{"id":21807,"date":"2023-02-27T05:19:17","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T05:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/?p=21807"},"modified":"2023-02-27T05:19:17","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T05:19:17","slug":"bulova-a-15-pilot-watch-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/?p=21807","title":{"rendered":"Bulova A-15 Pilot Watch Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bulova A-15 Pilot Ref 96A245 might look and feel like a new watch, but it\u2019s actually one of the oldest watches in Bulova\u2019s catalogue. This is just the first time it\u2019s ever been sold. The design dates back to 1943, when the US Army Air Force Air Technical Service Command ordered 500 units of Bulova\u2019s A-15 and sent them to service members around the world for testing. <\/p>\n

\"Bulova<\/p>\n

However, the watch never made it out of the testing phase before World War II ended. Rather than release the watch, Bulova shelved the project for 76 years. Now, in 2020, they\u2019ve finally decided to release the A-15 to the general public, with a few modifications to bring it up to modern standards. Let\u2019s take a closer look at this military-inspired wonder.<\/p>\n

Classic Military Design<\/h2>\n

The A-15\u2019s stainless steel case measures 42mm in diameter, which gives it a medium-large wrist presence. At 14mm, it\u2019s also relatively thick. However, much of this height comes from the double domed sapphire crystal, which arches well above the bezel. <\/p>\n

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\"watchpod <\/p>\n

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\"Wrist<\/p>\n

Considering the arch, it causes relatively little distortion. The dial is actually very easy to read. That said, when viewed from an extreme angle, it does distort the outer edge of the dial. This doesn\u2019t detract from the A-15\u2019s function, but it does add an attractive accent to an otherwise understated watch. The crystal also has an anti-reflective coating to prevent glare.<\/p>\n

\"Triple<\/p>\n

The bezel is curved at the outside, with a slant towards the top where it meets the crystal. The angle is relatively shallow, which means it\u2019s noticeable, but not hard enough to create a sharp edge. There\u2019s a slight indentation where the bezel meets the main body of the case, another small accent that makes the A-15 so easy on the eyes. <\/p>\n

\"Polished<\/p>\n

The lugs are narrow, with a slightly curved design, and extend a good distance from the case body. This timepiece has a triple-crown design, with crowns located at the 2, 3, and 4 o\u2019clock positions. The A-15 is water-resistant to 30 meters, which makes it splash-resistant. For anything wetter than a shower, leave this watch at home.<\/p>\n

\"Profile<\/p>\n

One of the A-15\u2019s most attractive features is the World War
\nII-style leather strap. It has a military look and feel, with a flat finish and
\nstitching down both sides. This no-nonsense look is a throwback to a simpler
\nage, when a watch was just something you used to tell the time.<\/p>\n

Automatic Miyota Movement<\/h2>\n

The Bulova A-15 Pilot utilizes an automatic Miyota 82S6 movement, with 21 jewels and a 42-hour power reserve. It\u2019s accurate to -20\/+40 seconds a day, which is serviceable, but will require resetting every few days. The interesting thing about this movement is that it was designed for \u201copen heart\u201d watches, where the movement is visible through the dial. In a way, it\u2019s a shame that Bulova used this beautiful movement on a watch where it\u2019s not visible. Then again, the form factor is ideal for the A-15\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

A True Pilot\u2019s Watch Dial<\/h2>\n

The A-15 dial is designed to be easily visible, so you can read the time at a glance. This only makes sense, since it was meant to be used by World War II aviators. The dial consists of four concentric rings, which each has its own function. The inner ring is a 24-hour scale, with Arabic numerals from 13 to 24, printed in a bright yellow that forms a sharp contrast with the black background. The next ring is a standard 1-12 dial, with numerals printed in easy-to-read white paint. At night, the numerals glow pale blue. Single-minute positions are indicated by a ladder scale, which rings the main part of the dial.<\/p>\n

\"Dial<\/p>\n

The hands have a classic design, with a spade-shaped hour hand and a longer, pointier minute hand. They\u2019re white in the daylight, with a silver skeletonized frame. By night, they glow in the same pale blue as the numerals. In fact, I\u2019d go so far as to say that the A-15 is even easier to read at night than it is in the daytime.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

The feature that makes the A-15 Pilot most unique is the pair of inner rotating rings, which are controlled by the 2 o\u2019clock and 4 o\u2019clock crowns. The inner ring has a white arrow at 12 o\u2019clock, with white numerals from the 1 o\u2019clock to 11 o\u2019clock position. The outer ring has a similar design, but it marks off minutes instead of hours, with numerals at 5-minute intervals and hashes at single-minute positions. By rotating these rings to coincide with the current hour and minute hand positions, you can keep track of how much time has passed. Indeed, the rotating rings are what gave the A-15 it\u2019s original US Army designation, the \u201cTime Elapsed Watch\u201d.<\/p>\n

This is a beautiful piece, one that would fair well in a military style watch collection. Do keep in mind the watch is on the larger side and will suit a larger proportionate wrist better.<\/p>\n

To read more about the A-15 visit the official Bulova website here<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bulova A-15 Pilot Ref 96A245 might look and feel like a new watch, but…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[190],"tags":[702,492],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21807"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21807"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22423,"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21807\/revisions\/22423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeland-life.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}