Bulova Jet Star 96B401 Red Dial Bracelet Watch - W09358

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Bulova Jet Star 96B401 Red Dial Bracelet Watch - W09358

Name: Bulova Jet Star 96B401 Red Dial Bracelet Watch - W09358
Brand: Bulova
SKU: 96B401
Price: 429 GBP
Availability: InStock

Ref. 96B401

Among our 120 Bulova watchesThis watch£429

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Stepping up in Bulova's range

The original Jet Star "F" came out in 1973 at a moment when Bulova was experimenting freely with case geometry, and this revival reproduces that angular, cushion-shaped silhouette faithfully — broad facets, a domed crystal, the particular squareness that the decade favoured. The dial is a deep claret red with a sunburst finish, and the contrast between its colour and the black and red hour markers gives it a legibility that bolder dials sometimes lose. What separates this from most quartz revivals is the NM10 Precisionist movement inside. Running at 262kHz — roughly six times the frequency of a conventional quartz — it produces a genuinely smooth sweep on the seconds hand and holds accuracy to within five seconds per month, which is a measurable step beyond the category. At 45mm lug to lug it sits closer to the wrist than the case diameter alone suggests, and the double-H link bracelet with quick-release spring bars makes sizing straightforward without tools.

Reference: 96B401
Brand: Bulova
Collection: Jet Star
Case size: 40mm
Case thickness: 12.5mm
Lug width: 20mm
Case material: Stainless steel
Case shape: Round
Dial: Red
Crystal: Sapphire
Movement: Spring Drive
Calibre: Bulova NM10 Precisionist
Functions: Date
Water resistance: 50m
Bracelet / strap: Stainless steel bracelet
Strap colour: Silver
Clasp: Butterfly clasp
Lume: Luminous
Retailer: F.Hinds

Additional specifications

Lug-to-lug: 45mm
Warranty: 3 years
Strap: Interchangeable

Learn more about Bulova

Joseph Bulova, a Bohemian immigrant, opened a jewellery shop on Maiden Lane in New York in 1875 and moved into watch manufacturing in the early twentieth century, building a plant in Sag Harbor and later a substantial operation in Queens.

Bulova's instinct for firsts was commercial as much as technical. It ran the first national advertisement for a watch brand in 1926, broadcast the first radio commercial in American history — a time announcement — in 1926, and aired the first television commercial ever broadcast in 1941, paying nine dollars for the slot.

The engineering came too. The Accutron of 1960 replaced the balance wheel with a tuning fork vibrating at 360 Hz, driven electronically. It was accurate to within a minute a month, far beyond mechanical watches, and it hummed rather than ticked. NASA used Accutron timing mechanisms in spacecraft, and one was left on the Moon in the equipment package of Apollo 11.

Bulova also made an enormous contribution to American war production, supplying military timing devices, and founded a school of watchmaking for disabled veterans.

The company was acquired by Citizen in 2008. Modern collections include the Precisionist, with a high-frequency quartz movement producing a smooth sweeping seconds hand, and reissues of the Accutron and the 1970s Computron.

1875: Joseph Bulova opens his New York shop.
1941: Airs the first television commercial in history.
1960: The Accutron tuning fork movement is released.
1969: An Accutron timer is left on the Moon by Apollo 11.
2008: Acquired by Citizen.

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Also in 2 collections

This watch appears in Back in Stock (3,629) and Stainless Steel Watches (3,600).