A Sporty Upgrade: Bulova Introduces New Precisionist X Sport Editions
When Bulova’s original Precisionist line debuted in 2010, the collection sought to showcase some of the brand’s best work in quartz watchmaking applied to a chronograph design. Ten years later, in 2020, Bulova advanced this theme further with the debut of the Precisionist X series and its “distinctive, bold architectural design.” This year, Bulova revisits the quartz concept series for the third time, unveiling three new models it's calling Precisionist X Sport.
Unlike the original Precisionist X models, which featured a relatively clunkier appearance owing to their large bezels, gold tones, and leather integrated straps, the new models live up to their name with a predominantly sportier aesthetic, complete with a more streamlined case, rubber or metal bracelets, gray-toned or plain steel cases, and three new dial colorways — black and red, blue and steel, or blue and gold-tone. In addition to their cleaner overall look, the new watches also boast an upgraded 300-meter water resistance, raised from the original series' 50-meter capability.
The steel case — either dark or sleek depending on the colorway — measures 44.5 mm in diameter and 17.35 mm thick. In terms of its design, it's rather bold and geometric, evoking to a degree the style found in many of the integrated-bracelet sports watches from the higher reaches of luxury watchmaking. On its bottom left side, we find one of its operating buttons, while on its right are its two chronograph pushers and twisted-groove crown.
Underneath the Precisionist X Sports Edition’s sapphire crystal is a modern dial that matches the aesthetic of the case. On its outermost edge is a chronograph-style minute ring with applied hour markers, each filled with a rectangle of lume. Three securing screws, matching the style of the four found on the watch’s case, live in tandem with the dial's various other features, including the 4:30 date window, 12-hour chronograph subdial at 3 o’clock, continuous-sweep seconds subdial at 9 o’clock, 1/1,000-second half register at 6’clock, and stacked hexagonal 1/10- and 1/100-second register at 12 o’clock. This last subdial is particularly eye catching, as it parallel the shape of the case.
A semi-skeletonized cut-out resides at the dial's center, putting the inner workings of Bulova’s high-grade quartz caliber on display and adding to the very modern character of the watch. Above that center are two enlarged, sword-style hands, partially skeletonized and partially filled with lume, accompanied by a seconds counter with a stylized “infinity” counterweight.
The quartz chronograph movement that powers the new model, Bulova’s in-house Caliber NN50, is one of the brand's points of pride in watchmaking. With a super-high 262kHz frequency, the mechanism is one of the most precise analog chronograph movements to-date. Besides its intriguing ability to tally chronograph times down to the 1/1000th-second, it imparts a rare "sweeping seconds" motion to the seconds hand, as opposed to the stepped "ticking" motion of most other quartz calibers.
All of the new Precisionist X Sport Editions are available now directly through Bulova and via authorized retailers. Both of the models available on a rubber strap are priced at $975, while the blue-and-steel watch available on an H-link steel bracelet retails for slightly more, at $995.
To learn more and inquire for purchase, you can visit Bulova’s website, here.
