this watch is powered by the world’s first curved chronograph movement. The sapphire crystal is curved too. Oh, and there’s no central second hand - that wouldn’t really work with all the curves. As you’d expect from a military-style watch, the colouring is plain and functional. Let’s not forget that this watch was designed as a tool to be used in space. It’s not a fashion piece.Unfortunately, the watch is only available on a rubber strap. Only the much more expensive automatic version comes on a bracelet. That being said, the strap is a very attractive blue tropic strap with a deployant clasp. Should you want to change it, the watch will accept any 20mm straps, but for a casual beach watch, you’d be hard pressed to outdo the included strap. With summer finally here, and given that I live 15 minutes from the beach, it’s dive watch season for me. I’m not a super formal guy, and I like the versatility of having a watch that can handle being covered in sunscreen, dunked in the waves, and still look good enough to wear to work. For me, that usually means my Seiko Samurai or Bulova Devil Diver. I wasn’t planning on adding anything to my collection this year, but two weeks ago I spotted a Bulova Surfboard chronograph behind the counter of my local jeweler. The retro style caught my eye, and after about a week, I decided to buy it. I’ve been wearing it for the last week, and I’m now comfortable giving a fair review. The Case Bulova has taken Harley’s brand colours and B&S logo and worked them into the design of a heavy-duty watch. The hour and minute hand are both wide and white, with a two-tone tip. The outer edges of the tip are bright red, while the center sports a slim lume stripe. The seconds hand is long and needle-shaped, with a bright red/orange finish that matches the red on the other hands and the subdials.
It looks fine, but I think this watch will look great with some aftermarket alternatives too. Don’t be shy to experiment here. Movement America has its own brands, it’s own innovations and it’s own classic models. What I wanted to do in this piece was to single out Bulova - specifically their chronographs. This is the big selling point of the watch, at least for me, and much like the Devil Diver, the effort they put into the dial really shines through. The Surfboard is offered in a few different color variants, but mine is the navy blue and red one. One important thing that I didn’t notice and that the product photos don’t show, and that you can’t see in the store, is that in very intense sunlight, the blue and silver portions of the dial are actually sunburst. When the light catches the face just right, the blue is incredibly intense. I bought this watch thinking it was just a really dark, flat navy blue, but I’m incredibly pleased with the discovery. The design itself is pure 60s/70s. The indices are the little faceted polished rectangles you see on vintage watches, and have a tiny sliver of lume in the center, as do the hour and minute hands. Both the running seconds and the chronograph hands are unlumed. The subdials (running seconds and 60-minute counter) are located in the large silver oval that gives the Surfboard its name. A tachymeter runs around the dial above the minute indices. All of this is covered by a double domed sapphire crystal that produces virtually no distortion, even at crazy angles.The Bulova range is eclectic and that’s why I like it. Trust me, few companies can get their watches used by the US Army and NASA and also find fans among young surfers. The new iterations of the Chronograph A pay loving tribute to the original in different ways. Bulova has taken an interesting approach here in relaunching the watch that we don’t see too frequently during a period when vintage reissues are the norm in the watch world. Rather than releasing just one watch to collectors which would inevitably be full of compromises, Bulova is offering two versions of the Chronograph A. One is essentially a one-for-one tribute to the original, and a true collector’s piece. The other is a much more accessible quartz version of the watch, which offers some variety in terms of color options, and all the easy-wearing charm the original would have had fifty years ago.
Inside of the Surfboard Edition, you’ll find a quartz Miyota Caliber 6S21 chronograph movement. Yes, not automatic for this specific model, although the creamed coloured dial version is automatic. At this price, it would have been nice to see a mechanical movement. Dial also features tachymeter and applied indices. All these things create solid combination and work nicely together. Dial is perfectly legible and you won’t have a problem with it. Separate plus should be added for leaving only Bulova logo and resisting adding any additional writings.It takes design cues from the Bulova dive watches of the 1970s. The Surfboard name is due to the surfboard shape in the centre of the dial.
About the Author: Zach S. is a United States Marine Corps Officer and Product Photographer from Maryland’s Eastern Shore. When he’s not training or doing photography he enjoys reading and writing on a myriad of topics. The applied indices give the dial a feeling of depth, and the rings on the sub-dials are applied too.
The Strap
Take Bulova. Their inspiration comes from Harley’s, Surfing, the Military and the Moon Landings. What's more American than that? That’s not because of an innovation or a groundbreaking design. This watch is famous because it’s one of a select group worn in space. What makes the story even better, is that it wasn’t meant to be there. The idea is simple. This watch is curved. If you look at it from the side you can see that the case is shaped to compliment your wrist. The execution isn’t so simple.
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