With a history that spans 145 years, Bulova has built a legacy as an innovator in watchmaking. This history not only encompasses its many accomplishments in horology and design, but goes far beyond the watch industry itself, but encompasses the American brand’s role as a leader in the evolution of timekeeping and its growing role in society.
Among its many innovations, Bulova was the first American watchmaker to pioneer mass-manufacturing techniques, the first brand in the world to broadcast a television ad, and one of few brands to run defiantly feminist ad campaigns in the 20th century. Bulova dominated the electronic watch market a full decade before the Quartz Crisis, provisioned multiple NASA space missions as well as many other, more secretive programs with the U.S., and, more recently, developed the first curved chronograph movement.
Bulova’s rich legacy was captured in the brand’s official History of Firsts book, published in 2018, which revisited the moments and stories that made the brand what it is today. Now, in an exciting effort to bring that written history to life, Bulova is launching its YouTube Collector Series featuring in-depth conversations with top watch collectors, experts, and historians.
The new 10-episode video series, live now, traces the history and key moments of the Bulova brand, focusing on key touch points of its almost century-and-a-half-long history — not only in the world of watches, but in the wider arenas of media, technology, aviation, and music. The series is hosted by Bulova’s U.S. Managing Director and 30-year watch-industry veteran, Michael Benavente, who brings a versatile, enthusiastic and knowledgeable conversation to each episode. In Benavente’s own words, “The Collector Series captures Bulova’s spirit of invention and details the pursuit of innovation and technology both within the timepiece industry – and beyond.”
Each episode features a new topic and guest, the latter either drawn from the ranks of top collectors of Bulova watches, such as Richard Callamaras and Stephen Ollman, or experts in various fields where the brand has played or still plays a leading role. These include former NASA Launch Director and Director of Shuttle Processing, Bob Sieck, who explains Bulova’s key role in both the Gemini and Apollo space missions; Nile Rodgers, who shares his own personal connection to Bulova and explores Bulova in music and American history; David Graver, Editor in Chief of Cool Hunting, who speaks about Bulova’s pioneering in the advertising world and also contextualizes marketing in today’s watch world; and journalist Barbara Palumbo, who addresses the company’s role in promoting equal rights, equal pay and its early understanding (since the Roaring ’20s) of women’s timepieces and the role of women in the often male-dominated watch world.
You can check out the first episode below, and to watch the full Bulova YouTube Collector Series, you can visit the brand’s YouTube channel, here.
If you want to learn more about Bulova’s history, you can also visit the digital Bulova Museum, here.
