I bought my watch in the summer of last year expecting it to be an average black watch to add to my color scheme, little did I know I’d be wearing it almost daily for all of my casual and formal occasions!
Look at the original David Scott moon watch then look at the new Bulova Lunar Pilot. First, there is an error right on the original. It say " TACHOMETER" not "TACHYMETER" like on the new made watch. A tachometer is a device that measures revolutions, a TACHYMETER measures distance over time. So right from the start the Bulova had some issues. God knows what Astronaut Scott thought when he strapped on the Bulova, though he was probably too busy making moon history to care. I'm sure the watch worked perfectly either way. Now look at the new dial and you'll notice many differences. The original was powered by a mechanical Valijoux 72, the reproduction is powered by a Bulova (Miyota) quartz 8136 and a SW927R battery. While this is not a problem it will mean the sub dials will have different layout and markings. And what's this? A date window is present on the matte Lunar Pilot models but not the black PVD model. The original had no date window! Now look at the minute/second track on the two watches. The original is raised and the reproduction is sunken. Also on the sunken areas on the reproduction watches there is sunburst cutting which isn't present original. Look at the Bulova branding on the matte stainless steel models, it's stylized to Bulova's current logo not the early 70s logo. However the black PVD model has a more era correct branding and no date window which is closer to the original. Odd that they did the more correct dial on the least correct case. I would find it more suitable the other way around. On the second sub dial at the 6 o'clock position the 262khz movement is noted also. *All the above stuff is super minor. The dial on both matte and PVD watches look really good and both have a really nice clean conservative vintage feel. I own both the matte and PVD. Now let me nit pick the case! The front of the case is the only part Bulova really nailed. With the pusher bars, raised crystal and bezel, and the utility styled contours the case looks amazing! The crown is messed up because they slapped a Bulova tuning fork on it which wasn't on the original. Simple "BULOVA" lettering would have at least been era correct, the original moon watch crown was blank. There are four pivot screws visible from the back which aren't visible on the original but so what... It's on the back. On that note the case back is a cutesy wootsy looking commemorative Apollo 15 theme. I'd rather have it blank and the effort be spent on giving the watch a screw down crown and even slightly better water resistance. Both watches are very accurate as advertised. Bulova did a great job with the movement. Unfortunately all this goes right out the window every 6 months when the user has to change the time due to Day Light Savings. The accuracy is missed because a hour advance isn't featured on the 8136 movement. All this said it's a very nice watch. Clean, masculine, and conservative look at a fair price. I would recommend either watch. If you get the matte model with the two bands plan on shopping for a nice band because both are childish, cheap looking, and ugly. The leather band on the black PVD model is really nice though.
I bought this model as I needed a quartz watch that was reliable and accurate. Also with easy to use features. This fits the bill. Along with being a classic watch with history the price is right and is well made. Won’t be disappointed with this one.
Watch runs perfect and looks great. canvas band could have been made better strings fraying on the band