Obligatory Wristwatch Thread

[Trooper224]

Attachment 31759
Bulova Lunar Pilot w/ Accutron II Moonview in the background.

The Lunar Pilot/Moon watch is one of my faves and the one I wear in uniform. How do you like the Moonview?

[GardoneVT]

The Lunar Pilot/Moon watch is one of my faves and the one I wear in uniform. How do you like the Moonview?

It’s a beauty. I ordered the Rose Gold version as a move out of my comfort zone, and stand grateful that I took the risk. It’s a classy shade of rose gold that doesn’t scream “flashy”, and yet still pays homage to the Bulova Accutron Astronaut watches work by flight crews in the USAF and NASA.

The interactions between Bulova & Omega with regard to NASA are the stuff of an Indiana Jones movie. There’s so much fanboy BS around this subject that I actually had to hunt down old NASA memos to get to the facts . Essentially the Bulova Moonwatch was built as a series of 16 prototypes submitted for evaluation , because Bulova alleged the circumstances of the Speedmasters adoption were arbitrary.

Funny thing is they were right. According to NASAs documented testing protocol , the Omega Speedmaster failed too. It gained 21 minutes during the decompression test, which failed the test specification of gaining or losing no more then 5 seconds per day. Yet based on the fact flight crews were already using the Speedmaster, NASA provided an “interim” approval of the Speedmaster with permanent approval being conditional of Omega adding a 24 hour bezel to the Speedmaster. This naturally never happened- then two years later Deke Slayton sent a memo to the NASA contracting chief titled “Justification for Noncompetitive Procurement of the Omega Chronograph, Model 6126”

In this document Slayton stated the Omega chronograph is environmentally qualified for flight use, and that the logistical cost of switching agency documentation and other resources to a replacement model would be prohibitive. Seeing as how NASAs testing showed the “interim” issue Speedmaster gained 21 minutes during the decompression test,one wonders what Slayton meant by “environmentally qualified”. We may never know.

I tried to find documentation about the test involving the Bulova prototypes which inspired the current Lunar Pilot, but it’s hard to come by in the public domain. Perhaps this is an intentional development. But one things sure- Apollo 15s crew used one when their Speedmaster soiled the sheets , and it’s the only privately owned watch to go to the moon.

[Trooper224]

It’s a beauty. I ordered the Rose Gold version as a move out of my comfort zone, and stand grateful that I took the risk. It’s a classy shade of rose gold that doesn’t scream “flashy”, and yet still pays homage to the Bulova Accutron Astronaut watches work by flight crews in the USAF and NASA.

The interactions between Bulova & Omega with regard to NASA are the stuff of an Indiana Jones movie. There’s so much fanboy BS around this subject that I actually had to hunt down old NASA memos to get to the facts . Essentially the Bulova Moonwatch was built as a series of 16 prototypes submitted for evaluation , because Bulova alleged the circumstances of the Speedmasters adoption were arbitrary.

Funny thing is they were right. According to NASAs documented testing protocol , the Omega Speedmaster failed too. It gained 21 minutes during the decompression test, which failed the test specification of gaining or losing no more then 5 seconds per day. Yet based on the fact flight crews were already using the Speedmaster, NASA provided an “interim” approval of the Speedmaster with permanent approval being conditional of Omega adding a 24 hour bezel to the Speedmaster. This naturally never happened- then two years later Deke Slayton sent a memo to the NASA contracting chief titled “Justification for Noncompetitive Procurement of the Omega Chronograph, Model 6126”

In this document Slayton stated the Omega chronograph is environmentally qualified for flight use, and that the logistical cost of switching agency documentation and other resources to a replacement model would be prohibitive. Seeing as how NASAs testing showed the “interim” issue Speedmaster gained 21 minutes during the decompression test,one wonders what Slayton meant by “environmentally qualified”. We may never know.

I tried to find documentation about the test involving the Bulova prototypes which inspired the current Lunar Pilot, but it’s hard to come by in the public domain. Perhaps this is an intentional development. But one things sure- Apollo 15s crew used one when their Speedmaster soiled the sheets , and it’s the only privately owned watch to go to the moon.

After Dave Scott's Bulova was auctioned off, one of the watch blogs did an interview with him. I found it amusing, for the most part. Mainly because you had a group of watch geeks trying to get exciting tidbits and drama surrounding the watch. Something on the order of the Speedmaster being used for the course correction burn on Apollo 13. The amusing thing was that Scott obviously could have cared less. Bulova asked him to evaluate the watch, so he took it along on Apollo 15 as part of his personal gear. He stated, quite logically, that being issued one watch was a single failure point and pretty stupid, hence the Bulova's ride to the moon. His Speedy shit the bed, so he whipped out the Bulova. When they tried to find some associated drama he stated, it must have worked fine because he couldn't recall looking at it after putting it on. When asked for specifics about the watches performance, he said he couldn't recall since he had bigger concerns at the time. When the watch was returned to him after the mission, he threw it in a box and forgot about it and he never bothered to get back to Bulova concerning its performance. He didn't even remember what kind of watch it was, until he took it out for auction. He actually seemed to be irritated by some of their questions, like Star Trek fans asking William Shatner which kind of warp drive is better.

[rayrevolver]

At some point in the past I ended up 2 of these Tonino Lamborghini watches. I think my brother bought them and gave them to me.

Any idea if they are worth anything? The bottom one still has plastic on it and they both come in boxes.

[Savage Hands]

Finally found a “rugged” case for the series 4. Now it’s good to go.
Attachment 31062

What case is that? I just scratched my screen yesterday

[GardoneVT]

After Dave Scott's Bulova was auctioned off, one of the watch blogs did an interview with him. I found it amusing, for the most part. Mainly because you had a group of watch geeks trying to get exciting tidbits and drama surrounding the watch. Something on the order of the Speedmaster being used for the course correction burn on Apollo 13. The amusing thing was that Scott obviously could have cared less. Bulova asked him to evaluate the watch, so he took it along on Apollo 15 as part of his personal gear. He stated, quite logically, that being issued one watch was a single failure point and pretty stupid, hence the Bulova's ride to the moon. His Speedy shit the bed, so he whipped out the Bulova. When they tried to find some associated drama he stated, it must have worked fine because he couldn't recall looking at it after putting it on. When asked for specifics about the watches performance, he said he couldn't recall since he had bigger concerns at the time. When the watch was returned to him after the mission, he threw it in a box and forgot about it and he never bothered to get back to Bulova concerning its performance. He didn't even remember what kind of watch it was, until he took it out for auction. He actually seemed to be irritated by some of their questions, like Star Trek fans asking William Shatner which kind of warp drive is better.

It doesn’t surprise me one bit. I made it 20 minutes into a 40 minute watch blogger podcast before the egotistical snobbery got too much to bear.

[23JAZ]

What case is that? I just scratched my screen yesterday

Sup UB Pro. Got it on Amazon. Been wearing it for a couple weeks now and the case and watch still looks like new.

[perlslacker]

I tried on a Grand Seiko for the first time today. Fantastically well-made watches, especially for the money. My one sort-of gripe is that Seiko cheaps out on their bracelets even at that level; it was nice but not what you'd expect from a comparably-priced Rolex or Omega.

A Spring Drive model, preferably a Snowflake, is even higher on my bucket list now.

e: Like, I'm wearing a Submariner right now and if it weren't an heirloom I would have traded it in for a GS. As far as I'm concerned, Rolexes only have two things going over GS: the bracelets are better, and flexing on people who aren't really into watches.

[Crawls]

I tried on a Grand Seiko for the first time today. Fantastically well-made watches, especially for the money. My one sort-of gripe is that Seiko cheaps out on their bracelets even at that level; it was nice but not what you'd expect from a comparably-priced Rolex or Omega.

A Spring Drive model, preferably a Snowflake, is even higher on my bucket list now.

e: Like, I'm wearing a Submariner right now and if it weren't an heirloom I would have traded it in for a GS. As far as I'm concerned, Rolexes only have two things going over GS: the bracelets are better, and flexing on people who aren't really into watches.

Interesting comment on the bracelet. It wasn't long ago that that people were knocking Rolex for having shoddy bracelets relative to lower priced Seikos like the Monster. Rolex has really stepped up its game on the quality of it bracelets in the past decade. A Spring Drive Snowflake would be a must have if I ever win the powerball.

[perlslacker]

Interesting comment on the bracelet. It wasn't long ago that that people were knocking Rolex for having shoddy bracelets relative to lower priced Seikos like the Monster. Rolex has really stepped up its game on the quality of it bracelets in the past decade.

The only complaint I’ve ever heard about Rolex bracelets is that the hollow end links on the old ones rattle, which mine do. I’ve never heard ANY Seiko bracelets he spoken of positively but then I don’t know every watch nerd out there.

AFAIK Rolex stepped their bracelet game up in response to Omega, which is a good thing. Can’t let people get complacent.