I bought this watch thru Hodinkee when they were first offered for sale. I'd been reading about the history of it and became fascinated. The Mil-Ships is beautiful, well made, and fits my wrist nicely. I'm a trained military diver and a PADI SCUBA instructor and will be taking this honey on all my future dives. The bezel is beautiful and unique with its "push-down-and-turn" action. The dial looks exactly like that on the original 1957 prototype. The case back is nicely finished and very beautiful. And the strap is extremely comfortable. A very beautiful tool-watch diver from Bulova!
Bulova Response
Excellent vintage inspired diver and I would love to see more silhouettes like this from Bulova in the future.
I love this watch. Real heritage/history for under $1000. The LE version has "Swiss Made" on the dial, but the original didn't because the movement was made in the US! So arguably, the SE version is more true to the original. The 16mm strap may seem small but once you get used to it, it really looks quite nice and more like 18mm. The narrow lugs really compliment the case design, IMHO. The movement, the 82SO Miyota is basic and unrefined, but totally functional and reliable. I wish Bulova dipped into their margins and put a better movement in there, but that's not enough for me not recommend this watch. My dream version of this watch would have a hand-wind movement in it, just like the original.
It was a birthday gift for my husband and he loved it
