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In partnership with Bulova
Socks, gift cards, blankets — these are the kinds of presents you can give to anyone without fear of buying the wrong brand or model. They can also feel like a cop-out. He obviously doesn’t know anything about me. He got me a Total Wine gift card! But if you’re brave enough to seek out a more personal gift like, say, a watch — something they could end up wearing every single day in 2025 — there are endless pitfalls to navigate.
Bulova, which is celebrating its sesquicentennial next year, can help in that regard. Since they’ve been in the business for 150 years, they’ve got a history that anyone who knows their basket weave from their clous de paris can appreciate, but they deal in price points that are easier for you — the person with the increasingly long “Gifts to Buy” list in your Notes app — to accommodate. Not many watch brands can truly say they have something for everyone. But Bulova? They might have cracked the code in that respect.
Below, we’ve chosen 10 watches from across Bulova’s various collections that get the InsideHook stamp of approval this holiday season, including quartz and mechanical models, new and archival releases, and a couple for the women in your life.
This is the most famous watch in Bulova’s lineup, as the original chronograph it’s based on was worn on the Moon during the Apollo 15 mission. Earlier this year, the brand released this limited-edition version of the modern Lunar Pilot with a dial fashioned from a real meteorite (the 4.5-billion-year-old iron Muonionalusta meteorite, to be specific), which means no two will look exactly alike.
If you don’t need the meteorite dial, the standard Lunar Pilot is an evergreen gift. It might just be the best bang for your buck if you’re seeking a watch with history, utility and style: It’s the descendant of a chronograph worn on the Moon in 1971; it features Bulova’s high-precision quartz movement with three subdials (1/20 seconds chronograph, 60-minute chronograph and running seconds); and the barrel-shaped 43.5mm case is never going out of fashion.
One of our favorite watches released in March of this year, the new Marine Star Series C is a sport watch that can easily work as an office-to-adventure option if you opt for the classic white dial on a stainless steel bracelet. But if we were to pick from that, the rose gold-tone or the yellow dial pictured here, we’re going bold.
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For the outdoorsman in your life: a no-nonsense field watch with a good cause attached. The 38mm case, Miyota 8S20-43A automatic movement, 42-hour power reserve, 24-hour inner dial and green nylon strap are basically a wishlist for a model like this. Plus, 10% of proceeds go to the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative.
The Devil Diver is a real dive watch: screw-down crown, ISO certification, 200 meters of water resistance (or 666 feet…). But honestly, this orange-and-black icon is too handsome to not wear on a daily basis.
Released just last year to much fanfare, this Oceanographer GMT is a dive watch for people who have never been scuba diving in their life — and that’s fine! The GMT hand allows for a second time zone, so get this for the frequent traveler. If their style is a little more daring, maybe opt for the black-and-white variant on a grey rubber strap.
If they’re as interested in the story a watch tells as the design, then try this on for size: the MIL-SHIPS is based on a prototype Bulova developed for the U.S. Navy but was never commercially available…until now. Some notable features include a top ring that rotates by pressing down and a paper strip on the dial that will indicate if moisture has leaked into the case.
Do you have a brother, dad, cousin, nephew or uncle who could use a makeover? Maybe you can’t work miracles with one gift, but you can at least add some life to their wrist with this green-dialed version of Bulova’s CURV, which features the first-ever curved chronograph movement. Handsome and innovative!
Rectangular case, black leather strap, gold-tone case, mother-of-pearl dial with three inlaid diamonds — this is the little black dress of watches. You can’t go wrong.
Bulova originally revived its American Girl series (no relation to the dolls), which were made in the 1930s through the ‘60s, because one was featured in The Queen’s Gambit. This edition, based on a design from 1957, includes striking blue hands in the middle of a white dial set in a fun faceted bangle.
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