Bulova Precisionist

In 2010, Bulova introduced the Precisionist at Baselworld, the world's largest and most important watch trade fair. The timepiece set new standards in terms of precision. While normal quartz watches deviate from the reference time by about 10-15 seconds a month, the Precisionist only deviates by 0.8 seconds a month, or 10 seconds a year.

The Precisionist's second hand functions differently than those on standard quartz watches. Normally, the second hand on a quartz watch jumps from second to second. The Precisionist's second hand, however, moves smoothly, at least to our eyes. In reality, it moves 16 times per second, which you can observe if you look closely under good lighting.

The sensational chronographs in this collection allow you to measure down to the millisecond and time up to 12 hours. The timepiece has four subdials that display thousandths, hundredths, and tenths of seconds, along with seconds, minutes, and hours.

Are you looking for a watch that's much more precise than standard quartz watches, but doesn't require radio or GPS technology? The Precisionist offers extraordinarily high levels of precision at an affordable price.

The highlights of this collection are the chronographs, which cost around 900 euros new. These timepieces don't just offer precise timekeeping, but also allow you to time milliseconds. In addition, they're waterproof to a maximum of 300 m (30 bar), which makes the robust Precisionist a good secondary watch for anyone who wants to keep their more expensive mechanical timepiece safe while surfing, sailing, or mountain biking, or for anyone who needs a particularly precise timer.

The larger models in the series look particularly good on wider wrists. Make sure to take the diameter of 48.3 mm into account before buying reference number 98B270, for example. If you prefer a smaller watch, then take a look at the 42-mm three-hand models, such as 96B158 or 96B159.

In its early days, the Precisionist was divided into different lines called Champlain, Claremont, Longwood, and Tanglewood. Today, these distinctions no longer exist. However, you can still find references to these lines on the vintage market or in old Precisionist reviews. Currently, there are around 20 distinct models in the Precisionist series.

Most versions of the Precisionist are rather large watches; some models have a massive diameter of 48.3 mm, while others are only minimally smaller at 46.5 mm. In comparison, one of the most popular mechanical wristwatches in the world, the Rolex Submariner, only has a 40-mm case. The bezel on some Precisionist models features four visible hexagon socket screws, which give the watch a porthole design similar to timepieces from Hublot or Audemars Piguet.

The Precisionist's case is made of stainless steel and is not only available in the natural silver-gray color of the metal, but also with a black coating or red-gold or yellow-gold plating. Furthermore, there is a bicolor version that combines stainless steel and gold together.

The smallest men's watches currently available in the Precisionist line have a diameter of 42 mm. They have a different look than the technical designs of the chronographs; they're classic three-hand watches with a date display, enabling them to simultaneously come across as sporty and elegant.

The Precisionist was introduced in 2010, 50 years after Bulova first brought the legendary Accutron onto the market. The Accutron was another quantum leap in the history of watchmaking. The frequency of a timepiece plays a deciding role in how it functions. Pendulum clocks have a frequency of 0.5 Hz. In 1960, mechanical wristwatches generally had a frequency of around 2.5 Hz.

The Accutron, which had a frequency of 360 Hz thanks to its tuning fork, only deviated from the correct time by one minute a month. It was the most precise wristwatch available to the public in 1960.

Around ten years later, Bulova premiered a quartz watch with a frequency of 32,768 Hz. It was regulated by a quartz crystal shaped like a tuning fork. Bulova improved upon this technology with the Precisionist, using a trident-shaped quartz piece to regulate the timepiece. The frequency increased to 262,144 Hz, allowing for even higher precision.

This innovative movement was developed in collaboration with Citizen. Bulova has their headquarters in the USA, but has been a part of the Japanese Citizen Group since 2008. Citizen is the largest watch manufacturer worldwide. The technology is no longer used in just the Precisionist collection. Other Bulova model series also implement a 262 kHz movement, such as the Accutron II.

Seiko offers a timepiece with similar levels of precision. The 9F models from the luxury series Grand Seiko also only deviate from the correct time by around 10 seconds a year. Seiko achieves this primarily through the quartz crystals they produce themselves, which are carefully made and selected. The Grand Seiko collection is their flagship series. You can expect to pay around 2,000 euros for a new 9F quartz watch from Seiko.