Hi all, I just needed to vent this because I know that it's something that we've all been through and it sucks...
Awhile ago, I fell in love with the Bulova Jet Star #96K112 (Limited Edition):
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The silver dial with the royal and crimson accents just speaks to me (probably because I'm a Habs fan...lol) but the RRP of this watch is $895CAD and finding it for less than that is next to impossible because demand for it is high. It is, after all, the Limited Edition and just looks incredible (especially from a brand like Bulova that has A LOT of ugly watches in its catalogue). I figured that I'd buy one sooner or later but that $895CAD price seemed pretty steep. I knew that I wanted one though because I saw this WatchChris video comparing different movements and this Bulova 262kHz Precisionist movement rivals the Grand Seiko Spring Drive when it comes to fluidity.
I had seen this fluidity before on Precisionist pieces and it is beautiful to behold, but unfortunately, the rest of the Precisionist dials are a dog's breakfast of busy-ness that make them a real pain to actually read. A good example is the 46.5mm Bulova Precisionist Icon:
![Image]()
It's not hard to read when it's a blown-up image, but on a watch, it just looks like a mess. I know some people like this style (and more power to you), but I like dials to be reasonably clean. This Precisionist however, I've looked at it in-hand and it's a pain to read with all that's going on with the dial. When the Jet Star came out, I figured that my prayers had been answered.
Anyway, an AD about an hour's drive from me suddenly had it on sale for about $300CAD off and when I saw that, it was the same reaction I had to seeing the Lunar Pilot drop from $825CAD to $545CAD. I was in a state of excited shock as I called them to hold it for me until I got there. I drove out to the AD and saw it in all its 262kHz glory, as beautiful as it looked in all the videos.
Then, I put it on my wrist and realised that I hadn't taken the case size into account because nobody ever complains about 40mm dials. My heart just sank as I realised that not only was it too small for my wrist, it was WAY too small. Initially, I was going to get it anyway because I wanted it that bad but I recognised that impluse and took a breath. I took off my jacket and tried it on my bare arm but... nope. The problem is that my wrists are 60mm-wide rectangles with flat tops and pretty squared corners so there was about a centimetre of flat bracelet to the north and south of the dial (which looked downright weird). This created a visual effect that only served to make it look even smaller still. It looked lost and ridiculous and I had to make the tough decision to leave it. It was the longest hour's drive back home that I've had in a long time, fuming over the lesson that a Lunar Pilot wrist can't pull off a Jet Star.
I actually sent a message to Bulova asking them to make a "Jumbo Jet Star" (catchy name, eh?) for their Lunar Pilot customers who want to get their hands on a Jet Star (and I'm sure that there are a crap-tonne of us). The dial diameter I suggested to them was 44mm because I figured that anyone whose wrists are too big for a 40mm would likely be able to pull off a 44mm and someone whose wrists are too small for a 44mm could pull off a 40mm. I would be equally happy with a 45 or 46mm model though.
It made me curious though as to whether or not people think that a Jumbo Jet Star would be successful or not. So, whaddya think, would it be a good idea for Bulova to do this based on the success that they've had with the Lunar Pilot?
Awhile ago, I fell in love with the Bulova Jet Star #96K112 (Limited Edition):
The silver dial with the royal and crimson accents just speaks to me (probably because I'm a Habs fan...lol) but the RRP of this watch is $895CAD and finding it for less than that is next to impossible because demand for it is high. It is, after all, the Limited Edition and just looks incredible (especially from a brand like Bulova that has A LOT of ugly watches in its catalogue). I figured that I'd buy one sooner or later but that $895CAD price seemed pretty steep. I knew that I wanted one though because I saw this WatchChris video comparing different movements and this Bulova 262kHz Precisionist movement rivals the Grand Seiko Spring Drive when it comes to fluidity.
It's not hard to read when it's a blown-up image, but on a watch, it just looks like a mess. I know some people like this style (and more power to you), but I like dials to be reasonably clean. This Precisionist however, I've looked at it in-hand and it's a pain to read with all that's going on with the dial. When the Jet Star came out, I figured that my prayers had been answered.
Anyway, an AD about an hour's drive from me suddenly had it on sale for about $300CAD off and when I saw that, it was the same reaction I had to seeing the Lunar Pilot drop from $825CAD to $545CAD. I was in a state of excited shock as I called them to hold it for me until I got there. I drove out to the AD and saw it in all its 262kHz glory, as beautiful as it looked in all the videos.
Then, I put it on my wrist and realised that I hadn't taken the case size into account because nobody ever complains about 40mm dials. My heart just sank as I realised that not only was it too small for my wrist, it was WAY too small. Initially, I was going to get it anyway because I wanted it that bad but I recognised that impluse and took a breath. I took off my jacket and tried it on my bare arm but... nope. The problem is that my wrists are 60mm-wide rectangles with flat tops and pretty squared corners so there was about a centimetre of flat bracelet to the north and south of the dial (which looked downright weird). This created a visual effect that only served to make it look even smaller still. It looked lost and ridiculous and I had to make the tough decision to leave it. It was the longest hour's drive back home that I've had in a long time, fuming over the lesson that a Lunar Pilot wrist can't pull off a Jet Star.
I actually sent a message to Bulova asking them to make a "Jumbo Jet Star" (catchy name, eh?) for their Lunar Pilot customers who want to get their hands on a Jet Star (and I'm sure that there are a crap-tonne of us). The dial diameter I suggested to them was 44mm because I figured that anyone whose wrists are too big for a 40mm would likely be able to pull off a 44mm and someone whose wrists are too small for a 44mm could pull off a 40mm. I would be equally happy with a 45 or 46mm model though.
It made me curious though as to whether or not people think that a Jumbo Jet Star would be successful or not. So, whaddya think, would it be a good idea for Bulova to do this based on the success that they've had with the Lunar Pilot?
