Bulova
Bulova "Doctor's Watch"
A late 20th-century Swiss-made Bulova mechanical jumping hour with central minutes and subsidiary seconds.
- Movement
- Bulova-signed Swiss manual-wind mechanical movement
- Current Market Value
- $2,000
- Year
- Late 1980s–1990s
- Case
- Gold-plated case with stainless steel back
- Condition
- Good
- Gender
- Men / Unisex
- Acquired
- 2026
Condition
Good overall condition with visible wear and scratches to the gold-plated case. Dial and displays appear well preserved. Stainless steel back with exhibition opening exposing the movement. Blue leather strap.
Why I bought it
Bulova has an interesting history with jumping-hour watches, and I wanted an example from the brand in my collection. This later interpretation also stands apart from the typical 1970s direct-read watches, combining a jumping hour with central minutes and subsidiary seconds.
Bulova has a long connection with jumping-hour watches, including documented examples dating back to the early 1930s. This watch, however, comes from a much later period, dating from the late 1980s or 1990s.
The display is an unusual combination of digital and conventional timekeeping. The jumping hour appears through the curved aperture at 12 o'clock, with the current hour printed in red. Minutes are indicated by a central hand against the 0–60 scale surrounding the dial, while running seconds are displayed on the subsidiary dial at 6 o'clock.
The mechanical movement is signed BULOVA and is Swiss made. The back is marked SWISS MADE, MODELE DEPOSE and STAINLESS STEEL BACK. A further marking reads "6.095 T 0.10", although I have not yet established whether this relates to the case, movement or another technical specification.
The rectangular gold-plated case and typography deliberately evoke the Art Deco period and Bulova's much earlier jumping-hour watches, but this is a late 20th-century interpretation rather than one of the original 1930s pieces.
It is an interesting example of Bulova returning to a type of display with genuine roots in the company's history, several decades after its first jumping-hour watches appeared.