Surprisingly, there is nothing on the Bulova web site but the watches are listed on the bay and several jewelers are advertising them. The model is 98B320 and the list price is $795 USD. Here's a photo and a link to an announcement from Baselworld this spring.
I've read and seen some mixed reviews about the watch, mainly around the size and movement choice.
Still a great lookng watch and captures the original essance of the watch nicely.
I'm sure we will continue to see some really nice pieces reproduced over the next few years as Bulova continue to tap into thier rich history and acknowledge some of their finer moments of watch manufacturing over the last 100 years.
Well I put in my two cents and told them it would be nice to see more Autos as opposed to the Archive series being the new High Frequency Quartzes. If this were a Swiss Auto, you could more than double the price. Since I have been acquiring each one as it comes out, I'm going to order one of these also. I can do a review of it once I get it, if anybody's interested.
UPDATE: The Limited Edition Orange dialled Swiss version is also available, and it IS double the price. It is also, according to my Rep, an exact replica of the original and coming in at the original size of 40mm. The non-limited one is 44mm.
I thought I would share a few comparisons between the original and the new version (98B320).
Oceanographer G (1970) | Oceanographer 98B320 (2018)
Width w/o crown: 41mm | 44mm
Length L2L: 43.2mm | 46.1mm
Thickness: 13.6mm | 14.9mm
Original Example: 1970 (N0), 17 jewel automatic 11BLACD, calendar, stainless case #714, uni-directional bezel, signed crown
98B320 Example: 2018, 21 jewel automatic Miyota 821D, calendar, stainless case, uni-directional bezel, screw-down signed crown, sapphire crystal, 200m water resistancy
Original on left
Original on Right
The new version is a nicely built watch, but the size is a bit too large.
Ken
Nice comparison Ken, I appreciate it. I guess the size was always going to be driven by current markets so I'm not surprised that it's as big as it is. I'm seriously considering picking one up, I like them that much.
PS - do these photos indicate that .....
1 - You've bought one of the new ones?
2 - You have an Oceanographer you haven't added to the dB yet?
In reply to Nice comparison Ken, I by Geoff Baker
In reply to Thanks Geoff. To answer your by Andersok
Ok, I just received the counter version of the watch, and for what it's worth, my impressions:
It is a beefy dive watch, and is likely to represent what would have been the normal evolution of the model, had it continued uninterrupted.
Despite being 44mm, it wears smaller than this due to the turtle-style case and tapered lugs.
It is heavy, weighing in at 158.7g which is just over 4 1/2 imperial ounces, 5.6 ounces US. This has a screw down crown and the proper depth rating, so it is a proper dive/swimming watch. To that end, I compare its chunkiness to a very chunky vintage diver, the Squale 100 Atmos- (since I don't have an original Bulova to compare it to)
Here it is, on my wrist, and for height comparison, (on right) a vintage Squale 1000m dive watch from 1960:
I wonder why they bothered posting the LE with price at all, it is clearly sold out.
The trouble with these limited editions is, by the time it is realized how much of a runaway seller they are, it's too late. You can't really extend the series without losing credibility. They'd have to offer it with a different dial or something.
The regular one I like very much and does not wear as large as you might think. I'll be at least getting one of these for my own use.
In reply to I wonder why they bothered by Reverend Rob